Air Land Sea Hobbies

MCX type batteries are the single cell 3.7V lithium Polymer Batteries used in so many of the Indoor Airplanes. The Tenergy 3.7V 130mAh battery found at AirLandSeaHobbies.com is a MCX type battery. Being a single cell battery they do not have a balancing lead commonly found on most lipo batteries. The single cell battery does still require a balancing type charger that stops charging the battery at 4.2V. When the batteries charged voltage reaches 4.2V they are fully charged and all charging should stop. Most chargers I have seen and used are set up to charge one battery at a time.

To fully enjoy indoor flying I find I need more than one battery so I looked for a charger that would charge multiple batteries at once.  I found a Tenergy Double charger at AirLandSeaHobbies.com that has worked well for my purpose. this charger charges two batteries at once and does so independently on one another so a weaker battery doesn’t get unsafely over charged. This charger has been very easy to use, just plug it into a wall outlet and connect 1 or 2 batteries, when the indicator diode turns green, the battery is charged and ready for use.

Indoor electric airplanes seem to be on of the fastest growing aspect of the RC Hobby. Batteries for the electric indoor airplanes need to be small, light weight while still having enough capacity to allow for several minutes of flight.

While researching for replacement batteries I found the Tenergy single cell battery at AirLandSeaHobbies.com. These batteries have worked well for all my single cell needs. The Tenergy batteries have a 10C  130mAh capacity and they are the same physical size as other MCX batteries. Most of the stock OEM batteries I have used are either 70mAh or 100mAh capacity. The Tenergy battery have allowed me to enjoy longer flight times and that usually works out to more fun. I think you will find these batteries to be a very good value, I did.

There are many different Lipo Battery Chargers on the market. Some of these chargers balance and charge threw the balancer lead. When charging below 1.5A (1500mA), it is OK to charge through just the balancer leads. When charging over 1.5A, it is recommended to charge through the main battery leads, and balance through the balance connector. This is because the balancer leads and associated wires are too small to handle higher charge currents and may cause erroneous balancer operation due to potential voltage drop. 

Read all the instructions that are included with your lipo battery charger. If you charger is set up to charge and balance threw the balancer lead both your charger and lipo batteries will perform best if you limit your charge current for large lipos to a maximum of 1.5A.

The C ratting of Lithium Polymer Batteries  (Lipo Batteries)can be confusing at first. People often ask what is the difference of a 8C, 12C, 15C, 20C, 25C, 30C battery?  The “C” rating is the rate that power can be safely draw from a battery or used. The number before the C is the multiple that is used in figuring this rate.

Lets use a common battery from AirLandSeaHobbies.com as an example. The battery is their 11.1V 15C 2200mAh lithium polymer battery pack. According to there website this lipo battery pack has a 15C continuous rating with a burst rating of 25C. To calculate what the actual continual power drain the pack is designed for, you multiply the C rating times the batteries mAh rating. One example of this is 15 times 2200 mAh, being 2200 mAh equals 2.2 amps it is easiest to substitute the 2.2 for the 2200.  What this means is that the battery is designed to deliver 33 Amps (15 x .2.2 amps )of continuous power with bursts of up to 55 Amps. (25 x 2.2 amps). 

You can quickly figure the safe Amperage of any Lipo Battery pack knowing what the C rating and mAh rating is.

Lipo Batteries are a great source of power for everything in the Electric RC Hobby. The question occasionally comes up about Trickle-charging Lithium Polymer Batteries. There are many good reasons it is not a good idea. First it is unsafe to charge any lipo battery unattended, to trickle-charge you would most likely have to charge it over night or for some extended period of time. Trickle charging then violates the first rule of safety in charging lipos, NEVER LEAVE THEM UNATTENDED while charging. Something could happen to the battery causing it to vent and Catch fire. it could be as simple as a household pet knocking the battery off a shelf or knocking something onto the battery. To safely charge lipos you need to be able to monitor the charge so you know they are progressing properly.

Some of the other problem are that most of the chargers that are marketed for lipos are not set up to trickle charge. Lipos can and should be charged at up to 1c most chargers have an automatic time cut off to protect from over charging. It is always best for safety, the batteries life and capacity to charge them with a balance charger.

Never try to trickle charge a lithium polymer battery, it just goes against all the known safe charging principles of lipos

Not everyone lives in a climate that is convenient for everyday flying. Some need to store their Lipo batteries for different periods of time. The safest way to store lipos is in there specific original state. They are classified by types: 3.75V Lilo, 3.85V LiPo and 3.3V LiFe.

The Battery charger that I got from AirLandSeaHobbies.com has a Storage program built into its operating system. The safest way to store LiPo is to bring them to their storage voltage. With the automatic charge-discharge function of the charger, it will either charge the battery if it is under voltage or it will discharge the battery to bring it down to it’s specific original state.

For the longest life and safest state of storage, always use the Storage Mode of your charger with all your LiPos.

Ancient people may have had batteries. During the summer of 1936 railway laborers uncovered an ancient tomb outside of Baghdad. The tomb contained relics from the Parthian Empire. The Parthians lived between 190 BC and 224 AD. They were an illiterate and nomadic tribe that just may have invented the first battery.

A sealed jar was found in the tomb. An iron rod surrounded by a cylindrical copper-wrapped tube protruded from the center of the jar. The jar stood 15-centimeters tall, and was 12 centimeters in length. Archaeologists believe the jars contents to be the oldest battery in the world.

When replicated, filled with acidic liquid like vinegar, and tested the “battery” showed it could produce between 1.5 to 2 volts.

The modern day battery has been around for decades, and since 1996 lithium polymer batteries (better known as rechargeable batteries) have offered Americans convenience. The Parthians’ battery may have not resembled its modern day cousin, but it served its purpose.