Thev truth regarding LiPo battery voltage checkers

[Traveling Man]

I have read so many conflicting opinions on the worth of otherwise of these checking meters. I see a few also have servo testers which seems a good idea. As a complete newbie to RC Flying, with so much to learn I would love to hear from more experienced flyers. For those that think they are not worth it, how do you ensure your batteries are up to doing a fault free flight. For those that like them, can you be sure they are accurate?

Cheers.

[xviper]

A voltage checker can be had for less than 5 bucks. A good one, maybe less than 10 bucks. Whenever I buy something from RC Castle, I get a free voltage checker/alarm. I have 5 or 6 of them laying around by now. It's handy to check the battery voltage after you've landed to see if you should change the timer to a better flight time for the next flight. They are most useful after the plane has landed for a minute or so. If you have one of the ones that you leave on the battery during flight and it beeps at you when the voltage reaches a certain point, that is only a reference point as voltage can read low right after a heavy drain like taking off. As for accuracy, you only want to know you haven't gone below a certain point. Some people see that as being anywhere from 3.5v/cell to 3.8v/cell. To get a read on this, accuracy is not critical. What's more important is to have a charger that is smart enough to tell you more precise information and do things in a "smart" way.

[OV10]

What XV said
Any electric newb should have a voltage checker as their foremost first support tool.

[TiredIronGRB]

A voltage checker can be had for less than 5 bucks. A good one, maybe less than 10 bucks. Whenever I buy something from RC Castle, I get a free voltage checker/alarm. I have 5 or 6 of them laying around by now. It's handy to check the battery voltage after you've landed to see if you should change the timer to a better flight time for the next flight. They are most useful after the plane has landed for a minute or so. If you have one of the ones that you leave on the battery during flight and it beeps at you when the voltage reaches a certain point, that is only a reference point as voltage can read low right after a heavy drain like taking off. As for accuracy, you only want to know you haven't gone below a certain point. Some people see that as being anywhere from 3.5v/cell to 3.8v/cell. To get a read on this, accuracy is not critical. What's more important is to have a charger that is smart enough to tell you more precise information and do things in a "smart" way.

Well said!

[bob_stan]

+1

[Twowingtj]

If you tend to take several charged batteries to the field each time, sometimes it's easy to loose track of which ones have been flown out. By using one of these little checkers, you can make sure you don't put a drained battery in the plane for the next flight. Have seen it happen many times. Rarely ends well.

[xviper]

If you tend to take several charged batteries to the field each time, sometimes it's easy to loose track of which ones have been flown out. By using one of these little checkers, you can make sure you don't put a drained battery in the plane for the next flight. Have seen it happen many times. Rarely ends well.

This is so true. I've lost a plane because I put in a used battery. A checker is always good insurance even though I have a system now of placing my batteries in a different location than the fresh ones or putting them back in the box on the opposite side and turned pointing the other way.

[Dirty Dee]

I use to use a power meter to check the overall pack voltage, but recently moved to a battery checker that shows the individual cells. Like xviper said, its easy to lose track, so what I do now is double check the battery voltage prior to plugging into the ESC and closing the hatch.

[BRGT350]

I ordered my checker last night. I have never used one in the past and just relied on short flight times to make sure I never exceeded 60% of the mAh capacity. Given the amount of batteries I have collected and the chance of accidently using a used battery, I decided to get the checker and will be checking the batteries before and after each flight. Also it should be a good way to check on batteries in storage as well. About half of my batteries are in storage as I haven't flown the planes they go to yet. The flying season didn't start until late June this year due to the weather and an injury I had on my throttle/rudder arm.

[F22trainer]

I use rubber bands around my charged batteries, which also helps the tie downs snug the battery more securely in the airframe. But I do use the checker to verify a battery was in fact fully charged, or when uncertain / distracted. Good preflight item too.

[MrVoyagerx]

I read somewhere on the internet that cell phones may cause cancer....


Redundandy is key, I have two battery checkers, after all the batteries have been charged on my two Hitec X2s, reading is always accurate.

Maybe off by 2 or 3 percent.

I always always, do a final check before putting the battery on the airplane. Am never ever in a hurry to fly an airplane, its my zone out chill time. The moment I park the car, its stress free, and if I do, then I dont fly. It has gotten to the point that pre-flight checks is as enjoyful as flying itself.