Do you have a LiPo battery that needs charging, but you don’t have a charger? Despite being in such a situation, all isn’t lost because you can still charge the battery.
It turns out that one can charge a LiPo battery without a charger. Isn’t that an interesting life hack, especially due to the forgetful nature of humans?
This article will save the day if you have lost or forgotten your LiPo battery charger. It highlights how to charge a LiPo battery without a charger.
So, without further ado, let’s figure out how to go about it seamlessly. Read on!
How Can You Charge a LiPo Battery Without a Charger?
There are various options if you are considering charging your LiPo battery without a charger. Here’s a detailed discussion of these options.
Charging a LiPo Battery Using Another LiPo Battery
If you choose this method, follow the following steps;
- Remove the batteries, the ones you plan to charge and those to draw power from, from the devices they are in
- As you choose the LiPo battery to charge it, ensure that the properties and characteristics, especially the likes of cycle rates and voltage, are similar
- What follows is the connection of the terminals of the LiPo batteries’ terminals. Upon connecting them accordingly, it is advisable to tape the batteries down for a steady and uninterrupted connection
- Give charging some time for obvious reasons
- Equally important, remember to monitor the charging every step of the way
Upon following the above steps diligently, rest assured that your LiPo battery will charge.
Charging a LiPo Battery Using A USB Port
Alternatively, you can charge your LiPo battery via a USB port. However, there is a disclaimer before using this charging method.
Ensuring that you conduct this process in a safe space is advisable. Preferably, seek monitoring from an experienced person due to its technical aspect to ensure that dangerous incidences don’t arise.
One must also admit that it will take a considerable amount of time. Let’s discuss the method in detail since it is practical and viable.
The minimum output of the USB port you use in this case should be 2 amps. Once that’s confirmed, follow these simple steps;
- Find a USB-compatible device such as a printer, power bank, camera, laptop, and PC, among other electronic devices
- Locate its USB port and connect your USB cable
- Connect the positive wire from your USB cable to the corresponding terminal of your LiPo battery
- Similarly, connect the negative wire from the same USB cable to its corresponding LiPo battery terminal
- Give your battery time to charge, and remember to monitor
Again, the above procedure will also do the trick of charging your LiPo battery without a charger.
Things to Remember When Charging a LiPo Batteries
It is important to note that the tips apply whether you charge the LiPo battery with or without a charge. They include the following;
- Always remember to balance your LiPo batteries so that the voltage of the pack’s cells remains equal
- This balance is crucial since it ensures that the discharge rate is uniform across the cells as you use the pack
- Failure to adhere to this balance could see your battery to be damaged easily since the power of some of the cells will discharge power more than their counterparts
- Ensure that the LiPo charger you use to charge your LiPo battery has an inbuilt balancer to balance the voltage automatically
- Whereas one can buy the chargers and the balancers separately, it is always a great choice to settle for a product that combines the two vital components
- As you charge the battery, ensure that its charger is in the LiPo
- Another vital mode while at it is the cell count one
- Each battery has a varying charging rate hence the need to confirm that yours corresponds with its rate while charging
- Use the balance connector to confirm your battery’s cell count
- Upon starting charging, cross-check the cell count and the series mode once again
- Besides battery failure, correct charging is also important to avoid related explosions, which can be destructive and fatal
How Safe Is It to Charge a LiPo Battery Without a Charger?
As scary as it may sound, charging your LiPo without a charger is okay. Whether you use another LiPo battery or a USB port, you don’t have to worry about safety under such circumstances.
Nevertheless, that may change if you don’t follow the right procedures for each method. Fortunately, the necessary steps are at your disposal; you only need to follow them accordingly.
Equally important, take all the necessary precautions when charging a LiPo battery without a charger. You are doing all this for your safety and your surroundings, including your property, not forgetting the battery’s lifespan.
Balancing is always important whenever you charge the LiPo battery. Otherwise, overloading various cells occurs due to different voltages, and the eventuality is usually battery failure.
The bottom line is that the method you use to charge your LiPo battery doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you do it right, especially in balancing.
What is the Best Way to Charge a LiPo Charger?
When selecting the best way to charge your LiPo battery, the most determining factor should be safety. So, ensure that charging it doesn’t do more harm than good.
For instance, ensure that charging doesn’t strain your LiPo battery too much. Whereas strain is inevitable due to how the charging process works, it should be as little as possible.
You can ensure that by charging the battery at 1 times capacity, often called 1C. Under these circumstances, the current will be enough to charge your LiPo battery within an hour.
The period will be enough to fully charge a completely discharged battery, which is about 3.2v.
In this regard, you will need a charger that charges at 1000 mA to charge a LiPo battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh. Such a charger will take 1 hour to charge the battery.
Did you know that using a 500-mA charger to charge the same battery will increase the charging time to 2 hours? The charging rate and the battery capacity determine how long the process takes.
