The correct usage and maintenance methods for high-rate model aircraft lithium battery packs

Whether it's drones, special models, or flying toy planes, or high-performance brushless toy cars, they usually all use high-capacity lithium batteries. These batteries have some differences in usage compared to regular lithium batteries. Many people have some misunderstandings. Now, lithium battery manufacturers are going to explain the daily usage precautions for high-capacity power lithium batteries and how to correctly maintain this type of lithium batteries. We hope this can provide some reference for you.

Important points to note during use

1. Prohibition of over-discharge: When ordinary lithium batteries are used, over-discharge can cause damage to their capacity. For lithium batteries with higher discharge rates, the over-discharge reaction is even more intense. Over-discharge can cause high-discharge-rate lithium-ion batteries to bulge or be scrapped, and the capacity loss is also more severe than that of ordinary lithium batteries. Generally speaking, over-discharge is less likely to occur in model aircraft applications because when the battery power is exhausted, the performance of the aircraft is usually very obvious. However, in toy vehicle applications, it is very easy to over-discharge the batteries. Strictly speaking, when a toy car shows obvious insufficient power, it should be charged immediately. Whether in model aircraft or in brushless high-performance electric vehicles, when the single-cell voltage of the lithium battery is lower than 3.6V, it should be charged. Otherwise, there is a high possibility of over-discharge.

2. Strictly prohibit overcharging. Overcharging is very unlikely to occur on the matching dedicated chargers because the current charging technology has become increasingly precise and reasonable in detecting the full charge state of the battery. However, on some programmable chargers, if incorrect parameters are mistakenly set, overcharging can be easily detected. Additionally, when charging the battery, be cautious. Lithium batteries come in three specifications: 3.6V, 3.7V, and 3.85V. The charging parameters for 3.6V and 3.7V can be the same, but for the high-voltage 3.85V battery, special attention is required. When charging such high-voltage lithium batteries, the full charging voltage is 4.35V. If a conventional 4.2V battery is charged to 4.35V, the battery will be severely overcharged. For rate-type lithium batteries, abnormal reactions will become extremely fierce after overcharging, such as intense fires and explosions.

3. It is strictly prohibited to store fully charged batteries. The ultra-high-rate lithium batteries that are fully charged and stored can cause significant damage to the battery. Therefore, on the dedicated model aircraft battery chargers, there are reserved charging modes specifically for storage. In the storage mode, the charger stops charging the battery when it reaches around 3.85V. Theoretically, the battery's charge level at this point is around 30% to 45%. Any lithium battery (except iron batteries) in this range of charge level is in a state that is very suitable for long-term storage and will not cause excessive damage to the battery itself. If the model aircraft batteries are stored fully charged, they will usually develop a bulging phenomenon due to excessive internal ion activity after a certain period of time, and the capacity will be damaged. When the capacity damage reaches a certain extent, it will lead to an imbalance in the entire group of batteries. The conventional balance chargers on the market may not be able to repair such excessive imbalance. After a few charging and usage cycles, the battery will eventually fail due to severe imbalance. The entire group of batteries will be scrapped. However, the 1-4S active balance charger produced by Ruiding Electronics (see Figure 2) can solve this problem. The active balance charger can handle the charging and usage of batteries of any capacity and new or old batteries.

How to maintain lithium batteries for model aircraft

When completing the flight of the model aircraft, remove the battery from the model promptly. Do not keep the battery connected to the model for an extended period. This not only may cause damage to the model aircraft but also may lead to over-discharge of the lithium battery.

2. When the battery is no longer in use for a certain period of time, simply charge the battery to around 3.85V for storage. If the dedicated charger for the battery does not have the charging function of the storage mode, you can use the charger for lithium iron phosphate batteries to charge the battery. (Note: The full charge state of the lithium iron phosphate battery charger is close to the 30% charging mode voltage of the lithium-ion battery, and both types of batteries adopt the CC-CV charging method for stopping the charge. Therefore, the two chargers can be used interchangeably to meet some functions.)

3. When storing the power battery, it should be kept away from sharp metal objects. Place it in a well-ventilated and dry environment, and clean the stains and debris on the battery surface in advance.

4. When not in use, avoid having any metal objects in the socket position. For high-rate batteries, since they do not have the protective plates of regular lithium batteries for protection, short circuits can cause the battery to discharge instantly. Moreover, the instantaneous discharge current of these high-rate batteries is extremely powerful. When such batteries short circuit and discharge instantly, the damage is very severe.