Guys,

I have three new 14.8V 3850mah packs coming and was curious if there is any break-in or conditioning that I should do?

Best,            Dennis

Dennis,

IF YOU ABSOLUTLY NEED THE "MAX" CYCLES, THEN YES.

Yes, to get the absolute maximum # of cycles from your batteries, you should "break-in" your new batteries gently. This means that you should charge your battery then discharge it slowly with a light load at least two or three times before using them in your ECL plane. This prevents the battery from suffering the "chemical shock" of us sucking out 80% of the power in < 6 min for it's 1st job in life.

I AGREE WITH ALAN! 

Now, with this said, I agree with Alan. I just fly them right out of the box! :-) .... I'm sure they will have "X" fewer cycles (normal expected cycles for our use are est. at around 280) because of this mistreatment,  but I don't expect to ever get my 10 ECL batteries much past 200 cycles per battery anyway. That would still give me 2,000 flights, way more than a lifetime for me! 

Regards, 

Gotta agree with Mike on this one.  If you have a charger/discharger then it shouldn't be a big deal to cycle them through a few times.  If not it is a little more work to cycle them.  I just ran the motor at a reduced rpm and monitored the total mah draw and stopped it about 50 to 60% of the battery's rating.  Like shampoo...lather, rinse, repeat.

Hi Gang,
Yes, you have heard about how break-in at relatively low C-rates is good for new cells.
This is especially good for those who use their batteriues hard, like 17C.
The guys who pull 15 ~ 17C out of their batteries at full throttle think that 7C provides a nice gentle break in ...

Hey wait a minute! We run around 7C for the whole flight. We are their break-in.
Just fly 'em, but don't run them down too low.
Maybe you should fly a 4-minute long flight or two on a new pack, but I wouldn't sweat it.

Dean P.

Hi Dennis,

1st, as I said before: I'm with Alan and Dean, I just fly them out of the box. I'm glad that Dean clarified for us how relatively easy we are on our batteries. I know that on our 5S and 10S RC batteries we push them hard on the long up lines and need every bit of their 25C/50C ability for the several seconds of doing vertical snap rolls etc. But, as Dean said, we don't push our ECL batteries very hard. Our up lines are relatively short (90' vs >500') and get some of their energy from the "zoom" of the level flight speed. I don't think we need a break in period. BTW: I do take it easy on the 1st few flights of my new ERC batteries, but not the ECL ones.

BUT: Mike has a good point about discharging our new batteries as a "smoke (balloon?;-) test" before they get a chance to bring your new plane down in flames!  I don't think this is needed for the top two name brands, Thunder Power, and EVO (FlightPower), but it may be a very good idea for the "no-name" brand packs.

I just counted my batteries and I have 33 Lipo batteries, from 3S 1200 mAh to 10S 5000 mAh. Most of them are Thunder Power (high quality batteries, assembled in the good ole USA, in LV NV :-) with several FlightPower packs. Over the past 6 years of flying with LiPos I have never had a failure of a Lipo from these two brands, except for four I injured myself (please don't ask ;-).

  I strayed only once, a friend talked me into trying one of those red China packs that were 1/2 the price. It looked OK when I received it. It took me a few weeks before I pulled it out of the box again, to solder on a deans connector. It had already "ballooned" before I could even get a deans on it. I put it in a saltwater bath for two weeks and sent it to the landfill. Obviously I am not saying they are all bad, my friend uses them with only a few mishaps, but I don't like to worry about my power system and I think that it is worth a few $ more to have peace of mind. 

Of course, your milage may vary. 

Regards, 

IMHO, you should charge your batteries to full charge at 1C or less and then discharge at 1C - 5C (max) to 75% capacity at least 3 times. I have cycled all of my batteries and some of Paul's this way and they just keep on Truckin.


Kim.