How do you folks monitor your LiPos during a run?

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hpicelery

hpicelery

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When you're running the electric beast, how do you decide when it's time to change packs? Do you just time your runs? Have you got some kind of on-board monitor, or some fancy telemetry? Do you just run until the low voltage cutoff triggers?

I've got a little onboard voltage monitor that I use for the XS, but I haven't found a good solution for the converted Savage 25 yet. I want to know what you use!
 
@hpicelery if I'm running my Stampede 4x4 I have the Castle Creations ESC programmed to shut down at a certain voltage, 3.5v. If I'm running a nitro truck and want to monitor my LiPo or LiFe receiver pack I will use a LiPo Voltage Checker.
 
I just run till the low voltage cut off kicks in think I have mine set for 3.4v.

For my nitro I have something similar but I need to do something different I don't want it cutting out whole I'm in wide open throttle very bad...lol. looking at one of those nitro cut off switches.
 
I'm using the thing Jelle318 mentioned on my XS, with the LVC set at 3.5 as a backup. I also have the LVC set at 3.5 on the Mamba Monster 2, which is as high as it can go. I just don't like the fact that if I run it to the point where the LVC trips, the 7500 mAh batteries will take almost that much to recharge. I'm aiming to follow the 80% rule of thumb by only using about 6000 mAh out of the pack, and I was looking for a way to see when I'm around that point. I'll probably get another one of those little monitors and make some kind of wiring harness so that I can hook up both packs to it on the truck.
 
I don't use a lipoalarm on my Flux, just run till the LiPo cutoff activates.

But if you need a LiPo-alarm, you don't have to buy the Integy for 9$. Just search LiPo alarm on ebay, and you find a bunch of them ( same as Integy ) for around $1 each With free international shipping. I have several of them...
 
As of now I've got one Integy one, a $4 Amazon knockoff, and the $1 International Special.

Both the Integy and the $4 one read identically and agree pretty well with my fancy multimeter. Both of the $1 specials read about 0.25V low on cell 1 and 0.15V high on cell 2. They also took an age to arrive, but that's to be expected.
 
After doing some more fiddling with the Castle Link software I discovered that I can just set a custom LVC voltage. This eliminates the ability to switch cell counts on the fly, but it does allow me to pick whatever per-cell voltage I want for a single cell count. I only run 4S, so this should work fine.

The highest voltage setting available for Auto LiPo cutoff is 3.5V/cell. If I want to stop at 3.55V/cell, I can just set the custom voltage to 14.2V.
 
On my Castle system, I use the 3.5v auto cutoff. That way you can change cell count on the fly. I'm sure someone will correct me if wrong, but I highly doubt .05v makes that big a difference.
 
You're right @Rooky, I was just giving an example. I don't mind losing the ability to change cell count for two reasons: The change isn't permanent, and I only own 2S battery packs.
 
I may put a little sticker inside the battery trays that says "2S ONLY" or something like that, just in case.
 
hpicelery said:
I'm using the thing Jelle318 mentioned on my XS, with the LVC set at 3.5 as a backup. I also have the LVC set at 3.5 on the Mamba Monster 2, which is as high as it can go. I just don't like the fact that if I run it to the point where the LVC trips, the 7500 mAh batteries will take almost that much to recharge. I'm aiming to follow the 80% rule of thumb by only using about 6000 mAh out of the pack, and I was looking for a way to see when I'm around that point. I'll probably get another one of those little monitors and make some kind of wiring harness so that I can hook up both packs to it on the truck.
Click to expand...

what brand are you using for your 7500mah LiPo?
where did you buy it ?
 
Turnigy NanoTech Ultimate. I got them from hobby king.
 
I set the lvc on the esc. If it's a new setup I'll add a LiPo alarm to verify. After that I trust the lvc. So far castle, orion, hobbywing, tekin, and venom have all performed good enough to prevent puffed packs.
 
JayOhh said:
I don't use a lipoalarm on my Flux, just run till the LiPo cutoff activates.

But if you need a LiPo-alarm, you don't have to buy the Integy for 9$. Just search LiPo alarm on ebay, and you find a bunch of them ( same as Integy ) for around $1 each With free international shipping. I have several of them...
Click to expand...

What flux are you running? Is there a default cutoff on the esc? I'm having a hell of a time trying to get a programmer for my XS with the emh-s3 esc. Heard it was a rebranded hobbywing, but idk if I'm smart enough to work the programmer.
 
I have the older XS Flux with the Castle ESC. My Castle Link works on it. The Castle's default cutoff is 3.2V, but I adjusted it up to 3.5V.

Looking at the manual for the EMH-3S, it looks like its default cutoff is also 3.2V. It appears that it can only be adjusted up to 3.4V.
 
hpicelery said:
I have the older XS Flux with the Castle ESC. My Castle Link works on it. The Castle's default cutoff is 3.2V, but I adjusted it up to 3.5V.

Looking at the manual for the EMH-3S, it looks like its default cutoff is also 3.2V. It appears that it can only be adjusted up to 3.4V.
Click to expand...

Thanks. My manual has the instructions for the castle esc, so it's of no use. As long as it's enable by default I won't worry about it. I also have a voltage warning device from Venom that alarms at 3.3. Anyone want to buy the castle link or hobbywing esc programmer?
 
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