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Terz1

Saddle pack battery question for my crawler

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Hi guys. I don't even know if it's the correct term for the type of battery I'm looking for in the thread title. Firstly I'll tell you what Im doing. I'm modifying my crawler by lowering the C.O.G so it can climb more efficiently by moving everything I can as low down in the chassis as possible without interferring with its ground clearance. This includes the esc, receiver and the biggest and heaviest item, the battery.

The esc and receiver were easily relocated but the battery is just being slightly awkward. I've read many threads and they seem to have the battery on the servo which is over the front axle. This is brilliant for crawlers as it also puts more weight on the front tyres and gives more grip. Unfortunately the 6 cell stick type battery is quite long and the fitment is pretty tight.

This is how my crawler stands at the moment.

20150730_200129_zpsyzsjqomq.jpg

So I've been looking for a 'stacked' battery pack were the cells are sideways with 3 more on top forming a chunkier rectangular block. Like this....

They've got the mah rating wrong in the description which doesn't fill me with confidence but that's the type I'm after.

https://sites.google.com/site/batteryinhouse/at-tenergy-7-2v-10000mah-nimh-battery-for-aerobird-xtreme-rc-airplane

I also found these packs but they are only 6v with 5 cells so I think the performance would really suffer. Am I right in thinking that?

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-nimh-battery-pack-subc-3300mah-6v-flat-premium-sport/rc-car-products/379731

And lastly I found this also from modelsport. It's 7.2v 6 cell and is in 2 groups of 3 cells which would allow me to stack them on the servo. The mah isn't the highest though.

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-nimh-battery-saddle-pack-2-3-af-1600mah-7.2v-premium-sport-carisma-gt14b-/rc-car-products/384440

So does anyone know where to get some decent 'stacked' style nimh 6 cell 7.2v batteries. The higher the mah the better (unless they get really expensive :lol: ). I'm not ready to go lipo yet and I don't feel confident pulling apart and resoldering a stick battery.

Thanks for any help :)

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Theres a company in california I get my hump back batteries for my wild willys and for my ranger... I think the batteries came in at 3300 mah. Search it it should pop up...

Heres the item number...... 191580831779

Ebay item number that is

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What motor are you running in your crawler..?

I run 45 -55 turn motors and LiPo batteries in my (SCX-10) crawlers.. LiPo batteries are generally lighter in weight when compared to a NiMh battery of the same capacity, which makes their placement on the chassis less important.. The higher turn motors don't draw as much current from the battery (when compared to a 27 turn 540 silver can) so you can get decent runtimes from a smaller battery..

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When I reconfigured my Scout I ending up resting the 7.2v Nimh on the front upper links. I tested it with a rubber band to hold it in place and eventually used a stretchy velcro strap.

IMG_0075.jpg

IMG_0076.jpg

The position worked well, all I added was a metal tube to hold it clear of the motor and drive shafts at the rear. The steering servo stopped it moving forward. The stretchy strap did a great job of holding it in place and after some thorough testing it didn't foul the axle articulation at all. It still kept the weight forward and low down... just what you want on a crawler 😉.

I'm planning a new dedicated crawler using Scout bits but I've since made the not-so large jump to lipos so I'll probably go with a couple of 2200mah 2S batteries in the cramped space.

If you really want to stick with Nimh and make up your own batteries then you can buy individual cells that come with tabs pre-soldered on. This makes it much easier to solder them together yourself into any size battery or any saddle pack type configuration. Here's one I found just by typing "battery cells with tabs" into eBay.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=151057110132&globalID=EBAY-GB

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Thanks for the replies. :)

Theres a company in california I get my hump back batteries for my wild willys and for my ranger... I think the batteries came in at 3300 mah. Search it it should pop up...
Heres the item number...... 191580831779
Ebay item number that is

Thanks for the link dave. That is a good configuration for the batteries being hump backed so I'll have that bit more room and the COG won't be as high as if stacked 3 on 3. That's one of the main problems with the stick, the length of the thing. Not a bad price too even when shipped from california and a large mah rating which is nice. It's on my watch list!

What motor are you running in your crawler..?

I run 45 -55 turn motors and LiPo batteries in my (SCX-10) crawlers.. LiPo batteries are generally lighter in weight when compared to a NiMh battery of the same capacity, which makes their placement on the chassis less important.. The higher turn motors don't draw as much current from the battery (when compared to a 27 turn 540 silver can) so you can get decent runtimes from a smaller battery..

It's a maverick scout and there's been a bit of debate what turn the motor is. I think even in the manual it says 14t (no chance! :rolleyes: ). If it is 14t it is the slowest 14t in the world :lol: . I think it's a 55 turn motor after reading up on them so you're probably right it will run much longer than I'm used to the silver can rc's Ive got.

You're right too lipo is the way to go really and I do need to take that step.

Thanks for your battery lay out mr crispy. It looks really good. I think I'll try this lay out first and see how it goes before spending on a new battery pack. It's been thoroughly tested by you so thats good enough for me :D . I'll have to move my esc and receiver to the rear end of the chassis which isnt a big deal. Thanks for the link too. I could have batteries in a number of configurations using those.

Oh and send me a link if you build this scout based dedicated crawler, I'd love to see it. I'll keep an eye out for it.

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