I have an older lipo I haven't used for 2 weeks but it was charged the whole time. I know, I'm an idiot. My question is, I went to use this battery today and it seems worn out now, I lose power fast. Do you think this battery is toast or is it possible I just have to cycle it a handful of times? I've never worried about cycling my lipos, and other than a few things I've heard, I didn't think I had to. It's totally possible also that the lipo is just worn, I have about 200 flights on it and I'm sure leaving it charged for 2 weeks didn't help any.

200 cycles = probably worn out. Some of the best get 275'ish so buy another any do more of the same.
Rick

Cycling doesn't help lithium. That's for Nixx chemistries.
That one is toast. Discharge to zero and dispose.

mw

Cool thanks, that's what I figured, it's a Skylipo. The other Skylipo I had only lasted about 150 flights. I probably abused them both keeping them charged for too long sitting. But it was somewhat worth it to always have a charged batt while learning helis. I take care of my newer gensace's batts though now.

I've heard of some people breaking in new lipo packs with cycles, while most say it's not necessary, I have seen the power difference in a lipo after about 5 charges. I still don't cycle though.

The lifespan of a LiPo depends on time and number of cycles, among other things. They do improve after a couple of cycles, but cycling them, rather than simply flying them, is simply wasting some of their potential life, in my opinion.

If you got 150-200 cycles out of a Sky Lipo I would be very happy and call it done.

Thanks

Earlier today I started killing this battery with a headlamp setup. It's a 11.1v 2200mah btw. It basically took it down to 0v the first time but rebound to 3.33v. Didn't puff, only got slightly warm. I put it on the headlamp for a while longer and after it was 0v but it's still rebounding slowly. I've done a discharge with a 1s before no problem, soldered the leads afterwards (no spark). Is this 3s battery ready to do the same and dispose? Any advice? I'm not a fan of messing with lipos but want to safe it off.

Also I have another one that's 1000mah that's puffed pretty bad, and I seem to get unreliable readings from the balance plug. Should I try to discharge it? The discharge would be about 2c from the same setup as I used on the 2200mah batt, is this correct? Would that be safe?

Some of the best get 275'ish so buy another any do more of the same.

Originally Posted by malonkevio

Some of the best get 275'ish so buy another any do more of the same.

I hear an echo - is there a problem with my computer?