# Does 1200mAh Lipo battery will kill my circuit? help me to read the data sheet please!

I've found old arduinio project from Gitlab which runs the circuit with Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 400mAh Unfortunately i wont be able find any Lip 400mAh in my country.Lucky enough i found one supplier has 1200mAh Lipo but i dont know how to read the data sheet!(forgive me I'm still a beginner). Im scared to use the 1200mAh as original circuit has MAX1704 fuelGauge and arduino code suppose shows the battery charging percentage on LCD display.

so project recommended 400mAh Lipo battery datasheet has below standard: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13851

and Lipo I found 1200mAh battery has below datasheet:

https://www.adafruit.com/product/258

can someone kindly enough to tell me if this is safe ?and tell me how to read this C rate and C5 rate difference please!

• For C-rate, you may have a look at electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/419671/… – Daniel K Jul 1 '19 at 5:22
• they both have the same output voltage .... what are you concerned about? – jsotola Jul 1 '19 at 5:22
• Both batteries have similar C ratings (C/5.) But the 2nd battery has a higher capacity. So it has three times the current compliance within its specifications. That's a good thing. So you should be fine with the 2nd battery for an application that works fine with the 1st battery. (I'm ignoring any issues regarding the proper charger to use and if, or if not, there is an included thermistor.) – jonk Jul 1 '19 at 5:30

## 2 Answers

If I have understood everything correctly, you are safe with the 1200mAh battery.

The nominal voltage is the same. The higher capacity is also an advantage.

The C Rating is simply a measure of how fast the battery can be discharged safely and without harming the battery. (https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide) This means with the 1200mAh battery, can provide higher currents for you application.

The 400mAh battery has 1C which means your maximum discharge current is: $$\400mAh \cdot 1C = 400mA\$$

For the 1200mAh with 5C: $$\1200mAh \cdot 5C = 6A\$$

The 0.2 prefix means a the same as C5 (https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/what_is_the_c_rate)

For charging, be aware that a maximum charge current of 500mA is suggested.

mAh capacity of a battery shows how much charge it can hold (its maximum capacity). It does not specify how much current you can draw from it. You can use the 1200mAh battery in your 400mAh Arduino project without any hazard. Just make sure that the current you are drawing from the battery, does not exceed its maximum current discharge rating. To ensure that you have to find out the current rating of your project. And the battery percentage on the LCD display may not be shown perfectly, because the program was written for a 400mAh battery. You have to reprogram it if you want to see a perfect reading.