What Batteries To Upgrade To

[tamiya monkey]

Ok i have a few 3700mah nimh vapextech packs 8 to be exact, plus some nicads and a reedy black 2 3300mah gp celled pack, im looking maybe to reduce the batteries for better quality packs, have been looking at intellect 4300 or 4600 packs for around 25 pounds inc postage, plus been on cheapbatterypacks.com

can anyone comment on the elite cells maybe the 4700 or 5000mah made up packs for around 35 pounds delivered, im also woundering about my charger, i use a gt escape twin charger that came with a e-savage that can charge 2 packs at 4amps each, would i be better off getting a different charger or would this do the job still.

[94eg!]

The later cells are much more temperamental than your old 3700 packs (with IB4200 cells being the worst). The problem is that their power leaches out very fast when stored. They loose about half their charge in one day, and can completely **** out in as little as a week becoming expensive paperweight. If you plan on stepping up to these later race cells, get yourself a good equalizer and a fast discharger. Make sure the equalizer has a cut-off above .9v and that the discharger doesn't go below 5.4v (for 6-cell). I use an Integy Reactor20 20amp discharger, and the Trinity D-90 equalizer. These items can be had for very little money on ebay second hand, but they don't come up all that often. Your charge/storage regime should go something like this:

- Take out of storage

- Fast Discharge

- Equalize (no lower than .9v each cell)

- Cool to room temp

- Charge (for racing go no higher than 6.5amps w/ fan)

- Run while warm (not hot)

- At the end of the day, discharge, equalize & charge to 70-80% capacity

- Store for 2 weeks max

If they are going to be stored longer than that, it's best to discharge, equalize & charge to 70-80% every two weeks. Also, it's best to only run your cells once in a day...

[allenandjoe]

****** all that!!, stick with the 3700s, I have

[DCLXVI]

Just get som hard cased li-pos and a lipo charger...it's not bthat expensive and the differance is freaking sick...

[Backlash]

Just get som hard cased li-pos and a lipo charger...it's not bthat expensive and the differance is freaking sick...

I second this recommendation..

I have just changed over to LiPo's for racing and the difference is unbelievable... I didnt notice any real difference in performance from my matched 4200 packs, apart from the LiPo's being like half the weight of a similar capacity NiMh pack, so there is quite a bit of performance gain there due to less weight...

With the LiPo's, I bought 2 packs for each car, and I precharged them the day before the race meeting, and had no loss in performance.... After my 6 minute race, I let the pack sit and "cool" for 10 minutes whilst I marshalled the next race, and then put the pack back on charge.. ( no discharging, no equalizing, just straight back on the charger.. Try doing that with a NiMh/NiCd pack and it would most likely explode)..

In all of my 20+ years of being involved in RC racing, I have never had a day that has been easier in regard to battery charging..

One of the main issues with LiPo batteries is that they shouldnt be discharged below 6V for a 2 cell pack.. Because all of my ESC's are pre LiPo, none of them have an inbuilt LiPo cutoffs, so I just installed a Novak Smart Stop that shuts off the ESC when the LiPo reaches 6.2 Volts.. The Smart Stops cost me $25 USD each, and took 5 mins to install, and could be easily installed by anyone that is competent enough with a soldering iron to fit a Deans style battery connector..

One of the chargers I have is an inexpensive Chinese unit called a Hot Power Balance charger... It charges NiMH, NiCd and LiPo, so it has all of the features and more of my Eagle Racing CDC-7 (CDC-7 does not have an inbuilt balancer), and only cost $90AUD posted, it is was less than 1/3 of the price of the CDC-7...

LiPo is here...

Cheers

[TA-Mark]

How do these Hard case Li-Po's go in tubs made for the rounded edge 7.2v stick packs? Or are we talking FRP/Graphite chassis only? My charger will do them, but will they fit the cars still using plastic tubs?

Mark

[Backlash]

How do these Hard case Li-Po's go in tubs made for the rounded edge 7.2v stick packs? Or are we talking FRP/Graphite chassis only? My charger will do them, but will they fit the cars still using plastic tubs?

Mark

Mark

I have also bought 2 x 3200 mAh Yeah Racing LiPo packs that will fit in the Tamiya chassis that need a stick pack, such as the M01/2/3 Mini and TL01..

I bought these of an aussie ebay seller for about $45 each.. This seller now has Yeah Racing 4000mAh LiPo packs for approx $55.. If you want to avoid eBay, then try HarrisRC and or Feral batteries as they both stock these packs..

Some more information on these batteries in this thread http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...eah+racing+lipo

[DCLXVI]

I've seen two kind of hard cases, one is built like a brick and won't fit into the rounded battery trays that Tamiya likes, the other is rounded casings, with are made to have the same shape as a regular 7,2v stick pack...

I've only got the brick one (a 5000mAH 20C Yuntong) that I got with a charger (Imex B5) and a balancing unit for about 150, the battery alone was about 75 but considering the extremly high power output of the battery (100 amp) and the normal from a non-matched 3000 mAH pack is about 30A (from what I've heard) and even less than that after a few misshandlings (it's easy to forget to keep them charged during the winter for instance)...

www.dinball.com has a really nice deal on a 3200 mAH hard cased rounded lipo batt for about 35 USD, they have good shipping options to Europe from what I remeber...

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-battery-l...ml?cPath=52_973

[TA-Mark]

They look good and the reviews there are too. Slight mods to battery holders I don't mind. I musta missed that other thread on them.

Bye Bye IB4200's... I'm going Li-Po.

Thank You, Mark

[ryanbored]

****** all that!!, stick with the 3700s, I have

Haha!! Funny. I have IB4200's and not noticed a problem. I have to be honest and say I don't take particularly good care of them. They get charged @5 amps on my peak charger, then used, then cool down, then charged again untill I finish bashing/ racing whatever. I've not really noticed a difference in them since new, but have had them about 2 years so they are due for an update. I'm a bit scared of lipo though!! Dunno why- I'm an old git stuck in my ways I suppose!

[grizy]

I'm an old git stuck in my ways I suppose!

Old git? 27 thats practically ancient

But I know what you mean about Lipos.

Read too many of the stories about crash damage, burning cars etc

Time for us old gits to wait and learn from the younger ones.

So, If you've burned down the house, car, caravan (or indeed anything else)

charging or running lipos please let us know. (Pics would be nice too).

Grizy

[terry.sc]

But I know what you mean about Lipos.

Read too many of the stories about crash damage, burning cars etc

I take you've read the tales of people using the unprotected soft packs designed for plane use (not many crashes when it's in the sky) and damaging them, or all those who deliberately overcharge them or run them low to make a good youtube video, none of which happen with LiPos designed for r/c cars. The hard cases protect them from impact damage and r/c bikes in the UK have been racing with the soft packs for years without one incident as the packs are well protected from impact damage tucked inside the bikes.

They seem to be safer than some of the latest high capacity NiMh if they are looked after properly - at least LiPos don't explode like NiMhs do

[grizy]

Yep Terry,

Seen the stories from planes and heli guys who have crashed and chucked the

stuff in the car, and have had to remove it quick.Sometimes too late

As with all batteries you need to look after them, follow the manufacturers instructions,

and be aware of what can happen if they get damaged.

I hope I didn't seem to alarmist, but its better to be safe than sorry

Grizy

[terry.sc]

Seen the stories from planes and heli guys who have crashed and chucked the

stuff in the car, and have had to remove it quick.Sometimes too late

Just like to keep things in perspective, usually a Lipo needs a big impact (like a plane crashing) to damage them, short them out internally and so set on fire. Newer packs are nowhere near as flammable as the older Lipos. The internet is good for scare stories.

Compare this with NiMh, where planes do explode in mid air for no apparent reason. The plane 2007 electric world championships had several planes explode just in normal flight (no crashes) due to Nimh batteries, one competitor suffering burns from the chemicals sprayed out of the cells by the explosion. Several times r/c car racers have had packs explode on their table while just charging, throwing shrapnel around the pits.

In either case if they are looked after properly with the correct equipment then there is no danger from either type.

[ryanbored]

In either case if they are looked after properly with the correct equipment then there is no danger from either type.

I think that applies to pretty much everything in life eh? (even my fiancee!! )

[007al]

I think that applies to pretty much everything in life eh? (even my fiancee!! )

Meaning you`ve got the correct equipment?

[tamiya monkey]

might just run these batts in the ground and look into upgrading then, cheers for the advice guys