Been flying all nitros since I have been into RC. I have a TREX 600N and wanted something something a bit smaller. Picked up a Protos and since I am new to electric power a few questions have come up. 1) How do I break in batteries? 2) As far as Chargers what should I get. I am going to pick up a couple of 6s 2600 65c voltz packs, and at $98 a piece I want to make sure I treat them right. I have a turnigy charger that charges 4 batteries at a time and I have had good luck with it so far on my reciever batteries. Thanks in advance

Proper break-in to burn off MFGs storage chemicals is 5 cycles of mild discharge to 50% capacity. This means you want to gently hover the packs for about 3-4 mins and put back roughtly 1300mah.

The Thunderpower 1010C is a great charger and the accompanying balancer is good to .001 of a Volt. You can find them used in the classifieds for around $100 for the pair. Their 610C would also fit the bill (has built-in balancer), but would leave you little room for expansion. You'd also need a 12V supply using these chargers. If you wanted to charge 4 of those packs at a time, you would need at least a 25A supply. Feathermerchantrc has converted PC supplies that are rated to 47A for under $50 shipped. That would allow you to charge them up to 2C!

All I know is that if you only run them down 50% to 60% and never more then 80% they will last a long time. On first few cycles u can ruin batt if run down too far. dave

I'm sure if you stick to the 80/20 rule you will be fine. Especially with the decreasing costs of batteries, it really doesn't matter because you will get a fixed amount of "good" flights out of it.

Regardless, just stick to the manufacturers suggestion on break-in. I'm sure they have one.

Team JR | Gens Ace | YS Engines | Scorpion Motors | Pure Tech

Oh, sorry... I just read that you will be getting Voltz.

They recommend that you go ahead and start flying normally, as you do, even with the initial flight. JUST DON'T DISCHARGE BEYOND 80%.

Team JR | Gens Ace | YS Engines | Scorpion Motors | Pure Tech

To my knowledge lipo batteries have a chemical additive for increased shelf life. This chemical needs to be dissipated prior to active use. To dissipate this chemical you provide gentle breakin flights. I personally just spool it up on the ground in normal mode for a couple of minutes then on the next cycle I hover for a couple of minutes in normal mode third cycle I hover in idle one and fourth cycle I hover in idle two never using more than 50% of the mah of the pack. This is my personal breaking method for all flight packs.

Dude, you'll be much happier with these lipos. Trust me. I've been using the same set of 20c lipos in my Protos for two years with great results. This ship DOES NOT NEED 65C LIPOS!!! Spare youself some money and the extra weight.

I use FMA PL8's to charge. I can parallel charge all six of my Protos lipos in about fifteen minutes.

For break-in, I usually hover down to 50% increasing to 70% over four to six flights and then ramp up to full tilt over another four to six flights. What others have said about the chemical preservative is true to my knowledge.

... it really doesn't matter because you will get a fixed amount of "good" flights out of it.

No offense but, this is not acurate. I've spent many thousands of dollars on countless lipos by various manufacturers. There are many factors that contibute to overall cyclelife of a lithium polymer battery; break-in, average and peaks amp draw, depth of discharge, charge rates, charge temperatures, storage temperatures and voltage, ambient temperatures, etcetera. By some accounts lipos will deteriorate steadily whether they are cycled or not. My experience has certainly been that I get more cycles by using the crap out of them. The term use it or lose it applies. Treat them right and they will serve you well.

Terrabit,

You quoted me out of context.

Sure you can take into account the factors you mentioned. However, my point here is that batteries are becoming cheaper. By that I mean cheaper in cost and in quality. As long as you stick with the 80/20 rule, you will receive a fixed number of "good" cycles in return; whether that be 50 or 100 cycles - depends on the battery.

When you try to extend the life of the battery by initial break-ins, you "might" get a few extra good cycles out of the battery. It's marginal. Not even worth it.

Anyway... you don't have to take my word for it. I haven't spent thousands of dollars to figure this out. It's not rocket science. I say this 99% of the time!

Team JR | Gens Ace | YS Engines | Scorpion Motors | Pure Tech

Those Gens Ace batteries are awesome! I have them in my 450, and WOW! Incredible.

HeliDirect Field Rep, Synergy N7 w/ OS 105, Torq Servos, Cyclone/ Rail blades

It's not a big deal. I just go with what works for me. But I have logged thousands of flights with 2 to 12s lipos from Flight Power, Thunder Power, Hyperion, Outrage, Turnigy, and now Gens Ace. I've killed lipos in ten flights and had others reach a near a couple hundred. This is an expensive hobby and my budget for it has been shrinking for a while. So, I try to make the best of what I still have to work with.

Having studied statistics, I love it when people talk probabilities. 99.9% of the time they have no idea what they're talking about.

Hey Robv wingman 77 has over 350 logged cycles here on runryder on a 4s 2200 lipo from SpyderBatteries with no discernable difference in power. Oh and they are cheap. Check out the data it is posted.

99.9% of the time they have no idea what they're talking about.

LOL

I think this went over a lot of peoples heads

Screw It, I'm gonna fly
Synergy E5, E5s and Logo 800 xxtreme
vControl and Neo

What do they do with the remaining 10%

I think you only need to carefully break-in expensive batteries. If they're cheap, just fly the heck out of them. The useful life of each will probably be the same, ironically.

Dude, you'll be much happier with these lipos. Trust me. I've been using the same set of 20c lipos in my Protos for two years with great results. This ship DOES NOT NEED 65C LIPOS!!! Spare youself some money and the extra weight

OK My understanding is that you get better performance from the higher discharge batteries. If I can save a few bucks and can still get good performance I am all for it.

OK My understanding is that you get better performance from the higher discharge batteries.

That's not necessarily true. If your power system will only pull 30c then you will probably not see much benefit from a 65c lipo. And, you'll undoubtedly save weight with a 30c lipo which will result in lighter disc loading and longer flight times. This is not "my" theory. It has been confirmed by other users here on RR, HF and elsewhere. In my opinion, putting 65c lipos in a Protos would be tantamount to putting HV 8717's in the same heli. It's just not necessary.

Why can't lipo manufacturers tell us the correct way to break in packs .

I done tests where I break in one pack very carefully and the other fly pretty much as normal from day one. Results are both packs are still flying the same way..

Ive never noticed a difference between breaking them in or not ive tried both with exspensive and cheap packs I do notice after 4-5 flights they seem to come to life more

That's not necessarily true. If your power system will only pull 30c then you will probably not see much benefit from a 65c lipo. And, you'll undoubtedly save weight with a 30c lipo which will result in lighter disc loading and longer flight times. This is not "my" theory. It has been confirmed by other users here on RR, HF and elsewhere. In my opinion, putting 65c lipos in a Protos would be tantamount to putting HV 8717's in the same heli. It's just not necessary

Ok based on that I am going to give them a shot. I can get two for less than one of the others. I also found a Thunderpower 1010c and balancer for a very reasonable price. I should be able to report back in a week or so when everything gets here and let everyone know how it went. Thanks for all the advice.