how long to charge a battery?

with my 'bee, I can fly for about 7 mins then the battery (3 cell as factory supplied) goes flat. putting it on charge the green light flashes for over 2 hours, I read that the max time on charge should be never more than 2 hours. How long should a charge take? Also 7 mins flying for 2 hours charging??? is that normal? Will be very grateful for any experiences on this. Ta in advance, keith
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Kalt Baron 50 - back in the air
Lama V4 - retired
Honeybee King 2:
CNC head & tail set
3400 Brushless motor &35A ESC
43t tail pulley
Telebee gyro & Acer labs tail servo
Schluter Mini-boy (mothballed)
Been flying for 40 years

That sounds about right to me. But it's been a while - now I use a proper charger!

The problem with the e-sky chargers is that they only output 800mA if I remember and the battery is more than that (1000-1200mAh ish?). This means that it's being charged at less than "1C". A battery of any capacity charged at 1C will normally take less than 2 hours to reach peak voltage. (1C is the rating of the battery in mAh. so if you charge a 1200mAh pack at 1C your charger would need to output 1200mA.)

Just ensure you do not charge the battery immediately after flying - leave it half an hour or so or it will be dead in no time.

However, 7 mins is pretty good on a standard pack. I get appx 9-12 on a 2200Mah pack buzzing about - and thats double yours!

My 2200 Mah pack used to take 4 1/2 hours on an Esky charger! Normally they say 2 hours maximum as this would indicate a problem with a cell not reaching peak voltage. But if your charger output is less than the battery mAh rating then 2 hours or thereabouts is about right.

Hence why I have gone back to flying Nitro Fuel n go
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Carbon TT Raptor
HK450TT Pro & Trex 500 Airwolf
Blade MSR & SR120
FPV kit on Skywalker II & Gaui 330xs
DX8 & Futaba FF9
http://www.youtube.co.uk/rcsquad

Cheers ringding, I thought it would be about right, never mind, that's the way it goes with electric. Like you I fly nitro (baron 50) but am waiting to get hold of a new main gear hence the HBK 2. I have been grounded since early June , gears are like hen's teeth but may have found one in the US. regards, Keith
_________________
Kalt Baron 50 - back in the air
Lama V4 - retired
Honeybee King 2:
CNC head & tail set
3400 Brushless motor &35A ESC
43t tail pulley
Telebee gyro & Acer labs tail servo
Schluter Mini-boy (mothballed)
Been flying for 40 years