How ProTek RC Tests LiPo Batteries

Not many people know it, but ProTek RC is a brand of AMain Hobbies created in 2005 to offer racers high-end products for competitive use. The selection was pretty thin in the early days but quickly grew to where it is at today. ProTek now offers a thousand different items, including servos, engines, and accessory LiPos, available online and in over 400 stores in the US and worldwide.

Once charged, the battery is placed on the CBA or (Computerized Battery Amplifier), a computer-controlled discharger, and it can hold a constant discharge amperage up to 35A. Still, we're only cycling in stage 1, so the battery is discharged at a constant 1C rate, down to 3.4V a cell. Once complete, the battery is left to cool back to room temperature, and this cycling process is completed 3 more times.

1. First, the battery pack is charged to its exact voltage, down to the hundredth of a volt; this means 4.19V a cell is not acceptable. It needs to be 4.20V per cell. If it's not, it is fixed because all batteries need to start at the same place to get a sound benchmark. In other words, they need to be tested consistently.

2. The second variable is even more critical, and it is the temperature of the battery pack. As many of you know, a LiPo can warm up when charging, and we don't want that because it skews results. So to proceed further, the battery needs to be at the same temperature all the other batteries have been tested at, about 72°F/22°C or about room temperature, and if it's not, it sits until it is.

Once the battery is drained, the graph of data is done! And it can be saved and cataloged as test 1 for that battery sample, but it's just the beginning. This 35A constant discharge test needs to be performed 3 more times, and at the end of it all, all four data sets are averaged out, and Chad rates the battery.

For batteries that are not LiHV, Step 2 of testing is done. BUT - if it is a LiHV pack, all the testing of step 2 needs to be done four times, with the battery charged at 4.20V per cell.

This enables ProTek RC to provide battery specs at high voltage and regular voltage levels for LiHV batteries only. Of course, it takes Chad more time to run all these tests for only one battery, but having that data is important. Once all the graph data has been collected, we move on to step three.

This process overlays the current graph with last year's graph and any other battery graph applicable to this situation. It's a lot of data analysis on Chad's part to compare and hopefully see improvements in capacity, voltage, and internal resistance.

Step three is a critical point in battery testing because the question needs to be asked: "Is this battery worth any more of our time or money?" Unfortunately, most batteries tested never make it beyond this step for many reasons. So we just cut our losses on that product, but we move on if the battery data looks promising.

Most batteries that make it to this point will get the green light to start production, and that production process requires a significant financial deposit and months of waiting.

In the meantime, Chad and the rest of the ProTek team get busy turning sample packs into proper ProTek items by designing new labels for the boxes, including new ratings, new part numbers, and new barcodes. All this is done in-house at the Amain Hobbies corporate headquarters. These design files are saved and sent to our supplier on the other side of the world and implemented into pre-production.

If all of this were timed correctly, the first big order of new batteries would arrive at ProTek RC while the batteries are receiving their approval. So the moment the new battery goes live for sale, it should already be approved.