We previously discussed how to dispose LiPo batteries, in this article we will talk about how to determine when to throw them out. Apart from physical damages, the most important factor is internal resistance (IR), which indicates the health and performance of the LiPo battery.
Table of Content
- Discharge Cycles
- Expiry Date
- Internal Resistance Explained
- How to Measure IR?
- Physical Condition
- “Is my battery still safe to use?”
The Average Lifespan of a LiPo Battery – Discharge Cycles
If you are lucky enough not to break your LiPo battery before its end of days, it should have an average lifespan of about 400–500 cycles.
Of course this also depends largely on factors such as how much “abuse” you put your batteries through, and how you handle them on a daily basis.
500 cycles might sound a lot, but for us flying mini quad, it’s extremely likely that we damage them way before we hit that number :)
Expiry Date?
LiPo batteries don’t have an expiry date printed on them, but from my personal experience, new batteries almost always perform better than old batteries, even when they just sit there and not being used much.
I generally find batteries that are 12 to 18 months old to start showing noticeable drop in performance. I usually replace my batteries when they are around 2 to 3 years old, even when they might look completely normal on the outside.
It’s helpful to label and date your battery packs when you first get them in.
Internal Resistance Explained
One of the most useful battery health indicators would be internal resistance (IR).
All electrical components has resistance, even a piece of wire has resistance, so is a battery. The resistance in a battery is called internal resistance.
As explained in my LiPo battery beginner’s guide, IR determines how effectively a battery can deliver current to your quadcopter. Higher IR means lower performance, and more energy is wasted as heat, that’s why it gets hot during charging and discharging.
IR increases over time, and it can rise more rapidly when:
- Over-discharging and over-charging
- Pushing the battery too hard by discharging at a current higher than it’s rated for an extended period of time
- Overheat
For typical 1300mAh to 1500mAh packs (regardless how many cells), I would consider under 10mΩ to be great condition, 10mΩ to 15mΩ to be fine, 15mΩ to 20mΩ to be old, and over 20mΩ to be “time to retire”.
If one of the cells has noticeably higher IR than the rest (e.g. 100% higher), it’s probably not safe to use and should be thrown out, as that cell will supply less current and heat up more than it should.
IR has to do with discharge rate too, for example if your battery is designed for low current applications with 10C rating, IR will inherently be higher. 18650 Li-ion batteries have much higher IR than typical LiPo batteries, so do not worry!
How to Measure IR?
Almost of all modern LiPo chargers these days can measure IR. for example the iSDT Q6 and TookitRC M6. IR of each cell is displayed on the screen when you charge the battery. If you are getting a charger I strongly recommend getting one with IR measurement.
When measuring internal resistance, you should try to keep all conditions constant, because several factors can affect your IR readings, such as:
- Capacity of the battery
- Quality of the cells
- Chemical properties
- Age (number of discharge cycles)
- Temperature
- Measuring equipment
- Voltage of the LiPo
- Discharge rating
IR depends on the size of the cells (i.e. capacity). Larger cells have lower IR inherently. For example, when you parallel charge, the IR will appear lower than when you charge those batteries individually.
Note that IR increases at lower temperature, that’s why LiPo batteries perform worse in the winter, and it helps to warm them up in your pocket before flight.
Physical Condition
A visual examination of your LiPo battery can help determine if it should be retired.
LiPo batteries used on drones can easily become deformed in a crash since they are exposed on the outside. It’s risky to use dented batteries, especially during charging.
Further Reading: Here are some tips to protect your LiPo batteries from physical damage
Your batteries can also become “puffed” after some abusive uses, or when they are getting old.
Unbalanced Cell Voltages
It’s pretty normal that the cell voltages are slightly different after a flight, e.g. 3.55V, 3.59V, 3.61V. The point being, they should all be within reasonable range.
When the internal resistance of particular cells are wildly higher than the rest, the voltage always end up unbalanced after flight, it will put more stress on other cells. Higher IR cells also generate more heat during usage.
Pay Attention to Performance
Battery performance decreases when they get older:
- Not holding charge, voltage drops after charging, and flight time reduced
- Voltage sag is noticeably worse
Another thing to keep in mind is the temperature of the LiPo after a flight. If a battery is getting way hotter (can’t hold it in your hand for more than 10 seconds) than others, it’s also a sign of aged battery.
Check Temperature While Charging
Battery getting warm during charging (charging at 1C) is an extremely important sign that your battery has a problem, and you should stop immediately. LiPo batteries shouldn’t get noticeably warm when charging at reasonable rate. The common cause is internal short and it can be extremely dangerous.
“Is My Battery Still Safe to Use?”
If you ever ask yourself this question, the answer is probably no.
If you handle a healthy battery properly, it should never set on fire. But when you have a battery with a dented corner, or one of the cells with unusually high IR, the risk increases exponentially.
Nobody can tell you if a battery is going to explode, but would you risk your house over a damaged $20 Lipo battery?
Edit History
- Sep 2017 – Article created
- Nov 2018 – Added effects of high IR and comments about “check bat temp while charging”
- Mar 2019 – Added “is my LiPo still safe to use”
- Feb 2020 – Added “how to measure IR”
I didn’t realize that high of mΩ was ok. Or does that limit drop as the capacity goes up? Per my isdt 6 plus, a pack I’m currently putting to storage charge as I type was showing 2.1-2.6mΩ when I charged it an hour ago. I considered it old/worn as it’s about 1.5yrs old. The pack is a hobbystar 6200mah 3S 50C pack.
I’m not sure what my other packs show because I usually parallel charge on other higher output chargers. My 4x100w charger doesn’t show IR at all.
When parallel charging, would the mΩ on the charger be n/cell count? So if I was charging 2x3S in parallel and was seeing 5mΩ, would that really be 2.5mΩ per cell? Wasn’t sure if IR for lipo’s was rated similarly as resistors in parallel.
When I charge a single 3S 450mAh lipo at 1C, IR reads in three times higher than if I charge 3 of these lipos. That is, singly IR is in the 20s, 30s and 40s. In parallel charging, IR is less than 10. Why is that?
Nice article!
Can you give some more info on different size lipo’s?
For example:
0/1000 mah xx ohm
1000/3000 mah xx ohm
3000/6000 mah xx ohm
6000/10.000 mah xx ohm
10.000 and up. Xx ohm.
Would be very helpful!
Is there any charger/device that can measure the internal resistance of 1cell lipo battery? My hobbyking charger can measure the IR but only for 2cells or higher
you can with iSDT chargers, just need an adapter (JST-ph to XT60)
Other than balance charging, storage charging when not in uses, and not causing any physical damage, what other ways can one get long life uses out of Lipo batteries?
About my experience LIHV batt
I have puffy 2S 450mah 45C and IR is 75, (cannot use it anymore)
And another 3S 450mah 45C and IR is 45 still use it for cinematic cinebee about 4 minutes from 4.30 percell to 3.6v percell
They same brand, fullsend..
And another brand,LDARC new battery,LIHV too
3S 530mah IR is 10 or 12
Another brand SKC
3S 520mah
And 2S 520mah have a same IR about 12 to 15
So i learnz more IR in specific battery it means lifetime.
For typical 1300mAh to 1500mAh packs (regardless how many cells), I would consider under 10mΩ to be great condition, 10mΩ to 15mΩ to be fine, 15mΩ to 20mΩ to be old, and over 20mΩ to be “time to retire”. >> is this per cell or all IR of each cell added together?
Per cell.
This doesn’t actually tell you how to test. This says go out and by a charger that will tell you. I was maybe expecting a explanation on how to use a digital multimeter to test. That would be a bit more helpful… or a vid if you ain’t done one already.
Karol,
I don’t think so. 15 mOhm is a threshold for 1300~1500 mAh LiPo. If your quad uses 450 mAh then it also operates at lower current therefore at equal IR produces lower voltage sag. For 450 mAh I would estimate threshold IR at 30~40 mOhm.
Oscar,
The cell with higher IR does NOT discharge slower! The discharge current is equal for all cells thus the electric charge is equal as well. The cell with higher IR will have higher voltage sag thus it produces more heat during discharging.
It can even discharge faster – because due to wear it can have lower capacity which often goes together with increased IR.
Hello,
I have got brand new Tattu HV 7.6V 450mAh 95C batteries. 3 pieces.
Internal resistance per cell is 23 Ohm each time for every out of those three.
Maybe HV batteries has higher IR? I do not know. Do you?
Have a good day
i don’t think HV has anything to do with IR. It just uses a different chemical.
My charger doesn’t measure IR, but I can determine actual capacity by charging then discharging the battery. Can battery capacity help to determine battery health?
Maybe, but IR is more accurate and reliable.
I just crashed my fixed wing into the ocean. I had a brand new Lipo on for its first use as well, is my battery toast?
How to know at what IR is time to drop the battery?
That’s why noting down IR as soon as you bought them is useful :)
It depends on how much you can tolerate the decrease in performance :) you can continue to use it if all the cells are within similar range.
The main thing you want to watch out for is if the IR of 1 or 2 cells drops much faster than the other cells, e.g. double…