Hoy shit another Li-Po question...

[Jester316]

I'm looking to make the switch, but I'm looking to be economical about it. Currently, I'm looking at a battery that is said to contain a "PCB". Now, I have absolutely no idea what a PCB is/does, but from reading the website, it seems that it is a voltage cutoff for both charging and discharging. Can anyone shed some light on this? Would this mean I can use my regular smart charger?


Link to battery:
http://www.all-battery.com/li-ion186501 ... ion-1.aspx

[VogonFord]

Google-fu to the rescue.

http://www.all-battery.com/protectionci ... pcb1s.aspx

[Jester316]

Swing and a miss Vogon...

The battery I linked has a PCB built in, but I don't know if I need a special charger or what for it...

[VogonFord]

Ah, sorry. Just a regular LiPo capable charger will do. It's going to act the same as the LiPo alarms so it won't affect how a charger works besides stopping it from overcharging or overdischarging. The charger I've heard the best things about as far as ability along with price is this:
http://cheapbatterypacks.com/?apage=pro ... G3E0D9295C

[Beran]

why not just get a regular lipo battery? the price is about the same, and you can not even think about it and get a regular lipo charger.

[RiotingCows]

The chip protects the battery from losing to much power and getting to much.
Any Lipo charger should work as long as the charger is putting out the correct current for the PCB but even then PCB might just limit the current not cut it off. So it should still work.

[Chachi]

Jester, the PCB is essentially a LVC or Low Voltage Cutoff, with a few extra features included. Frankly, for a lipo in airsoft, I haven't worried about an LVC at all, because I barely use up the pack's capacity in a full day of shooting. Now, in RC, I absolutely use an LVC and won't go without one.

These guys above are mostly right about the charger.....yes, you have to have a lipo specific charger to charge a lipo pack. The one thing that they have missed is that you need to have a lipo charger that balances as well. In an 11.1v lipo pack, also referred to as a 3s pack, there are of course three cells in it. A balancing lipo charger will make sure that all three cells are equal in the amount of charging they receive. I have one and when I charge a 3s pack, I can actually watch the voltage being balanced via the digital display, and seeing each pack end up a 4.20v at the end of the charge.

Also, and FYI for you, the pack you linked to is out of stock. I personally don't have any experience with all-battery.com, but I have had great luck from Chris at www.cheapbatterypacks.com and Dan at www.truerc.com. Both do RC packs as well as airsoft packs. CBP is actually out of the Portland area too. If you need any help with lipos, I am more than happy to help, as I have been using them for some time in my RCs and also for airsoft. Plus, there are a couple other guys on here that are lipo-smart too that I am sure can chime in as well.

[Jester316]

The reason I was looking at that battery was because of it's price, and I thought I could use my current charger.


So, new question, what would be the cheapest 11.1v 1500+ mah battery I could find? Same qualifications for the charger (cheapest but functional). Ideally, I'd like to keep the total under $50 if possible.

[Pacman]

The reason I was looking at that battery was because of it's price, and I thought I could use my current charger.


So, new question, what would be the cheapest 11.1v 1500+ mah battery I could find? Same qualifications for the charger (cheapest but functional). Ideally, I'd like to keep the total under $50 if possible.

I bought this at Outlet:
http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=1650&category_id=64&keyword=lipo&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=28

I have an almost new one of these wired to dean's I would give you if you want (downgraded to 7.4 LiPo's):

http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=3213&category_id=164&keyword=buffer+lipo&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=28

[Nec]

Just interesting facts to note. And No, I've never used them before:

Those batteries are Li-ion. They're chemical makeup is slightly different than the usual Li-poly batteries. Li-ions are what Laptop and cell phones run off of.

You can cleary see the PCB that the battery has is sticking out like a "tumor" on top of the battery. If you plan to put this in a gun that is made for a stick type battery it may not fit because of PCB.

This is the PCB they use. Notice that it has overcharge and Over discharge voltage protection, Over current protection and Short circuit protection. That being said, it should guard against overcharging, under discharging (making sure the cells don't dip under 3.5v) and short circuiting which are 3 big things Li-poly batteries are all too well known to do.

Buy it and tell us all about it! I'm sure the first Li-poly purchase was as much as a mystery as this.

[Chachi]

I think $50 doesn't quite get you what you need, but it may be close. Really, a good quality charger is well worth it, but you can get that down the road. The one that Pacman linked to will work, and it does say it can balance, I just questioned the quality of it. I actually have that one too, but after hearing horror (Boom! Fire!) stories of not using a fair quality charger with lipos, I just use my RC charger.

So, let's do it this way.....

Does it matter for the configuration of the pack? Nunchuck? Stick? Dimensions? I can do some checking and see what I can find for you. Another option for you is www.hobbyking.com but you will have to add the connector of your choice. For some that is easy, for others it can be an explosion waiting to happen.

Also, another thing to factor in for making the change to lipos....You need a Lipo Sack for charging. Some will just use an ammo box, but really the lipo sack ensures that it contains the fire if the catastrophic failure happens. The lipo sack actually breathes or vents, whereas the ammo box can build pressue making it a bomb itself.

I guess I will summarize that to truly make the change to lipo, and to make it safely, you may need to up your budget some. Just my $.02.

[Nec]

I think $50 doesn't quite get you what you need, but it may be close. Really, a good quality charger is well worth it, but you can get that down the road. The one that Pacman linked to will work, and it does say it can balance, I just questioned the quality of it. I actually have that one too, but after hearing horror (Boom! Fire!) stories of not using a fair quality charger with lipos, I just use my RC charger.
safely, you may need to up your budget some. Just my $.02.

The Li-ion that Jester316 linked to does not have balancing tabs meaning he doesn't need a balancer. Li-ion in general do not have balancing tabs, thats a Li-poly thing. What I'm guessing and I beleive this to be true, The PCB balances the cells when you charge the battery.

[Chachi]

Well +1 for a Li-ion with a PCB, huh? Yeah, I missed that in the original link that the pack was a Li-ion, but he said he wanted to make the jump to lipo. My bad. In that case, I have no experience with Li-ion other than in my laptop and cell phone.

[Nec]

Well +1 for a Li-ion with a PCB, huh? Yeah, I missed that in the original link that the pack was a Li-ion, but he said he wanted to make the jump to lipo. My bad. In that case, I have no experience with Li-ion other than in my laptop and cell phone.

Actaully more like +2 for Li-ion because the PCB supposedly protects against Over discharge voltage , Over current and has a Short circuit protection.

[Chachi]

I hear you Nec, but I still prefer lipos, as they handle hard draws better than li-ion, but most of that comes from my RC background. In RC, the pull on the battery can be huge, and in airsoft it won't be quite as drastic.