How Long Should You Charge A Traxxas Battery?

If you’ve ever been curious about how long you should charge a traxxas battery, this is the article for you! Here’s everything you need to know about charging your Traxxas battery, along with helpful tips on how to make sure your charger is doing its job.

Traxxas batteries are made for some serious performance. Even if they’re tough enough to handle high-stress driving and racing conditions, that doesn’t mean they can’t have problems from time to time. One of the most common problems with Traxxas batteries is that it dies fast, or won’t take a charge at all.  

A 3000 mAh battery will take around 45 minutes to fully charge when using the appropriate charger for the battery. You won’t want to charge your Traxxas battery much longer than that as overcharging it can cause issues (if you aren’t using a good charger). 

This is a good amount of time which is why most people will own multiple batteries so they do not have to stop using their RC cars while the battery is charging. 

Traxxas batteries are great for providing lots of power whenever it’s needed. That means they require a lot of power themselves, and that means you need to charge them often to keep them in top shape.

To see the most popular Traxxas batteries currently on the market just click here. 

Important Information When Charging Your Traxxas Battery

1) The first thing you should know about charging your Traxxas battery is to always charge it with the charger it came with. Charging in a charger not specifically designed for your battery can cause serious damage to your batteries capacity and lifespan. 

2) If you’re not using your traxxas battery as part of a charging system, never leave it sitting on a shelf  alone. Batteries are not designed to be left alone at room temperature. If they are allowed to sit uncharged for any period of time, they will eventually lose all capacity and start to corrode. 

3) Never let batteries get below 10% charge. It is very important that the batteries never get excessively low, even if it means waiting a bit longer for the charge to finish completely. The older a battery gets, the more likely it’s going to suffer from memory effects before it dies completely.

4) Never let batteries sit in a discharged state for too long, or allow it to discharge completely. Always make sure to charge your battery overnight, and you should always use a trickle charger if you need to charge your batteries in between uses. 

5) Always keep your batteries on a surface that won’t sit directly in water. Batteries stored in such places as muddy or wet ground are at risk of corrosion, and eventually break down completely. Even if the battery is dry when it’s stored, the effects of moisture can still cause corrosion over time.

6) Never use a battery that’s been sitting in a hot environment. When a battery is exposed to extreme heat or cold, it will begin to lose its ability to hold a charge. The exact temperature will vary with the type of battery, but generally speaking, batteries stored in hot weather are more likely to corrode than those stored in cooler areas. 

7) Never use a battery that’s been sitting in excessive humidity or moisture. The cells held within batteries can get corroded by internal biological agents and other factors when exposed to high levels of humidity. Not only does this cause damage to the overall capacity of the battery, it also can cause corrosion on internal components or other parts connected with your battery or charger as well.

8) Never leave a battery on a charger indefinitely. If it’s not used in a charging system, it should be charged at least once every three months or so to prevent future problems. Leaving batteries in a continuously plugged in charger can lead to overcharging damage. 

9) Never use old or damaged charging cords with your battery. Any cord that is damaged, frayed, or has excessive bends or kinks can cause problems with your system. If you have any doubts about the condition of your charging system, take it into the store where it was purchased and ask if there are any issues with the cord and wiring before you put another charge in your battery pack.

10) Never use a traditional battery charger with any Traxxas batteries. While most traditional battery chargers are safe for other types of batteries, they’re not designed to properly charge the kinds of power that’s used in electric vehicles like the ones made by Traxxas. If you attempt to charge your Traxxas batteries in an ordinary charger, not only will you shorten their lifespan, but you can potentially cause serious damage to your equipment or injure yourself.

11) Never use a battery pack that’s been sitting in storage for at least 6 months at a time without charging it. Batteries will lose capacity and life over time if they’re not used. Batteries and chargers designed to charge multiple batteries at once require a constant flow of power to keep them running properly. If they’re exposed to the environment long enough, their ability to provide that power will degrade, causing damage or loss of capacity. 

12) Never forget to turn off your charger when you’ve finished with it. Batteries can quickly start to charge again after you turn off your charger if they’re left unplugged for any amount of time.

Batteries are like most things that are electronic: they don’t last forever, and they need maintenance in order to last. The best tips for using your batteries safely include never leaving batteries unattended, always turning them off when you’re not actively using them, and keeping them out of the environment when possible.

Tips for owning a Traxxas battery

1) The easiest way to make sure you’re not going to be left with a dead battery is to charge it fully each time you use it. Even if you put the battery into your machine and use it only for a brief period of time, it should still be partially charged by the end of your run.

2) If you don’t plan to use your battery for a long period of time, you’ll want to make sure that it’s not just sitting in storage for months at a time. Even if the battery is not being used, leaving it in storage will cause the chemical makeup of the cells to degrade over time. It’s best to leave batteries on a charger or connected to some kind of trickle power source when they’re not being used for long periods of time.

3) Batteries lose their charge over time, even when they’re not being used. When you first purchase a battery, it should initially be charged to full capacity. If you haven’t been using the battery for a period of time, it’s best to let it charge before you use it. This way, you won’t have to worry about the battery running down completely and running the risk of damaging your gear if the voltage drops too far.

4) It’s not necessary to fully discharge a battery every time you hop into your vehicle. While some people may disagree with this statement, we recommend that you follow this practice only when necessary. Batteries will begin to lose capacity over time and when they’re not being used for long periods of time, even if they’re only partially discharged once in a while. While some people may disagree with this, we recommend that you follow this practice only when necessary.

5) Batteries do not last forever. Over time, batteries will lose their capacity and need to be replaced, whether they’re being used or not. If you want to extend the life of your batteries, we recommend that you avoid fully discharging them or leaving them on a trickle charger every time they’re not in use. Batteries can begin to lose capacity over time and when they’re not being used for long periods of time, even if they’re only partially discharged once in a while.

6) The more you charge a battery, the more it will lose its capacity. While this may seem counterintuitive, the truth is that charging batteries actually depletes their capacity over time. It’s best to charge your batteries as needed and avoid letting them sit at full capacity for extended periods of time.

7) Overcharging can shorten the life of a battery. Overcharging damages your batteries, in fact, it can destroy them completely! Similarly to our first tip on battery life, we recommend that you always avoid fully charging or overcharging your batteries.

8) You will need to learn how to tell when your batteries need to be charged. While this may seem like a no-brainer, you’d be surprised by how many people don’t even know how to tell when their batteries are dead. Depending on your particular device, a red light usually flashes or the screen goes black when your battery has reached 0%. A good rule of thumb is that if the device’s light is off and it isn’t responding, it’s time to plug it in!

In addition to the warning light, it’s important to note that your device may have a battery level indicator in the form of a bar graph or a numerical readout. This will generally only show charge levels of good batteries, so be sure to take note of how full or empty it is before purchasing a replacement.

How do I know if my LiPo battery is healthy?

The simplest method is to observe the discharge rate of your battery. 1C is the discharge rate when 1 ampere drains from the battery during 1 second. For example, a 3000mAh pack will have a 1C discharge rate of 3 amps.

If you want to know how many milliamp hours your battery has left, you can get a chronometer (a stopwatch that measures 0.01 seconds) and use it for 5-10 minutes on your Traxxas vehicle, noting how much power drains from the battery pack in this time period. From this data, you will be able to deduce approximately how many milliamp hours were drained during that 5-10 minutes using Ohm’s law (V=IR). The following formula will be used:

(V=IR) = (Amps * Time) / 1000

Example:

Your battery is at 25% of its capacity. This means that the voltage was reading 4.5 volts for 5 minutes, and the current drain is 13.5 amps. What was your discharge rate? If you cannot do this yourself, take it to your local hobby shop, or electronics store and have them do this for you using an Ohmmeter (usually a wire with two probes). The discharge rate is the percentage of capacity used up during that time period. Simply multiply volts by time to get amperage (or multiply Amps by time to get volts).

If your battery is new, it may take a few charge/discharge cycles (or cycles on your charger) to get the full capacity of the battery. For example, a brand new 3000mAh 5C NiMH Poly-Cell battery will have around 300-400 discharge cycles before reaching its full capacity. This means that if you use your vehicle and store it for a week with no use, you’ll lose 10% of your battery’s capacity. This means that after every week, you will need to charge it with 10% more amps to regain the full 3000mAh capacity.

To get through this initial part of the cycle quicker, you can always charge at 1C higher than normal. This means if your battery is rated for a 1C charge, charge at 2C during the first week or so. This may shorten the initial cycle time, but it’s better than waiting for the battery to degrade overtime.

Does charging at higher rates make a difference?

Many people have different opinions as to whether charging at 1C vs 2C vs 3C is significant or not. Here are some reasons why I charge at higher rates:

1. Traxxas rates their batteries to be charged at 3C, so I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t charge it at that rate. Plus, it gives me more mA’s out of the battery pack which equates to more run time. If Traxxas can do it, why can’t we?

2. Higher discharge rates require better insulation and heat dissipation in the battery pack. If done improperly, it could result in a fire.

3. The temperature inside of the charger is raised at 1C vs 2C vs 3C charge rates since the charging time is cut in half. This might have an effect on battery lifespan depending on how much you’ve used/charged the pack before or if your batteries are stored in a freezer or refrigerator. From experience, I can say that my older packs do show some degradation of capacity when charged at 2C from the original pack rating. However, this is not true for all packs.