Hi Dave, after some 'electronic digging' I'm pretty sure you are right and the Conrad Energy range of batts are probably made in Shenzen China by 'Better Power'. What isn't Made in China these days 😲
😎

BTW: capacity in 'Ma'? Tut tut! 😉

Still P-ing down here and likely to do so until Monday 🤔
I'm not expecting more than 20A for my Sea Scout and probably max 2 x 10A for Hotspur, U25 and Southampton. Graf Spee and Belfast are trickier as they have 3 and 4 motors respectively! All the 'tiddlers' will be much less.
Will shortly be doing some testing with the watt-meter.
Have a few 30 and 60A ESCs in reserve😉
Now about to check out my German (?) LiPos, from Absima in Nuremberg, just up the road here.
Cheers Doug 😎

Hi Doug
Yes confusion abounds and any help is welcome.
The battery is marked 4000Ma, the 8amp relates to the max charge current. I suspect these are of Chinese origin and the info has been corrupted in the translation. The 30C relates to the discharge capability (30xC) C standing for capacity, in this case 4000Ma.
As they quote 8amp charge current then you might assume the battery will stand charging at 2x capacity, then again this may be down to translation problems.
I don't use to the full capacity, my biggest current draw is from my Sea Queen a full speed drawing about 27 amps on a 2200 Ma 20C 11.1v LiPo.
I am aware however that we have several speed merchants amongst our membership and its important that they understand. We have both helped where ESC's/Motors etc have got hot or cooked so I'm quite sure the info needs to be understood and explained, possible more than once.
Good point about the charging bags and preferable outside the house in a non flammable area.
I did jump but only to clarify.
Beautiful sunny day in Sandbach, Cheshire, no doubt it will be wet tomorrow, a sailing day
Dave

Hi Dave, Thanks 😊
Have to admit that I also found the markings confusing! 🤔
But 120 or 240 A is irrelevant to me anyway as I'm unlikely to demand more than 10 or 20A from them. The rating was 8A by the way, which x30 gives the 240! Agree, it don't make sense. Am now rechecking the markings on all my other LiPos 😉
Racing batteries; agreed but not my thing, I'm a scale man.
Overnight charging; I'm a 'night owl' 😉 but agree re Lixx. I also charge in a 'LiPo safe bag or box!
My chargers have the same facilities, essential for Lixx care. I can also set a maximum time limit for any type of battery.
Hope we've managed to clear up some confusion.
Cheers Doug 😎
PS You didn't jump!!! 😉

Hi Doug
I am impressed. There are also LiFe batteries around and are somewhat safer for Tx/Rx use, but require the same care as all Lixx batteries.
I am confused by the CONRAD battery rated at 4amp and 30C. I would say this suggests a 120A max burst current. I can't see 60C marked on the battery. it may well be capable of being charged at 2C ie 8amps but like you I would never consider charging at this rate.
The higher power and performance batteries are capable of taking higher charges and will withstand the heavy discharges demanded by those who race fast models. However such batteries are for the serious racers and do not come cheap.

I do have one concern and that is your mention of overnight charging. I agree this may be OK for NiCad, NiMh and SLA's but LiXX batteries should never be left on charge unattended and certainly not overnight.

My chargers have settings for Lixx batteries that adjust the charge current for the voltage and capacity and automatically give a varied charge current until the battery capacity is achieved, balancing the cells at the same time.

Dave

Dear All - thank you for the advice. All clear now. Really appreciate your time. 👍👍👍

Hi Both (and all other non-technical guys here!) (Dave_M please jump to the next post or topic!😉)
To avoid further confusion amongst the non-technical members can we perhaps straighten out the technical terms involved in battery charging and use (strictly speaking the dimensions or quantities involved).
mAh (milli-amphour) is a measure of the capacity of a battery: how many 1/1000 of an ampere (A) it can theoretically deliver in one hour, if in perfect fully charged condition and under perfect environmental conditions. (What you ain't never gonna get!) When the outside temperature drops so does the usable capacity 🤔
Charge and discharge rates are measured in ampere (A). under 1A the milliamp (1A/1000, unit mA) is usually used for convenience.
Quality battery packs are marked on the case with maximum charge and discharge rates in A. Sometimes marked as xC/yC. xC is the MAX charge rate and means x times the nominal capacity/1000. yC is the MAX discharge rate (i.e. what your motors want) and often means y times the nominal capacity/1000. Sometimes the max discharge rate is given as a multiple of the max charge rate. See example in my photo. These are MAXIMUM warnings and NOT to be taken as the norm!
See example in pic.
Capacity 4000mAh = 4Ah,
MAX charging current is 8A =2C, (4000/1000)x2. Half an hour gives then 8/2=4Ah. I would never ever charge at anywhere near this rate!
Charging at 500mA (0.5A) for 8 hours (0.5Ax8h=4Ah) overnight is perfectly adequate and much more gentle on the cells i.e. longer life 😉
MAX discharge current is 240A = 30 times max charge current or 60 times capacity in Ah.(4).
If I used it at this rate it would probably be irreparably damaged (toasted) in just under a minute (0.9999r) 😡
If any Lixx pack gets HOT while charging or in use take it to recycling pronto, before it sets fire to your boat or workshop/house😡
ALWAYS MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOUR CHARGER IS SET FOR THE TYPE OF PACK YOU ARE USING, NicAD, NiMh, LiPo OR LiION etc (don't forget the balancer connection!).
Sorry for teaching some 'grandmas' to suck eggs but having seen so many questions about battery charging and much misuse of the parameter units for batteries in the responses (as above) I felt it was time to clarify things for the non-technical among us, for their own safety and the health of their wallets!
Cheers Doug 😎

Hi Baggie, what Doug has said, never charge above 1 amp if you want any length of life from your batteries. With Southampton have you changed the standard battery? if not charge as slow as you can, 500mah. if you changed to sub c cells (buggy pack) 1ah will be all you need, takes about 2 hours to charge a pack from flat ish. Dont discharge your pack to flat, it will damage the cells quickly

Hi Baggie, What type are they? NiCad, NiMh or LiPo?
If they are LiPos and they are getting very hot disconnect them IMMEDIATELY and take them to a recycling centre!
If they are Nixx and getting hot (warm is allowed) reduce the charge current to the minimum! Take account of the 'Fast charge rate (Amps) specified by the manufacturer. Personally I would not use 3.5 or 5 Amps for anything except lead acid.

Note how long the battery lasts in use. if it seems to be getting shorter than it used to be then probably at least one cell has a high internal resistance and it's days are numbered. it will only get worse.
Use an appropriate charger for each type, and that 'knows' when to stop charging! Most modern units can be switched to appropriate programmes.
Cheers Doug 😎