Battery questions????

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Mick Mars

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Ran my dbxle 2.0 this morning. Some concern with battery puffing....I understand the chemical reaction and so forth but .....These are not a (hard) case but soft unlike my Traxas batteries. Not used to seeing this much distortion after running. It is hot out but could touch esc,motor and batteries. Any ideas as to if they are OK much appreciated!!! Luv this buggy but should of went 2stroke....

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I've ran a fair number of SMC in my helis and mostly my 1/8 Truggy and MT's and they are the best in the business IMO. Expensive but well worth it.

The puffing is no big right after a run and that much would be ok with me. My concern is the cell voltage variance between cells so Dirty30J is correct. What happened to the pack with the front end damage? Did it get tossed out of the RC at some point?

Small tips:
I # all my packs because i am a forgetful ding dong and need all the help keep track of them. I had to look at the pics a few times to see which one was being tested.
I run Gorilla tape the length of the pack where it is next to the chassis
I run a strip of the loop part (Fuzzy piece) of velcro on the bottom of the battery tray for a little cushion. It also helps along with the Gorilla Tape to keep dirt from rubbing the bottom of the pack.
 
Thank you guys for input.No crash damage, was rubbing on steering post but new trays have fixed that. Both were being checked, one 13+volts other one12+ volts,all cells 3.17 to 3.44.I think both are fine and will mark and check as recommended. One always takes longer to charge, 10-15 minutes longer which is a bit of confusion also, but traxxas battery's do too.
 
Alright, put storage charge on batteries which is standard for me. Everything looks balanced and good. Think I am ok.Again thank you all for opinions and insights!!!

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Yes it's at a medium setting now but can be lowered. Buggy usually starts to run slower then I shut it down, let batteries cool then do storage charge. Usually a week between runs....
 
Mick Mars said:
Yes it's at a medium setting now but can be lowered. Buggy usually starts to run slower then I shut it down, let batteries cool then do storage charge. Usually a week between runs....
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I think you’d go the other way - make the setting higher. You want it to cut off at a higher voltage.
 
Just ran buggy. Very happy with Vitavon upgrades,20 minutes run time.Mostly low speed, few bursts, couple donuts,no extended full throttle running. 3to4 seconds full throttle maximum. Batteries still slightly deformed, very warm but handle able. Checking voltage immediately and found 1 cell in each battery 0 volts,rest 3.something.Charger wouldn't give individual resistance per cell just total.6 on one battery 7 on the other. Last time I ran it let batteries cool and it gave me individual cell resistance of 1 after storage charge.I think I killed these and looking into new .Any suggestions appreciated. Using Vitavon battery trays so size not issue,motor,esc,and gearing all stock.Running pro line badlands for tires. Thank you everyone!!!!!
 
Mick Mars said:
Just ran buggy. Very happy with Vitavon upgrades,20 minutes run time.Mostly low speed, few bursts, couple donuts,no extended full throttle running. 3to4 seconds full throttle maximum. Batteries still slightly deformed, very warm but handle able. Checking voltage immediately and found 1 cell in each battery 0 volts,rest 3.something.Charger wouldn't give individual resistance per cell just total.6 on one battery 7 on the other. Last time I ran it let batteries cool and it gave me individual cell resistance of 1 after storage charge.I think I killed these and looking into new .Any suggestions appreciated. Using Vitavon battery trays so size not issue,motor,esc,and gearing all stock.Running pro line badlands for tires. Thank you everyone!!!!!
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One of the cells was at zero?? That’s no good. How old are these batteries again?
 
Maybe 10 to 15 runs,year and a few months.Let them set overnight and all cells show 3.14 and up .Doing storage charge right now. One battery shows 1 ohm between cells other one shows 1 to 3 between cells. Beginning to wonder about charger.Hobby shop gave me what I wanted.....didn't realize batteries didn't fit trays so everything sat for a month before Vitavon battery trays arrived. Couple runs,blew diff,sat,broke axle,sat ......everything fixed so only got 3 full good runs on buggy and batteries. Have always kept storage charge on them. I don't know, my traxxas xmax stuff 4 years old and still working great. Really like this buggy but seriously thinking about selling and getting 2 stroke buggy......
 
I have that happening to two of my 4S batteries; one cell is sagging. However, it does charge back up to storage charge, but it can take a little while for it to get there. At the same time, it can take a bit longer to get all cells to 4.20, but it does.

I'll keep pushing it until it fails, but for months, it has charged and stored balance. I take good care of my batteries.

More than likely I am the issue since I set LVC in the ESC to 3.4v I want more run time but it is a risk I have accepted that at the end of a bash a cell could drop way too low.
 
Just finished reading SMC battery company info, very informative. It is as you stated basically the nature of lipo battery. After reading l believe my batteries ok but need close attention. Switching packs each run is big because when you think about it 1 pack is getting twice the energy ran through it. Put a big A and B on them and got note pad to keep track of which battery tray they are in. Simple but important....Watched a guy nuke a pac in his buggy on utube today,kinda made me think about the dangers of our hobby.
 
Mick Mars said:
Switching packs each run is big because when you think about it 1 pack is getting twice the energy ran through it. Put a big A and B on them and got note pad to keep track of which battery tray they are in. Simple but important
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I’ve never heard about this. SMC has the info posted somewhere?

Are you using the stock power system? What gearing?
 
Stock motor ,gears,etc. SMC website, just Google SMC. The batteries will actually flatten back out after they cool down.Have a thin pad with 3 straps for width and 1 strap for length. Vitavon trays because these batteries are too long for stock trays,carbon fiber. Might add two ends on each tray ,very secure but if I could PRINT a new set I would......
 
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