The future of nicds

[jedzuki(2)]

Is there any research & development into improving nicd batteries?

Or are they dead technology? Is the main problem the toxic cadmium?

I still use Sanyo 2400 cells. Good for backyard bashing. Recycling centre nearby, so they won't get dumped.

[Snake Plissken]

I think that the real question should be the future of rc batteries. Personaly, I don't like the Ni-Mh batteries- they're too 'gentle' you have to treat them real nice otherwise their life cycle would deteriorate, The Ni-Cds are much better in that respect. But no matter if its Ni-Cd, Ni-Mh or Lithium polymer, it should be as robust as the the Ni-Cd, with a big charge capacity and should weight less. The battery that supply these demands would conquer the electric rc market.

[jedzuki(2)]

Claims that NiMH are 'delicate' have put me off. Might think differently if I raced. My Sanyo's give good run times. Always take at least two with me.

Just wondering how much longer NiCds will be available. [?]

[Mervyn]

I think nicads are done. There life as the leading source of power for all kinds of applications is over as far as I'm concerned. There apparently is all kinds of new technology just around the corner and Nimh are just the first wave of the future.

[sosidge]

NiCd are a dead technology because of the cadmium in there (althought there are still a lot of cheap NiCd cells out there).

Early NiMH cells were low on punch and durability, but new cells like the GP 3300 are great performers with great durability. Long term testing will prove it, but I expect the newest cells like the GP 3700/Intellect 3600 etc to be even better.

Lipo still isn't a technology for mainstream car use.

[ChrisB]

With tightening enviro legislation I can't see Nicads being in production long term.

Personally I have never experienced any probs with my Sanyo based NiMh packs, and I always thought they were better in that there is supposedly no memory effect like NiCD's so you don't have to worry so much about full dischage before recharging - or am I missing something?

I can't comment on racing with NiMh, as I don't - for me I like the increased runtime for bashing given by the higher capacity NiMH packs. The 3000mAh packs I have at the moment easily give me 20 mins+ of running time on my Hummer with full lighting rig.

I have LiPo's for my Hovercraft and have to say I am impressed with the power to weight ratio - they are also very small. The downside is the costs, life of the packs, the precautions required when charging and the need for an ESC with voltage cutoff to avoid running the packs down too much.

However my view is that over the next few years economies of scale will bring prices down, and improved integrated protection circuits in the packs will offset some of these problems.

In RC flying LiPo's are becoming widespread, imho its only a matter of time before it filters down into RC cars / buggies. LiPo battery technology is also getting a lot of investment from some really big companies in terms of R&D. For all handheld devices including the huge mobile phone market, improved battery capacities and smaller weights are the way things are going. More powerful phone / PDAs are only going to be possible if battery life can be maintained or improved.

For now I think NiMH is going to become the mainstream in the RC car world though..

[Basherboy]

I just got two GP3300 packs today and can say I'm well impressed with the run times and I havent noticed any reduction in power, again like Chris mine are just for bashing so runtime is my main criteria - especially with twin motors!