LiPo Battery Charge Time (3.7v-18.5v) [+CALCULATOR]
***A LiPo Battery Charge Time Calculator is At the bottom of this page***
How long do LiPo batteries take to charge, anyway?
A LiPo battery will take 30 – 60 minutes to fully charge.
How Fast Does A LiPo Battery Take To Charge
Well, not every LiPo battery has the same mAh (milliamps per hour), so that is what we need to keep in mind.
For example, a 1,000mAh LiPo battery, if being charged by a source with an output of 1,000mA, will be fully charged within an hour.
It’s important to keep in mind that your LiPo battery, depending on the mAh, will need a source that matches its requirements or meets the standard requirements. Not doing so could result in longer charging times and possibly frying your battery.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A LiPo Battery For The First Time?
Of course, when you buy that new LiPo battery, you’re going to be eager to use it, but before you charge it up, how long should charge take for the first time?
Contrary to what some may believe, your brand new LiPo battery won’t need any special treatment for the first time charging. Your battery should still charge for one hour, just like any other.
This misconception is a common one, but sometimes a dangerous one for those of you who may be newcomers to the hobby.
Some may believe that they must charge their LiPo battery for longer for the first time, but this is simply not the case.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A 3.7v (2S) LiPo Battery?
While we’re on the subject of LiPo battery cells, we should also cover the very common question of charge times regarding differing battery voltages.
For now, we’ll start with the most common voltage: 3.7v (2S).
A 3.7v (2S) LiPo battery will normally take about 30 – 60 minutes to fully charge.
It should be noted that charging times are highly reliant on the size of the battery, the cell count of the battery, and the milliamps of your charger.
It’s also important to remember the mAh capacity of each battery, because not every 3.7v LiPo battery will have the same mAh capacity.
When you’re charging a LiPo battery, always make sure to pair your battery with a charger that outputs the same amount of milliamps per hour that your LiPo battery does.
What Does “S” Have To Do With The Voltage Of LiPo Batteries?
Speaking of confusion, many LiPo batteries have a curious naming convention. You will see many LiPo battery names that end with something like “4S,” but what does that mean?
The “S” that is often tacked onto the end of LiPo batteries’ names is due to the cell count of a LiPo battery.
For example, a LiPo battery with 4 cells will carry the “4S” suffix. This is to help people easily tell how many cells their battery has without having to look of the specifications.
A full guide about “S” and “P” in LiPo batteries
How To Charge Your LiPo Batteries In The Fastest Way?
Speaking of LiPo battery charging times, many of us would love to cut the charging time of our batteries in half, but how can we do this?
One of the simplest ways to achieve a faster rate of charging is to get your hands on the LiPo Balance Charger.
What is the LiPro Balance Charger? It’s a charger that supplies the appropriate voltage to your LiPo battery. No matter the charge requirements for your battery, the LiPo Balance Charger can be adjusted accordingly.
This charger is a great way to make sure that your battery doesn’t get too much current, which could lead to dangerous scenarios, such as combustion.
Another great use for this charger is that it can speed up the process of charging your battery. For example, if you have a battery of 900mAh and all you have is a standard charger that only outputs 220mA, then it’s going to take awhile for your battery to fully charge.
However, with the LiPro Balance Charger, you can max out your charge current for your 900mAh battery from 220mA to 900mA. As we said before, this should take about an hour, but is there an even better way to charge your LiPo battery faster?
If you have two or more batteries, you can use the parallel charging method, which essentially takes two or more batteries and makes them into one.
Like with the LiPro Balance Charger, this method will require you to purchase new equipment. Luckily, parallel charging boards aren’t hard to come by, and with this method, you can cut your charging time in half. With parallel charging, you can fully charge your LiPo battery within 30 minutes!
LiPo Charge Time Calculator
*Note that this calculation assumes a 20% efficiency loss.
If you would like to be able to do charge time calculations on your own, then the Battery Charge Time Calculator is your go-to for ease of calculation.
The Battery Charge Time Calculator is a web-based, free-to-use application that can calculate the mAh of your battery, and the mA output of your charger, and give you the result of how long it would take for your battery to reach full charge.
