[Taqrin]

Just wondering what the different charging times were for lipos....how long does it take to charge the different size cells....would I be better off getting 2 smaller packs, splitting up the charge and run times, or would getting one big pack last longer, but take more time to charge? Can anyone give me an idea as to the charging times for different size packs? Thanks.

[rustler_guy]

For my 5,000 mah cells I charge at 1C (5 amps) and they take about an hour and 10 minutes to charge and finish balancing if I run them right down to the LVC.

My 4,000 cells take about the same to charge and balance at 1C (4 amps).

Personally, I would take a higher capacity battery over 2 smaller ones, but it has nothing to do with runtimes (that's just a bonus). Assuming equivalent ratings (say 20C for instance) a 2000mah battery will do 40 amps continuous, where as a 4000mah battery will do 80 amps. Of course, it all depends on the application.

PS - Generally speaking, lipos are rated to be charged at 1C (1 times capacity, so 5 amps for a 5 amp-hour battery aka 5,000 mah). In most cases, it'll take an hour and a bit to charge and balance, unless you can get LiPos rated to be charged at 2C or better which could cut the charge time in half if your charger can put out the amperage.

[imported_Portyansky]

Its better to get a higher capacity. Ill explain why... Lets say you have a 4000mah pack, you can safely charge this pack at 1c (4amps) and lets say you have a 5000mah pack and you can safely charge this pack at 1c (5amps). lets say you use 2000mah after a 5minute run. B/c you can charge the 5000mah pack at 5amps, it will take a little faster to charge it vs. the 4000mah pack that you can charge at 4amps.
These numbers are not in stone, but i hpoe you see my point.
Also, if the "c" rating is the same for both packs the 5000mah pack will have a higher amperage rating.

[imported_Aqwut]

If charging at (1C) it will take about an hour for "ANY" Capacity whether 2000mah or 10000mah...

(1C) - about an hour
(2C) - about half an hour
(4C) - about 15 Minutes
(5C) - about 12 Minutes...

Most lipos now is able to charge at 2C, but if you want your lipos to last long, charge to 95% capacity... Some of the newer lipos can be charged At (5C).. but 1C is always safe to charge... it's not a good idea to slow charge a lipo...

But make sure you know the maximum wattage your charger is able to put out.. Most good chargers is able to put out 150+ watts..
eg.. 2S pack charging at 10 Amps.. will take about... (7.4V * 10) 74 Watts... 4S @ 10 Amps (14.8V * 10) 148 Watts... hope this helps ya...

[imported_superfly]

Also to add to the above posts the weight of the larger capacity Lipo will be higher and if youre planning on racing off road this will most likely help you. I've tried the 3000 Maxamps lipos and they were seriously too light and since you have to run all the lead to get the car to handle anyway you might as well run the larger pack. Also I had trouble on carpet with the 3000 lipo not being able to push out enough amperage during hard acceleration. I run 5000's now and would not get anything smaller than that. Good amperage and run time and heavy enough to only need small amounts of lead.

All my packs are 20C Lipos but now you can get 30C or higher...I'd go for the bigger C if money wasnt the issue. 20C is still good for most off road racing though...The punch on the 5000 was much better than the 3000 all things being equal. I'm betting that these 30C or 40C lipos would be awesome.

[thrash metal]

dave you are right when you say the higher c rated lipos are excellent .

i have several 2s 40c 5000 thunder power lipos and they really pack a punch in my e-revo brushless and my sc10 .

when it comes to charging them i charge these batteries at 5amps.

i follow the rule of 1 amp per 1000mah when charging and balancing my lipos