My first lipo battery purchase

I’m considering using Lipo batteries but I’m unsure what I would need to safely store them and charge them. I think I’m getting in over my head with my build. Any advice or helpful articles is appreciated.

I intend to use three 6s or two 8s ~12000 ~20c batteries in series.

How do you decide what charger to use? Do I need a BMS for lipo batteries?

Somewhere safe to store them so they don’t burn down my house while I sleep. I’ve seen some examples of people using old millitary ammo cases. Is that good enough or should this even be a concern?

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Watching as I’m also clueless about LiPo and would like to use them in the future.

No you don’t need a BMS for lipos, although you can install one so you don’t have to use a balance charger. I use two 6s 12ah lipos in series and they’re great, I charge them with this balance charger.
In this fire bag
Lipos are really powerful but a pain to charge, especially if you need to remove them from your case to charge them, like me.
I have them top mounted on my evo and love them, they haul ass that’s for sure.
I’ve had fun with mine and am gonna move on to a 12s4p pack and mount it under my board with a proper enclosure, it’ll be easier to charge and look much cleaner.

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I would only use a BMS if the lipos are not accessible, or if you have more than 4 lipos to charge simultaneously. Otherwise a hobby grade charger works great for charging and balancing. Just my experience…

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Just don’t go for too cheap of a hobby charger, the one I have is limited to 50W (although technically 36W from the power supply), and a full charge of both batteries takes nearly 24 hours. Duals and more powerful ones exist, but at that price it’s cheaper to get a comparable BMS set up.

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That depends on your budget and how fast you wanna charge them.
I like the ultrapower UP1200AC
http://www.ultrapower.hk/page9?product_id=126

You can balance charge 2x12s @~13A (also they claim 15A, but that’s not true.
If you want to run 18s, it’s definitely an advantage that you could charge 12s + 6s in one go.

A budget version would be to just buy a brick style charger with charging current to your needs and a smart bms. You could wire the bms external up some that you have your own „ DIY balance charger“

Only downside is that you can’t discharge for storage voltage with that. Do you should drain your pack below 3.8V per cell each time and than charge up till 3.8V for storage.

For safe storage Ammo boxes are a good start.
You could also build a LiPo bunker with dry wall or stones, depending on your available space. Get a smoke detector as, some fire blankets and extinguisher as well.
Basics I would recommend not only for people charging LiPo packs.

You could also go with the bat safe box, but with 12Ah packs you would need one for each 6s pack or the big ones. Double check their railings on the website before you buy. The middle size I’d rated for 2x 6s5Ah packs max.

Edit: I wouldn’t recommend those LiPo bags with a zipper or velcro. They do not withstand anything. I use them just as extra cover before I put them in an ammo box.

Edit edit: if you use ammo boxes, remove the seal.

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This is a topic I created because I was in the same boat you are in. I would highly recommend reading it as a lot of knowledgeable people posted there and gave some really useful information.

That’s a solid thread, full of details. @xsynatic can you close my thread?

Thanks @frankthedragon @Andy87 @monsterbuilder @Mikeyrides

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Glad I could help.