lipo discharge

[FlybyPDX]

I am cycling my 3 cell lipo on my charger. Is it OK to discharge at .5 amps to 9 volts then charge up again?

[jeffs555]

Shouldn't hurt any more than normal discharge during use, but why are you cycling them? Every cycle reduces the life of the cells. They are not like NiCads, and cycling is not necessary to maintain performance.

[FlybyPDX]

Shouldn't hurt any more than normal discharge during use, but why are you cycling them? Every cycle reduces the life of the cells. They are not like NiCads, and cycling is not necessary to maintain performance.


cycling every once in a while is good for them

[jeffs555]

cycling every once in a while is good for them
Don't know where you read that but it is not true. Every cycle reduces the life of the cells.

[FlybyPDX]

Don't know where you read that but it is not true. Every cycle reduces the life of the cells.

it is true.

People say that lipos have "no memory" but that is simply untrue. They can form memory over time that will degrade the quality of power.

[FlybyPDX]

I cycle my lipos every 50 or 75 charges.

[pilotpete2]

Not true, they should only be cycled if there is a question as to there capacity.
Even if you were talking Nicds here, memory is a non-issue in situations where you are powering a model and deep discharging them on every flight.
If you slow discharge a Lipo to 3Vpc, you're abusing them.
Pete

[Zlatko]

FlybyPDX,

Cycling is really of no use.

If you want to bring your LiPo up to specs again it is best to "balance" them.
ie. make sure the all 3 cells are within a few mV of each other when fully charged.

Cheers