Info and Care

Charging :

Use a high quality charger with built in balancer.  Make sure to set your charger for the proper cell chemistry and cell count.  Never over charge a cell/pack as this will result in damage to the pack and there is a high risk of fire/explosion.   Always charge in a LiPo Sack or similar device.

Discharging :

Never over discharge a cell/pack.  This is one of the major causes of damage to a cell/pack.  The majority of speed controls on the market have a built in LiPo cut off make sure it's enabled.  If the cutoff is adjustable I recommend that it be set at 3.4V per cell minimum.  Some speed controls require that a link cable be purchased which allows the speed control to be hooked up to a PC and be adjusted.  If none of these options are available or if your speed control has no cut off you need to try and find the point at which your pack is getting to low in voltage and stop.  You can do this by running it for a certain amount of time then checking the voltage of the pack.  If the voltage is lower than 3.5V per cell than you have run the pack to low.  If you run the pack and notice the power is dropping stop immediately as you have run the pack to low.  You can measure the voltage of the pack and you will notice it's below 3.5V per cell.   The above method will help you determine a rough idea of how much time you can run the pack before it gets too low. 

To get maximum cycle life out of your packs you should set the cut off on the high side.  Cycle life is greatly increased if a cell/pack isn't discharged below 80% of its capacity. This is referred as Depth of Discharge (DOD).   Unfortunately the speed control manufacturers didn't take this into account when designing there systems to be used with LiPo packs.   If your speed control is set at 3V or 3.2V per cell which seems to be the common voltage used as default in most speed controls this will result in 99% and 98% DOD.  By increasing the cut off  to 3.4V per cell the DOD will be 96%.  If 3.6V is used this will result in 85% DOD.  These calculations are provided by info gathered on testing equipment which is calibrated to compensate for voltage drop. The DOD will fluctuate based on a cell/packs resistance and the discharge load being pulled from the cell/pack. A motor which pulls less amps will discharge a pack more as there will be less voltage drop.  It's up to you to determine if you want maximum play time or maximum cycle life.  The info above is intended to help you make this decision.

Storage :

Never keep the Batteries connected and stored in your RC vehicle.   Even if the switch is off there will be some current being drawn from the pack which can or will result in over discharge.

NEVER KEEP YOUR PACK FULLY CHARGED FOR MORE THAN 2 DAYS. Packs shouldn't be stored higher than 3.8V per cell and lower than 3.4V per cell.  Doing so will increase chances of issues and reduce cycle life.  2 cell pack = 6.8V-7.6V, 3 cell pack = 10.2V-11.4V , 4 cell pack = 13.6V-15.2V.  Store in a room that is dry and at normal room temperature.

For long term storage we recommend that you cycle/use the packs every 6 weeks. This will keep the chemicals active and reduce chances of issues due to the chemicals being inactive.  You can fully charge the pack then discharge it down to the recommended voltage and store it in a room that is dry and at room temperature.