2009 Gibbs Guide to LiPo Batteries

Guide to Lithium Polymer Batteries
The NEW 2009 Gibbs Guide to LiPo batteries is a comprehensive resource for modellers needing to know how to safely get the best from their LiPo batteries.

This extensively revised and enlarged guide concentrates only on LiPo batteries. It contains a wealth of guidance and essential information along with many clearly drawn diagrams, tables and charts. Topics covered include charging, discharging, ‘C’ limits, balancing, safety, avoiding fires, hints and tips and much more.

Like all Gibbs Guides, it’s written and illustrated in a clear and easy to understand way. No assumed prior knowledge is made. Each chapter builds on the material from previous chapters, but is also a clear explanation in its own right. By the end of the guide you will have been presented with a concise yet very thorough guide to LiPo batteries.

This guide should be considered essential reading for every user of LiPo batteries, even if you’ve used them without problems until now – because well used LiPo batteries that have so far given no problems may be about to catch fire on their next charge. This guide will show you how to identify such batteries and also tells you what to do about them.

The guide will serve as an excellent introduction for newcomers to LiPo use and will also develop the knowledge of modellers with considerable previous LiPo experience.

This guide will help extend the life of your batteries and help you avoid a LiPo fire, so investing in a copy really could save you much more than its purchase price.

Summary of contents:
Chapter 1: Battery basics
Chapter 2: Connecting cells
Chapter 3: Battery characteristics
Chapter 4: Introduction to LiPo batteries
Chapter 5: Characteristics of LiPo batteries
Chapter 6: LiPo Safety
Chapter 7: Charging LiPo cells
Chapter 8: LiPo batteries under discharge
Chapter 9: Balancing matters
Chapter 10: Getting the best from LiPo batteries
Chapter 11: Checking and testing LiPo batteries
Chapter 12: Using joined LiPo packs
Appendix: Top Tips and a detailed summary of best practice

Chapter contents and descriptions:

Chapter 1: Battery basics
This chapter outlines basic principles applicable to all battery types. It also introduces some of the most useful basic principles of electricity, clearly explaining relevant battery-related terms such as voltage, current, resistance and the ‘C’ concept.

Chapter 2: Connecting cells
Individual lithium cells are almost always connected together to create multi-cell batteries. This chapter explains how cells may be connected together in series and/or in parallel.

Chapter 3: Battery characteristics
This chapter expands on some basic battery principles. It explains how cell voltage varies depending on a cell’s state of charge and whether it is being charged or discharged. The effect of different loads on a battery is discussed, and the concepts of internal resistance and related heating are introduced.

Chapter 4: Introduction to LiPo batteries
This chapter builds on the information of previous chapters, and clearly explains the specific characteristics of Lithium-Polymer cells. A comparison table is included, showing how LiPo cells compare with NiMH cells.

Chapter 5: Characteristics of LiPo batteries
This chapter discusses how LiPo battery voltage varies depending on the conditions the battery is finds itself in. Clearly explained are the voltage limits for the cells, and why these must not be exceeded. Simple graphs illustrate the effect of discharge rate on battery voltage and the relationship between the state of charge of a LiPo cell and it’s off-load voltage.

Chapter 6: Safety matters
This is a particularly important chapter in this guide, and the information is discussed in detail. Subjects covered include the many causes of LiPo battery fires, over-charging, over-discharging, charge rates, short circuits and even what to do during and after a LiPo battery fire.

Chapter 7: Charging LiPo cells
This chapter discusses such factors as charge leads, selection of charge current, breaking in new cells, flight testing of new cells, and more. A graph illustrates the typical 3 phase LiPo charge process, which differs from the process used for other cell types.

Chapter 8: LiPo batteries under discharge
This chapter discusses the minimum safe voltage for LiPo cells, discharge rates, self-discharging, effects of temperature and the consequences of over-discharging cells.

Chapter 9: Balancing matters
This chapter discusses how batteries may become unbalanced. It shows how to identify unbalanced and potentially dangerous batteries. It also discusses how unbalanced batteries may be brought back into a balanced state so they may safely continue to be used.

Chapter 10: Getting the best from LiPo batteries
A particularly useful chapter, this chapter discusses many techniques which will help you extend the life of your batteries. Subjects covered include internal resistance, battery temperature, the preferred voltage range for LiPo batteries, LiPo storage, a handy voltage table, buying batteries, cheap cells, reducing charge time safely, electronic speed controllers and more.

Chapter 11: Checking and testing LiPo batteries
This chapter discusses when checking and testing may be advisable and covers covers balance connector wiring, measuring cell voltages and interpreting the results, testing for capacity, self discharge rate and much more.

Chapter 12: Using joined LiPo packs
This chapter discusses a number of relevant points associated with using more than one pack in a model. Parallel and series connected batteries are covered.

Appendix: Top Tips, a summary of best practice
A feature of every Gibbs Guide is a useful Top Tips section, which is a compact summary of the guide’s main points. The Top Tips section means you don’t have to re-read the whole guide to be reminded best practice for the use of LiPo batteries.

The choice is yours
The Gibbs Guide to LiPo batteries is available either as an e-book or in the familiar paper version. Both guides contain exactly the same information and whichever you choose you’ll find the information easy to read and digest.

e-book
The e-book is simply an electronic book that you can download directly to your computer. If you choose the e-book version of this guide, you can be learning from it in just a few minutes from now – there’s no waiting for the post to arrive! The main benefits of an e-book are:

a) You’ll be able to access the information instantly
b) With no printing and shipping costs, Gibbs Guides is able to pass on a saving to you – so the e-book’s a bit cheaper than the paper version.
c) You can print a copy for your own use.

Delivery of your e-book
When you order the e-book, you’ll automatically be sent an email containing a link allowing you to immediately download the document. It’s as simple as that!

Paper version
Containing the same 22,000 words of text and illustrations as in the e-book, this 44 page paper version of the guide comes in the traditional Gibbs Guides format, a compact yet comprehensive A5 (6 x 8 inch) booklet.

What other modellers say about this guide:

• An accurate, high quality guide that’s a definite must have for any modeller involved with LiPo batteries. Highly recommended.
  Andy Kirby, FlightPower.
  
• "... your book (on lithium batteries) saved my flat from certain destruction!"
  LS, London.
  
• "Please send me a copy of your book 'Guide to Lithium batteries', if it gives me as much knowledge as your guide to nicad and hydride batteries I shall be well pleased"
  JG, Leicester.

Postage and Packaging per guide (paper copy only)

• UK - £0.95
• EU - £1.50
• Rest of World - £1.75

If you wish to pay via cheque, please click here to print an order form

Please note
When ordering the e-Book version please select "e-Book" in the destination box which is immediately below the total in the first page of the shopping cart.

Approximate equivalent prices for overseas customers (last updated 20 Sep 2009)

GBP £5.95 is approximately equivalent to USD 9.69 / EUR 6.58 / AUD 11.10
GBP £7.95 is approximately equivalent to USD 12.94 / EUR 8.79 / AUD 14.91

Terms and conditions of sale