LiPo Battery Chart

Cell count and voltage

Each LiPo cell has a nominal voltage of 3.7V, a fully charged voltage of 4.2V, and a storage voltage of about 3.8V. Cell count is written as 1S, 2S, 3S and so on, where S means cells in series.

1S: 3.7V nominal, 4.2V charged. Tiny whoops and micro drones.

2S: 7.4V nominal, 8.4V charged. Small indoor and beginner quads.

3S: 11.1V nominal, 12.6V charged. Common for older 5 inch builds and many toy-grade and camera drones.

4S: 14.8V nominal, 16.8V charged. A long-standing standard for 5 inch freestyle quads.

6S: 22.2V nominal, 25.2V charged. The current default for most modern 5 inch builds, drawing less current for the same power thanks to the higher voltage.

Wikipedia: lithium polymer battery →

What C-rating actually means

C-rating describes the maximum continuous current a pack can safely deliver, expressed as a multiple of its capacity. Multiply capacity in amp-hours by the C-rating to get maximum current in amps: a 1500mAh (1.5Ah) pack rated 100C can theoretically deliver 150A continuously.

Manufacturer C-ratings are frequently optimistic marketing figures rather than measured specs, especially at the high end, so a pack advertised at 120C often performs closer to a conservatively rated 70-80C pack from a reputable brand. Treat C-rating as a rough tier indicator rather than an exact engineering number, and weight brand reputation heavily.

Voltage thresholds that protect the pack

4.2V per cell: fully charged. Charging beyond this damages cells and is a genuine fire risk, which is why chargers are set per-cell and balance charging matters.

3.8V per cell: storage voltage. LiPos degrade when left fully charged or fully drained, so packs sitting more than a couple of days should be brought to roughly 3.8V per cell.

3.5V per cell under load: the practical landing threshold in flight. Most pilots land here to leave margin before resting voltage settles lower.

3.0V per cell: the hard floor. Discharging below this causes permanent capacity loss, and a pack that has been drained well under this should be retired rather than revived.

Reading a full pack label

A label reading '6S 1300mAh 120C' describes a 22.2V nominal pack holding 1300mAh with a claimed 156A continuous discharge ceiling. Flight time comes from capacity relative to how hard you fly, voltage sets the power the motors see, and C-rating sets the current ceiling before voltage sags badly under throttle.

Matching the pack to the build matters more than maximizing any single number: a heavy high-capacity pack on a small quad hurts flight time rather than helping, since the extra weight costs more energy than the extra capacity provides.