Low voltage cut off?

[Sandster]

Has anybody ran their lipo battery long enough for the low voltage cut of to cut in? I have the low voltage cut off turned on on my ESC but I have never seen it in action. I will notice a reduction in speed and then change battery. Is this what most people do? Is continuing till the low voltage cut off activates likely to damage the battery?

[ChrisRx718]

I've ran mine beyond it and realised I had disabled the LVC

Luckily there doesn't seem to be any damage to the LiPo but it went down to 3.05v/cell

I think that they're of such high capacity and seemingly never seem to slow down like NiCd / NiMh that you get the impression they will go on forever - often you'll break something or get bored long before the battery runs out (in my experience anyway!)

[GregM]

Sandster, what ESC do you use for your LiPos? If it is a Tamiya ESC, then please keep in mind that these do only feature a LiFe-suitable cutoff, with a threshold too low for LiPos.

I'm using LiPos along with a Carson ESC for sensorless brushless motors. When the cutoff kicks in, it slows down the car heavily until it comes to a halt.

[alfagta]

i run mine until it cuts off frequently , both the tble-02s with LiFe and all the others with lipo , with lipo i do use 3.2v per cell as i use cheap li-po packs and they can be a bit awkward to charge if i run them down to 3v , as gregm says the usual proceedure is for the car run at low speed for a few seconds when it triggers to allow you to pull off the track .

[Sandster]

My esc only has the option of 3v per cell cut off. I would rather 3.2 but I don't have that option. As said though it seems to last so long hat I generally get bored before the battery goes flat.

[MetBoy]

Have to admit to only ever running a transponder pack down beyond its limits. Left it plugged in after a race meeting and did not notice until the next week. Oops. Lipo was completely flat, had collapsed and was impossible to charge again, but thankfully the pack was only cents from hobby king, and I bought quite a few when I started moving my transponder around to run multiple classes. The $100 price tag for the transponders made less than a buck for the lipo pack a very attractive option!

On any car I run lipo with Tamiya ESC, I use one of these:

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22749__On_Board_Lipoly_Low_Voltage_Alarm_2s_3s.html

Very small, cheap as old chips, easy to zap strap or tape somewhere under the body, but very very loud when it hits the cutoff voltage (3.3v)!

C..

[Sandster]

Have to admit to only ever running a transponder pack down beyond its limits. Left it plugged in after a race meeting and did not notice until the next week. Oops. Lipo was completely flat, had collapsed and was impossible to charge again, but thankfully the pack was only cents from hobby king, and I bought quite a few when I started moving my transponder around to run multiple classes. The $100 price tag for the transponders made less than a buck for the lipo pack a very attractive option!

On any car I run lipo with Tamiya ESC, I use one of these:

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__22749__On_Board_Lipoly_Low_Voltage_Alarm_2s_3s.html

Very small, cheap as old chips, easy to zap strap or tape somewhere under the body, but very very loud when it hits the cutoff voltage (3.3v)!

C..

Added to my basket for my next order. Thanks.