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[tonysson]

Hi. this is my first post, so apologies before I start!


My dad was a fanatic and left me assorted kit, which after staring at for 2 years I have decide I need some help with, whatever I end up doing with it.
The plan is to get at least one boat up and running for me and my grandson to play with. So please be prepared for lots of questions!


First of which is concerning batteries. I have heard that lipo batteries don't have a good shelf life, is this correct, and how do I know if they are any good?


Thanks for reading


Paul (Tonysson)

[SteveB66]

What do you mean by a good shelf life?
You can charge them and they will keep their charge better than NiCad's and Nimih as far as I know.
As for which to buy, I always use Turnigy and have had no problems with them at all.

[tonysson]

Hi  SteveB66, thanks for reply
 I mean that I have read that they do not hold their charge well as they get older. I have several, which are at least 2 years old, I really want to know are they worth keeping..? 

[radiojoe]

Hi Paul, welcome, the lipo's may well be ok it depends on how they have been stored, if a lipo is not being used for a long time it's best stored at about half charge, your dad probably knew that, the only way to tell is to check the voltage of the cells with a battery checker or a lipo charger, that you may well have somewhere amongst the kit, but be careful with the lipo charger and make sure you know how to use it first if you don't have the instructions look them up on line, lipo's are excellent batteries but have to be handled with care. The battery checker will look something like this.

[tonysson]

Hi radiojoe, thanks for this. That picture looks familiar, I will check now and get back to you.

[tonysson]

I have found an RC 8S Pro balance charger, and found a manual online. If anyone has knowledge of this device and can give me some short cuts it would be much appreciated. In particular how to check batteries

[Martin (Admin)]

This may help a bit, a great video on charging LiPo batteries: https://youtu.be/kvr-25yGeVk

[tonysson]

Thanks Martin, that looks very similar to the charger I have

[radiojoe]

That's the charger I have, at first it appears complicated but it's really quite intuitive when get into it, 

[tonysson]

Wow!  -  what an active and useful forum, so glad I joined, and thanks for all the help