Battery/charger Combo - What's Best?

[Tyree 0]

What's the best 7.2V Tamiya battery/charger combo?

I've just resurrected my old RC car and I wondered if there was some fancier/better equipment out there that would maximize play time and minimize charge time.

I have 3 older batteries and a Hobbico AC/DC charger with trickle and a 15min. timed charge on it. I figure after over 15 years I could probably get something better!

Any opinions on the subject are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Matt Tyree

[terry.sc 19]

There have been many improvements in technology over the years, batteries are available with up to 4600mah capacity which would last for ages with a standard 540 motor. The modern batteries are more sensitive to damage when charging, so the Hobbyco charger just wants throwing away. Modern chargers will even get more out of your old batteries if they still take a charge.

If you can stretch to it I would recommend a Novak Ionic charger. Good value and does most things a high end charger will do without costing a fortune. Any of the Duratrax range are good, I've been using a Duratrax Intellipeak Digital Pulse for years now.

For batteries just about any make between 3300mah and 3800mah are pretty reliable and a decent price. Larger capacity cells are either a lot more money or very low quality.

[Tyree 0]

Thanks for the input!

I've also gotten suggestions for the Superbrain 960 and 977. Any thoughts on those?

Also, would you suggest moving to Lipo batteries? And, do they make a Lipo compatible with the 7.2V 3300+ NiMH battery packs?

I'd like to land 4 batteries and a charger for $200 or less. Someone told me the Superbrain 977 will charge two batteries at once. I have two of the exact same car. So, if I had 4 batteries I could keep the two of them running for as long as I wanted being able to charge two batteries while I'm using the other two.

Thoughts?

Thanks!!!

Matt

[ryanbored 4]

And, do they make a Lipo compatible with the 7.2V 3300+ NiMH battery packs?

OMG No!! Bomb in the making right there!

And in my experience if you get three batteries then you can have almost a continious cycle (1 charging, one using one resting) anything over 3000Mah with a standard can motor will be fine. And you might as well charge them seperately as most charges will charge at 5 amps, so if you connect 2 sets up you get 2.5 amps into each pack so they take twice as long...

(unless I've been doing it wrong for years!)

Ryan

[terry.sc 19]

OMG No!! Bomb in the making right there!

Ryan he means as an alternative, no safety problems there at all, IB4200s are a lot more dangerous.

[terry.sc 19]

I've also gotten suggestions for the Superbrain 960 and 977. Any thoughts on those?

No thoughts on them as they aren't sold over here in the UK. Not heard anything bad about them though and they do have a good reputation.

Also, would you suggest moving to Lipo batteries? And, do they make a Lipo compatible with the 7.2V 3300+ NiMH battery packs?

Yes, they do make lipo packs specifically for r/c cars, but the chassis must be able to take a side by side nicad pack. Most of the lipos designed for r/c cars have a hard case to protect the cells from damage that means they can be impossible to fit into many cars. For a review of one see here Great for racing if it is allowed, but remember those guys will spend $400 on batteries to have enough high end packs for their racing.

If you have a limited budget go with nimhs, car specific lipos aren't cheap. You would also need to spend more on your charger to a one that is designed to charge lipos. Be aware that some, like the Superbrain 977, will let you charge lipos at a low rate, they aren't designed to monitor the pack when charging and will damage the lipo pack. To keep running constantly you would need a second lipo pack per car, which is considerably more expensive than 3 or 4 nimh packs per car.

If you are thinking about lipos in the future it might be worth spending extra on a charger that will do both nimh and lipo, such as the Team Orion Advantage, that way you won't have to buy a second charger if you do decide to buy lipos. Remember your charger will last for years.

[Tyree 0]

Yeah, I definitely meant a Lipo setup to replace the Nicd/NiMH setup. Just wondered if it was worth it for a novice like myself to spend the money on switching to Lipo. What are the gains to go with the safety and high-maintenance drawbacks? Do you guys know of a Lipo battery model that will work with my car?

--edit--

I was replying at the same time terry.sc was--

I'm thinking I'll just stick with NiMH. It sounds like I'll be spending way too much money to go to Lipo packs. Can you give me an idea of what the typical play/charge ratio is? How much play time can I expect to get from the battery and how long will it take to charge it?

So, the suggestion is 3 batteries (I didn't realize one had to rest...good to know!) and charge one at a time with the Superbrain 977. So, a total of 6 batteries and 2 Superbrains. Yeah, I think I'll have to work up to that. I don't think my wife will sign off on that amount of loot directly after Christmas!

So, maybe 4 batteries and one Superbrain for now.

Thanks!

[Dirt-540 79]

Batteries and chargers are new to me but I would definitely recommend a couple of things. Firstly buy "new" batteries and chargers, not second hand from ebay and the like, unless they are a TC member , chances are at least TC members will be honest with you about the items history. I bought lots of batteries second hand or apparently new from ebay and they all were terrible in their performance and one made a horrible bubbling noise whilst charging at 4 amps . It might be possible that the noise was perfectly safe and accetable but because it was the only one of seven batteries that did it I thought better safe than sorry, incedently it was a 3000 and cost me 12 from ebay. Secondly I would buy Nihms not Nicads, Nicads have a memory which can pose more responsability in regards looking after them in order to protect their performance. Also Nihms are eco friendly . I wont go into the Nihm/Nicad differences because I'd end up writing an essay and to be honest I'm sure others could probably explain better than me, I'd probably end up confusing you and myself .

If I were you I'd use the search facility at the topish rightish of this page and type "batteries" "chargers" etc. Browse the results and read stuff and make notes, you'll be amazed at what you'll learn in order for you to make an educated decision before you part with your cash.

Recently I bought an Annsmann 3000 Nihm (TC member via ebay/10) and a Prolux Revo charger for 35 from Modelsport UK, charged the battery at 4 amps and it is the best performance I've had from my tired and battered King Blackfoot ever.

[ChrisB 0]

Just for general bashing I would definitely stick with NiMh. LiPo's are coming down in price all the time, and there are as terry.sc says car specific packs. However compared to NiMH packs and chargers you are talking a lot of money and the number of useful charge/discharge cycles on a LiPo pack is way lower than NiMH. If looked after decent NiMH packs will last you for years of bashing.

I use LiPo's for my Hovercraft because the weight saving makes a huge difference and have a special Kokam LiPo charger. With LiPo's you also usually need to have ESC's that have the right cut-off circuitry, (or packs with this built in), to prevent the voltage going below a minimum level. If you discharge a LiPo pack below this level its usually junk (ask me how I know!!!), which can get expensive real fast. You really also do need to take sensible precautions when charging LiPo's too - if they go bad then they can be a fire risk, so its advisable to never leave them charging unattended and charge them in or on a fireproof container / surface (I use a steel tin).

LiPo's in RC cars I think will become more widespread as more packs become available with better "idiot proof" discharging/charging circuitry built in, but unless you need a really lightweight power source I would stick with NiMH's and a decent charger able to use custom settings from a reputable manufacturer.

[igbandy 34]

For bashing purpose, I would suggest some 3000 Ni-Mh`s, I use them in my Tamiya fleet and get great run time and a decent turn of speed even with standard cans.

[JYCM3 241]

For bashing purpose, I would suggest some 3000 Ni-Mh`s, I use them in my Tamiya fleet and get great run time and a decent turn of speed even with standard cans.

Why not 4000 or 5000 NiMh you get even longer run times? just curious as i been out of the hobby for awhile

[igbandy 34]

Why not 4000 or 5000 NiMh you get even longer run times? just curious as i been out of the hobby for awhile

Because, some of the 4 and 5000`s dont fit in some battery compartments, 3000`s dont take overly long to charge if you only have 2 of them. Oh and some chargers are fussy and need resetting to charge the higher capacity cells.

Oh and the intelect 3000`s that I use are 20 quid a time. and give great power and run time

[JYCM3 241]

Because, some of the 4 and 5000`s dont fit in some battery compartments, 3000`s dont take overly long to charge if you only have 2 of them. Oh and some chargers are fussy and need resetting to charge the higher capacity cells.

Oh and the intelect 3000`s that I use are 20 quid a time. and give great power and run time

thanks for the info I didn't know the 4000 and 5000nimh batteries are different size i thought they all the same as long as buy the stick type. Glad i find out before buying them and realize they will not fit my highlift.