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Ian_Gsi16V

The old what charger / batteries question again..:/

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Stuck on what to do now with my battery / charger situation and need some assistance :/

Currently have an Annsman NiMH charger and I am using a few 3700 + 4500 packs but these are getting on a bit now and certainly seem to have lost there punch :(

I am only an occasional runner and don't want to go breaking the bank on this stuff but I am thinking of getting some new batteries and possibly a slightly more intelligent charger so I can see what is going on with my packs!

Can anyone recommend a cost effective charger that is half decent and ideally could handle LiPO incase I decide to make the jump to them? I only run a Hornet and a stock Clod though so I don't know if LiPO is over kill and more hassle than they are worth??

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Lipo really isnt any more hassle than any other battery types. If you have a good charger that balance charges and doesnt over charge them and an ESC with LIPO cut off you cant really go wrong with them. So with that in mind I would go for:

Charger: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Original-IMAX-B6-Lipro-Digital-Balance-Charger-/110573109334?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19beabc056

Battery: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yuki-MODEL-801004-BRAINERGY-LiPo-2s1p-7-4V-4-000mAh-Hardcase-Accumulator-T-Plug-/221786291226?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item33a37e3c1a

This lipo will fit in both your cars with no problem (getting lipo's to fit in vintage tamiyas can be tricky but this fits in everything that a 7.2 stick pack fits in).

You will also need a power supply for the charger.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-5A-AC-Power-Supply-Cord-Adapter-for-iMax-B6-LiPo-Balance-Battery-Charger-/141459588680?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20efa60648

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If you can fit square lipo packs you can get batts for a tenner. I use the red zippy ones that hobbyking sell. They fit the hornet, but I don't know about the clod.

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This is very helpful for me too. What sort of esc do people recommend to swap to lipo....? Something that will run a brushless motor too...

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Another question regarding Lipo's, can I use them with Tamiya Plugs?

Only reason I ask is that I have a decent stock of NiCad / Nimh which I share with my young nephew and his lunchbox, will be a pain but do-able to make them all dean's connectors..

What's the general consensus? Say a 2S? Lipo running in my Hornet so nothing too taxing I imagine..

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I would not run tamiya connectors on anything but LiPo is less short friendly so I would definitely not use them.

You might get more punch out your old batteries with better connectors

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I just bought a load of xt60 connectors. Didn't take very long to replace all my tamiya connectors, and they are quite cheap to buy.

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A square hardcase 2S LiPo will fit in a clod. I use the blue Zippy 4000mah battery, sold by hobbyking. I chop off the powerpole connectors and use Deans.

PersonalIy I wouldn't use Tamiya connectors on LiPos.

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We used to melt tamiya connectors with a decent nicd Nd motor combo let alone nimh and I wouldn't even consider them on lipo!

Speedo wise a hobbyking xcar series speedo is a great start point, no cogging on sensorless, great adjustability and great prices. I've got a 60amp and my boy has a 45amp and 60amp. I've found the cheap turnigy cogs badly on sensorless and the cheaper hobbyking own brand doesn't have the adjustability of the xcar (although it doesn't cog on sensorless).

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I have 4 xcar 45A esc's and think they are great. From memory they are only about £6 each so a bargain too.

I use deans connectors on all my cars but if I was starting from scratch I would choose something else. Separating deans connectors isn't the easiest and it sometimes feels like I am pulling too hard on the wires and not the connector.

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I have 4 xcar 45A esc's and think they are great. From memory they are only about £6 each so a bargain too.

I use deans connectors on all my cars but if I was starting from scratch I would choose something else. Separating deans connectors isn't the easiest and it sometimes feels like I am pulling too hard on the wires and not the connector.

The brushless ones are a bit more than £6, but come in under £20 so represent great value.

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My genuine Imax B6 arrived earlier this week and I had my first play with it last night, charged my 4500 nimh and it does exactly what I wanted, can see on the screen the current and the current charge capacity, took around 1.5 hours at 3.0a which is fine for me :)

Got to be better than the previous Annsman AC30 that was fast charging for 30 minutes up to a capacity of 1800 :/

Hopefully get chance to test the battery out later :)

Thanks for everyones input!

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IMAX is great, I have the AC. One thing I found was the auto cut out time is to short to fully discharge a lightly used big pack so needs resetting longer

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IMAX is great, I have the AC. One thing I found was the auto cut out time is to short to fully discharge a lightly used big pack so needs resetting longer

You are aware that there is no need to fully discharge a LiPo battery before recharging it don't you..??

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You are aware that there is no need to fully discharge a LiPo battery before recharging it don't you..??

Yes but I had a mixed suite of batteries when I got it. 100% LiPo now.

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So after a getting fully sick of my old NiMH packs (ten minute drive to beach / field, 10 minutes run time with about one minute of full power) I have bit the bullet and ordered a LiPO battery, LiPO alarm, charging sack and a pack of XT connectors to replace all of my old Tamiya ones.

Hopefully be up and running in the next week of so with my Hornet and Monster Beetle :D

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