LiPo vs. Li-ion vs LiFe Batteries Explained

This blog will discuss three battery chemistries that are all members of the same lithium family. We will discuss their high-level specifications and potential applications for these battery packs.

Our Lipo battery pack, our light ion battery pack, and finally, our LiFe battery pack—or LiFe, depending on how you want to say it—are all examples of the lithium family.

Before we begin, let's discuss the voltages of each of these battery packs.

The nominal voltage of our Lipo battery pack is 3.70 volts, that of our Li-ion battery pack is 3.6 volts, and that of our Life battery pack is an astounding 3.30 volts. As you can see, the lithium polymer battery pack already has a significant advantage because it has a higher nominal voltage. Since each voltage is per cell, you can get a much higher voltage from our lithium polymer battery pack without needing many cells.

Let's discuss our maximum voltages for each cell, the second value displayed on the board. Each of the battery chemistries has some particular variations. The most important thing to consider is the difference between your nominal and maximum voltage. Every cell in that battery pack has a voltage differential of roughly 0.5 volts for the first two battery chemistries. The fact that our LiFe battery pack only has a three-volt difference indicates that over the battery's lifetime, it will go from a 100% state of charge to a 20% state of charge. A LiFe battery pack will have a lower voltage drop. Therefore, this is unquestionably the most significant difference between maximum and nominal.

This is the lowest voltage that we have on the board when it comes to the third standard. You should never reach the green 3 volts for our Lipo values displayed on the board. Our LiFe requires 2.5 volts, and our LiIon requires 3 volts. You can be sure that the Lifespan of the battery pack—the number of years you will have it around—will deteriorate and decrease if you hit these voltages with these battery packs. For the first two battery chemistries, you want to ensure that we have a drop dead minimum of approximately 3.4 volts every sell, and for the final battery chemistry, 3.00 volts per sell.

The next item we'll discuss is the maximum capacity we want to discharge from a particular battery. For example, suppose we have a 5000 milliamp-hour battery pack, and we only want to discharge 80% of that capacity. In that case, that's equivalent to 4000 milliamp hours, and the remaining state of charge will be one thousand million hours in our five thousand million hour battery pack. This is something to keep in mind when using these batteries, and it will be helpful, especially when we talk about the pack's Lifespan, which gives you the most extended life by ensuring that you adhere to this rule. Fortunately for us, it will be the same for the lithium-based family we're discussing today.

Let's now discuss the typical applications of these battery chemistries in our remote control world. Therefore, we begin by discussing our Lipo battery pack. Usually, high-output power systems would use one of these battery packs. The main benefit of a Lipo battery pack is its high power output, particularly considering its weight and size. In particular, we're talking about the rate at which we can discharge that battery pack, which will equal the amount of current we can get out of a Lipo battery pack. This makes it ideal for those high-output scenarios where we need to deliver a lot of current. This is where you'll find applications for your lithium-ion battery with a slow drain. An RX or TX is a typical example of this; it's a receiver battery pack or a transmitter battery pack, and you can even use it to run LED lights or even a sound card. You could avoid using a lithium-ion cell in any of these situations. Even some long-range radio-controlled drones and airplanes now use this particular battery pack and can get away with it.

Our LiFe is the final item that is now displayed on the board. This is utilized in various settings, particularly with more oversized radio-controlled vehicles. These battery packs are used in turbine ECUs, ignition systems, transmitters, and receivers. The LiFe battery cell's nominal voltage of 3.3 volts is an excellent feature that makes it perfect for RX applications. This battery chemistry will function flawlessly with all of my nominal 6-volt servos. The battery pack can provide 7.2 volts in total, but as soon as you take it off the charger and begin using it, the voltage rapidly drops to that LiFe battery pack.

For our final one, this particular battery chemistry is the sole reason I listed these unique features. This amazes me because you don't usually see this with any battery chemistry. If you looked at a resting voltage between 20% and 80% of the battery capacity here, you would see a relatively constant voltage. I would not use a battery pack's resting voltage to ascertain the LiFe battery's actual state of charge. To determine my current position in the battery's state of charge, I frequently check the milliamp hour usage for this pack.

Let's now discuss the Lifespan of our battery packs. Our Lipo battery pack is ranked third from the bottom because it performs the worst when it comes to battery pack lifespan. An excellent example would be an electric ducted fan jet; normally, I get two or three years out of a battery pack before I buy a new one for our electric ducted fan jets. Because I won't get the same performance when new from that battery pack for my electric-powered plane, I can't fly it with such a reduced amount of performance.

Let's now discuss our lithium ion's rank. You can use a lie ion cell for a considerable number of years, and this has the highest lice ban. This is unquestionably one of the lithium-ion battery pack's most significant benefits. These have a considerable lice restriction. Lastly, the LiFe battery pack will be our last choice, ranking No. 2 out of these three battery packs. These are in the middle of our lithium-ion pack and lipo. Therefore, they have a decent lifespan.

Let's now discuss maintenance. To extend their Lifespan, we must maintain all three of these battery pack chemistries. Perhaps "damage due to abuse" is a better way to characterize precisely what we will discuss here. If you neglect to maintain your Lipo battery pack, it will sustain significant damage from abuse. If you don't take care of your LiFe battery pack, the damage from misuse will be minimal.