Introduction to Lithium Polymer (Li Poly) Batteries

Lithium Polymer Batteries are found in many modern electronic devices, such as laptops and cell phones. They are significantly lighter than NiMh or NiCd batteries, and have higher capacity for the same size. Over the last five years they have worked their way into the hobby market, for use in RC boats, cars, and model airplanes. Their light weight and high capacity make them ideal for long flight times, while also providing more power.

 Voltage, Cell Count And C Rating:

The nominal voltage of each cell is 3.7V, but can go down to 3.3V during discharge, and up to 4.2V when fully charged. A battery pack is usually composed of two or more cells put together in series for increased voltage, or in parallel for increased capacity. The C rating denotes how quickly a battery can be discharged (a rating of 1C continuous would mean that a 2000mAh battery should not be discharged any faster than 2000mA or 2A, which would take one hour). A 2000mAh pack rated at 12C continuous would be able to discharge at 12 times its capacity (12 x 2000mA = 24000mA or 24A) at which rate it would discharge in 1/12th of an hour. If you know how much continuous current you will be drawing and the capacity of the pack you want to use, you can easily determine what C rating you require. If you are drawing 5A from a 1320mAh pack, just take the current and divide by the capacity: 5A = 5000mA, 5000mA / 1320mAh = 3.8C. Using a pack with a higher C rating than you require will leave some headroom, and extend the life of your battery. Batteries are also given a C rating in terms of burst, which is how quickly the battery is able to discharge for a short period. A burst rating of 20C would mean a 2000mAh battery could supply 20 x 2000mA = 40000mA or 40A for a few seconds at a time.

Naming Conventions:
Lithium Batteries are also know as LiPo, Li-Po, LiPoly, or Li-Poly. The pack configuration is denoted by the number of cells in series and the number of cells in parallel. A 3s2p pack would have three cells in series, and 2 cells in parallel, using a total of 3×2=6 cells. A 4000mAh 3s2p pack would have a capacity of 4000mAh, and a voltage of 11.1V (3 x 3.7V). It would internally consist of six 3.7V 2000mAh cells. The cells would be doubled up (the 2p part of 3s2p) to get 4000mAh, and there would be three in series (the 3s part of 3s2p) to get 3 x 3.7V = 11.1V.

Which Battery Is Best For Me?:
To select a battery, you first need to know what voltage you require and how much current you will be drawing continuously. If you have a motor that works with 11.1V, you would need a 3 cell battery. If you need to draw 20A, and you would like to have a 10 minute (1/6th of an hour = 6C) flight, you would need a battery with 20A / 6 = 3.3A = 3300mAh. This means you would need a 3s 3300mAh battery with a C rating of 6 or higher.

Safety Precautions:

·        Never charge a lithium battery if it is below 3.0V per cell, puffed up, or damaged.

·        Never charge a lithium battery above 4.2V per cell.

·        Always place on a fire-proof surface when charging.

·        Only use chargers designed to work with Lithium Polymer batteries.

·        Never leave your battery unattended while charging.

Understanding Lithium Polymer (Li Poly) Batteries

Lipo batteries are very different from previous generation batteries and understanding how they work, and especially how to charge them, is the key to getting the best performance.

Series
Individual Lithium Polymer cells have a nominal voltage of 3.7 volts (vs. 1.2volts per cell for Ni-Cds). Cells are wired in series to give the following pack voltages:

1 cell = 3.7 volts
2 cells in series = 7.4 volts
3 cells in series = 11.1 volts

Parallel
Unlike Ni-Cd and Ni-MH cells that self-discharge when wired in parallel, LiPo cells can be hooked up, charged and discharged in parallel with no detrimental effect. Wiring two LiPo cells in parallel doubles the capacity (more run time), plus an important advantage of wiring in parallel is that each cell only sees half the total current.

3S 2P
A battery pack that has three cells in series (giving 11.1 volts) and 2 of these 3-cell packs are wired in parallel is commonly referred to as a 3S, 2P (3 series, 2 parallel).

C Rating
LiPo cells are also commonly given a C or current rating. This is the maximum average recommended discharge current for the cell. For example, the Thunder Power 1900mAh packs have a 6C rating. To determine the maximum recommended discharge rate multiply the capacity times the C rating. 1900mAh x 6C = 11,400. So the maximum recommended discharge rate would be 11,400mA or 11.4 amps. If your application has a higher amp draw, remember that LiPo cells can be wired in parallel, and with 2 cells in parallel each cell sees half the total current. With 3 cells in parallel, each cell see one third the current.

By wiring packs in a combination of series to get the voltage and parallel to achieve the capacity and individual cell current to an acceptable level, LiPo cells can be used to power nearly every type and size of model.

Charging
Charging LiPo batteries requires a very different charge method than other types of cells. It's imperative to use a charger designed specifically for LiPo batteries, and with most LiPo-specific chargers it's necessary to correctly select the cell count (1, 2 or 3 cells) manually. Fortunately, several good chargers are available through FMA. These chargers give a constant current charge rate at 75% the cell capacity until the pack voltage reaches 3.6 volts per cell. This charges the pack to about 80% of total capacity. At this point the charger switches to a constant voltage charge rate of 3.6 volts per cell to top off the battery. To charge a fully depleted pack typically takes about one and a half hours.

Provided by: Bud Johansen – E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Cell: 772-631-5811