7.2v Battery Packs

[Rob606]

I am recently getting back into running cars and boats after quite a few years. All of my collection has been just shelf queens. I'm expanding my collection so that there are some that I can run.

It has been many years since i've had to buy battery packs and am not too familiar with the new technology. I need the 7.2v pack but am not sure what I should get as far as mAh. They range from 1600 which I used to buy years ago, to up to 5000. I don't really know which I should be going for.

This may sound like a dumb question, but can someone explain the differnce to me and which would be best for performance? And if one type would suit a boat better than a car. Also could someone recomend a good charger to buy.

Final question, should you still discharge the battery packs fully after use to make sure that they get a full charge or has technology moved past that now?

So many questions. I've been out of this for so long.

Thanks in advance for you help.

[Danbox]

I'm no expert, but here's a little info:

NiCad (Nickel Cadmium)packs are still around but are sort of "old-school" at this point. I think the highest capacity one of these packs can hold is 2400mah.

I think it is recommended to fully discharge these to avoid "cell memory"-if that happens they won't fully charge.

NimH are probably most common now. They can hold a lot more than nicads(more run time)-up to 5000mah, but can't be charged on a nicad-only charger. These actually need to be stored with some charge on them so the cells don't get damaged.

More advanced stuff like Lipos (Lithium Polymer) or Lithium-Ion or Lithium Manganese are lighter and can have huge capacities, but they are expensive and require special chargers and special care.

Hope this helps....

Again, I'm no expert-I'm sure some of the guys here know way more.

[ryanbored]

If it just 'sport' running ie not competitive racing then I'd look at something like GP 3700's (getting cheap now, and a great cell, very popular with racers about 3 years ago). Don't bother with used packs off ebay, as all I have ever bought is junk, and don't bother with cheaper (like 2 packs for 20) stuff from asia as it's pot luck as to whether they are any good.

[Danbox]

If you live near a Radio Shack you might be able to score some GP3300 packs for about $25(really good deal). At one time they were supposed to have been replaced with lower quality packs at the same price, but I saw some of the GP's at my local Radio Shack recently. Might be worth a look.

[Crash Cramer]

Try some info from "batteryuniversity.com" and see how smart you get.

[secretsg]

Join the revolution. Yeah Racing 3200 hard case lipo packs are only $35-45 each. You can have 2 packs and a charger for less than $150.

[Rob606]

Thanks for the help. Could anyone recommend a battery charger?

[scoobyryan]

i use a 3700mah nicd battery in my tl 01 and twin detonator and works great with quite a good run time aswell