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tamiya monkey

Should I Upgrade To Lipo?

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Ive been thinking about this for some time, but dont understand all the different types 2c or 20c etc, voltage wise i use 7.2 or 8.4 volt nimhs in my cars and would be happy with similar spec lipo, just been looking at life batteries which look very similar to the a123 cells, what would be a good cheap way into upgrading, i will need a charger too, nothing flashy just does the job. any suggestions and both battery type and charger would help.

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1 cell lipo = 3.7v, so 2s is 7.4 v 3s is 11.1v etc,

C standards for the discharge rate - 20C means it can discarge at 20 x its capacity- a 20c 4000mah lipo discharges at 20x4000 = 80000ma = 80Amps.

7.4v is the most common in rc, as it offers simular motor speed to 7.2v nimh, but lipo generally offers considerably more 'punch' the acceleration is much quicker as it can supply more amps

ebay has many available chargers and batteries. the IMAx B6 is a good charger as it can charge anythig you throw at it, foraround £45 (with an ac power adapter) battery wise there is a good choice. make sure you get somthing that can supply the current you need and some, so the batteries fun cool. i dont really know which batteries are the best, though hard case is important is your battery is exposed to any thing that might damage it. yeah racing 3200s or 4000mah batteries are popular, and cheap. price wise the initial investment is larger, but it should pay for its self in time over nimh, and your cars will be faster too!

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Once you try lipo, you will not go back. The punch is equal to the best conditioned Nimh high-capacity matched race pack. I easily have as much power with my Orion 2400mah lipo than I did when my best IB4600 matched packs (in 27T racing that is).

Lipo does have some inherent dangers though. Hard case packs are must in cars cause any small amount of damage to the soft cells inside may result in a nasty chemical fire. The same is true if you over charger and over discharge them. This means you should instlal a low voltage cutoff in any cars with ESC not already equiped. Of course it also means you need a special charger.

Personally I would suggest using a good expensive balance charger and running the relatively inexpensive packs (like Yeah Racing 3200mah). The balance charger ensures that each individual cell stays at the exact same voltage so there is no danger of overcharging any one cell inside the pack. Personally I recommend the Hyperion EOS0606i ACDC for about $139 shipped. It works on any hosehould voltage and has the balancer built in. Additionally it can charge any current type of battery at up to 6amps. With this charger, Lipo is always charged at a 1C rate (1 x capacity). That means a 3200mah lipo will be charged at 3.2amps.

Depending on the battery you buy you will probably need to buy a different balance adapter for this charger. The yeah racing lipos use the JST-XH adapter. This is an additional $6.35 cost. You do not need the recommended cable in the second link cause the charger already includes that with the original balance adapter...

http://rclipos.com/HP-EOS0606i.htm

http://rclipos.com/Accessories.htm#adpxh

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Is it possible to get a hard case to put other lipos in? For example if you had a regular lipo, could you put in a hard case to protect it? Does anyone make these?

Cheers,

Rob

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Is it possible to get a hard case to put other lipos in? For example if you had a regular lipo, could you put in a hard case to protect it? Does anyone make these?

Cheers,

Rob

The issue with this - and yes it can be done - is the built in failure. If you mistreat a LiPo it swells up. If this swelling was restricted you could be in trouble. If left alone the swelling normally resides and the battery is fine.

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