Can somebody explain what is a "balance plug", and what is it used for ?
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On a typical LiPo battery, you see two sets of wires. The first set is the black and red, heavy gauge wires that have a variety of plugs on the end. This is the end that gets plugged into your plane's ESC leads and also to your charger. It is generally this lead that the juice comes in to charge up the battery.
The other set of wires ends up in that little white plug. There should be one wire for each cell plus one more for the positive (red). A 2 cell (or 2s) battery will have 3 wires, a 3s will have 4 wires and so on. This is the balance plug, which gets plugged into the balance port of your charger. It is through this port that each cell in a mult-cell LiPo is "balanced" or matched to all the other cells. IE, a cell that has higher voltage than the others will get some juice taken away from it and a cell that has lower voltage will get a bit pushed into it. The idea is that when the charging is finished, all cells in a LiPo battery should have more or less 4.2v/cell.
Some of the earlier generations of models that came with a battery and a charger will charge through the balance port. Eflite was one of those brands that sold little helicopters and little planes like this. It was a slow and tedious charging process.
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xviper XV.........Funny you bring up the subject of Eflite's balance port chargers from the earlier days.
When I first got back into RC, it was definitely off the wrong foot with a 500 Blade FB heli on 6S and the LiPo charger that came with it (and I still have) was the EFLC3120 which was a balance plug charger specifically for 6S LiPo's.
The only reason I wanted to make a mention about it is because of your comment about being a slow and tedious process on little heli and planes.
We'll my friend, the 6S unit was a time waiting nightmare from hell. A 3200 40C 6S was a good 12-15 hour process......…...UUUUUGGGHHHHHHHWarbird Charlie
HSD Skyraider FlightLine OV-10 FMS 1400: P-40B, P-51, F4U, F6F, T-28, P-40E, Pitts, 1700 F4U & F7F, FOX glider Freewing A-6, T-33, P-51 Dynam ME-262, Waco TF Giant P-47; ESM F7F-3 LX PBJ-1 EFL CZ T-28, C-150, 1500 P-51 & FW-190
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Originally posted by xviper View PostOn a typical LiPo battery, you see two sets of wires. The first set is the black and red, heavy gauge wires that have a variety of plugs on the end. This is the end that gets plugged into your plane's ESC leads and also to your charger. It is generally this lead that the juice comes in to charge up the battery.
The other set of wires ends up in that little white plug. There should be one wire for each cell plus one more for the positive (red). A 2 cell (or 2s) battery will have 3 wires, a 3s will have 4 wires and so on. This is the balance plug, which gets plugged into the balance port of your charger. It is through this port that each cell in a mult-cell LiPo is "balanced" or matched to all the other cells. IE, a cell that has higher voltage than the others will get some juice taken away from it and a cell that has lower voltage will get a bit pushed into it. The idea is that when the charging is finished, all cells in a LiPo battery should have more or less 4.2v/cell.
Some of the earlier generations of models that came with a battery and a charger will charge through the balance port. Eflite was one of those brands that sold little helicopters and little planes like this. It was a slow and tedious charging process.
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Originally posted by OV10 View PostWe'll my friend, the 6S unit was a time waiting nightmare from hell. A 3200 40C 6S was a good 12-15 hour process......…...UUUUUGGGHHHHHHH
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Originally posted by Cascabel View Post
Thanks for the info. So I gather that the term Balance Plugs only applies to LiPo batteries and chargers. Carry on.......
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Cascabel Balance plugs apply to any Lithium storage whether they be LiFe or LiPo and so onWarbird Charlie
HSD Skyraider FlightLine OV-10 FMS 1400: P-40B, P-51, F4U, F6F, T-28, P-40E, Pitts, 1700 F4U & F7F, FOX glider Freewing A-6, T-33, P-51 Dynam ME-262, Waco TF Giant P-47; ESM F7F-3 LX PBJ-1 EFL CZ T-28, C-150, 1500 P-51 & FW-190
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