Are Lipos Really Worth It?

[Gamester]

Hey guys,

I've been looking into Lipo batteries recently and I do see that they are at an advantage compared to standard packs due to the lighter weight and smaller size. However, I have also read that they are a major pain to properly charge and discharge and they are very prone to catching fire and easily damaged. I am planning on getting into the brushless scene and I see that more and more people are using Lipos. Can anyone give me the low down on these Lipos and if they are worth while?

Thanks,

Gamester

[crash alot]

Hey guys,

I've been looking into Lipo batteries recently and I do see that they are at an advantage compared to standard packs due to the lighter weight and smaller size. However, I have also read that they are a major pain to properly charge and discharge and they are very prone to catching fire and easily damaged. I am planning on getting into the brushless scene and I see that more and more people are using Lipos. Can anyone give me the low down on these Lipos and if they are worth while?

Thanks,

Gamester

mate lipos are great u dont need to discharge a lipo only thing u need to get is a cut off for your esc to stop battery from going to low, personaly i have been racing with lipos for year now would never go back to nimh or nicad lipos are so much better as for so many pepole worrying about them catching on fire i am yet to see one like anythin treat it right u wont have any hastle if u are really worried about it get a lipo sack for when charging

[jkyamog]

Yes and No. It really depends.

NiMH

- still 1/2 the price

- still good as long as you stick to the good brands like Intellect, GP, etc.

- heavy, my 4600mah NiMH is 430g while my 3200mah LiPo is 210g. They don't have same mah, but they do drain about the same, NiMh takes a bit longer. So its like 3800mah LiPo is closer to 4600mah NiMH

- fits on more chassis, still shorter than most hard case lipo at 134mm

LiPo

- they are not smaller when in hardcases. Some hard case are 138mm and some are also wider. Will have a problem fitting on old cars that are tight on batteries like Hornet. No problem for Hotshot, boomerang type of cars.

- way lighter, as above.

- really has more punch than NiMH, but for bashing it hardly a difference. For racing it would matter. Most people with hotter motor and brushless will see the punch difference even more.

- sometimes too light for the chassis. I got a DB01, I need to save up and buy the 5000+mah just to balance the car. DB-01 battery sits on one side of the chassis to counter weight all electricals and motor on the other side. I am running the DB01 on NiMH which is not too bad, I just bash around.

So I guess the answer is, if you think all the positives of LiPo is worth the extra $ then go for it. Just remember to be safe. NiMh also needs care, besides any battery having as much electrical storage needs to be treated safely and respected.

[cubsfan2009]

If your going brushless then go lipo and don't look back. The brushless ESC will most likely have a low voltage cutoff for lipo's built in. Lipo's are actually safer than NIMH as long as you take care of them.

Lipo's are cheaper than NIMH, not the other way around. Find me a 5200 mah NIMH battery for under $24. Here is a Lipo for that price. Lipo's have come way down in price in the last year and are cheaper and more powerful than NIMH. Even the best NIMH will have a hard time putting out more than 50amps continuous. The 5200 mah lipo I referenced will do 156 amps continuous! I know people using these lipo's to power a Mamba Monster brushless which will pull 120+ amps continuous, so good quality.

Lipo's also give longer runtimes for the same MAH and are lighter. If the weight throws of the balance of the car then lead it down to balance back out.

[scoobybooster]

Fully agree with cubsfan2009...especially when you do some RC-flying,too you won't get anything better than lipos!

Just one neg.point not mentioned yet : Lipos are pretty sensitive for low temperature and will break down easily when used outside in freezing cold! This is the biggest negativ point IMO...

Cheers

Mike

[Gamester]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think I am pretty sold on Lipos now. Now all I need is the money for them and a brushless system

[Zak001]

Easy answer - Oh Yes !!!, dont be put off by people saying they are dangerous ect... they are are actually safer than Himh, two things that make me laugh,

1. people compare lipo's to the early ones...... ha

2. as long as you balance them they will be fine

3. Dont listen to peoples reviews, they are idiots

Lipo's are very safe, all you need is a good pack, a good charger and half a brain lol

[TA-Mark]

After all my ?quality? Ni-MHs (IB4200) died after 300 or less cycles I swapped to Li-Po hard case round edge stick packs and will never look back. The IP4000 packs I'm using now have performed flawlessly since purchase (powering MambaMax). They are always ready to go when I grab a car (I charge after a run). Never again will I buy another Ni-MH pack.

I would rather buy Ni-Cd packs than Ni-MH. My ancient Tamiya 1400 Gold Ni-Cds are still going strong after 15+ years of use, still charge to more than their rated capacity (1500mAh -> 1700mAh). Every Ni-MH pack I've purchased is dead (about 30 packs over the last 10 years).

As for safety, I've not had any Li-Po fires, I have however had a Ni-MH pack explode during charge and shoot bits of itself all over the room. Ni-MH packs become unbalanced easily due to the different self-discharge rates of the 6 cells in the packs when sitting. Have not had and balance issues with the Li-Po packs, balanced on every 10th charge.

[DirtyBlackfoot]

They are worth it from a pilot of RC helicopter's view. Longer runs and lighter weight, both good features for Small, electric helis.

I would say the benefit would be the same for cars, but will cost you more and you have to be nice to them while charging and discharging.

[yellowscott]

Unless you hate- going faster with no other upgrades, longer run times, more punch/power, fully charged batteries ready to go weeks after they were last charged I wouldn't get them! Seriously they are great, you won't regret the investment!!! I nearly always come home with unused, fully charged batteries these days instead of messing around charging on site running my real car battery flat(actually destroyed it)

[SteelRat]

With all this LiPo love, I have a couple of questions:

Is there any particular brand of battery that people tend to use or would recommend? Looking on Model Sport, it really is a minefield and you can pay anything between £35 for a 2400mAh 30C battery made by Bionic or upwards of £100 for other makes. Does the term "you get what you pay for" apply?

Do EZRun 60A ESCs come with the automatic cut out for LiPos?

Is there any benefit between the three types of connector, namely TRX, Tamiya and Deans? (I hear Tamiya plugs aren't great for the big blobs of power that LiPos are able to generate)

[redzone]

With all this LiPo love, I have a couple of questions:

Is there any particular brand of battery that people tend to use or would recommend? Looking on Model Sport, it really is a minefield and you can pay anything between £35 for a 2400mAh 30C battery made by Bionic or upwards of £100 for other makes. Does the term "you get what you pay for" apply?

Do EZRun 60A ESCs come with the automatic cut out for LiPos?

Is there any benefit between the three types of connector, namely TRX, Tamiya and Deans? (I hear Tamiya plugs aren't great for the big blobs of power that LiPos are able to generate)

these packs are awesome, especially for the money, where you can fit a square pack:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/u...?idProduct=8357

yeah racing 3200's are oval and fit in most tamiya chassis, available from rcmart/dinball etc.

ezrun esc's have an adjustable lipo cutoff yes!

deans are my choice, they're awesome just make sure u have a good soldering iron!

[SteelRat]

these packs are awesome, especially for the money, where you can fit a square pack:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/u...?idProduct=8357

yeah racing 3200's are oval and fit in most tamiya chassis, available from rcmart/dinball etc.

ezrun esc's have an adjustable lipo cutoff yes!

deans are my choice, they're awesome just make sure u have a good soldering iron!

Great info thanks

[DCLXVI]

[...]

Is there any benefit between the three types of connector, namely TRX, Tamiya and Deans? (I hear Tamiya plugs aren't great for the big blobs of power that LiPos are able to generate)

It's been debated to Jupiter and back but Tamiya plugs are not recommended (this has not been the point of the debate ), Dean, TRX ect has however, I'm using Andersson/PowerPoles and I'm extremly satisfied, only problem with them is that they are quite big, in 1:10, that is not a problem though, only other downside I can think of is that they can be tricky to reuse/resolder (you have to take the acuall metal contact out of the plastic casing but on the other hand, it's easier to do that then doing likewise on Tamiya connectors)...

[SRB Bloke]

OK, you've convinced me,

I need a Lipo and charger for my new re re Scorcher. I'm so old school that I've never had a model with an ESC before, so I'm sorry to say I have no idea of what I should be doing.

So hears the QUESTION ??????

I want a punchy little SRB some good power for fun and games, firstly do I keep the ESC that comes with the kit?

Should I change the motor, I'm not talking brushless coz I have no idea about those (I'll save that for Christmas) maybe another Tamiya motor not sure..??

I'd like a good length of run time so which Lipo to buy??

Also what Charger to buy..??

I've got a sneaky idea its going to cost a fortune, but I need to know from an expert what the best to get nice power/speed and good run time? otherwise I'll be wasting money.

HOPE YOUR GUYS & GIRLS CAN HELP

Steve

[hedge]

OK, you've convinced me,

I need a Lipo and charger for my new re re Scorcher. I'm so old school that I've never had a model with an ESC before, so I'm sorry to say I have no idea of what I should be doing.

So hears the QUESTION ??????

I want a punchy little SRB some good power for fun and games, firstly do I keep the ESC that comes with the kit?

Should I change the motor, I'm not talking brushless coz I have no idea about those (I'll save that for Christmas) maybe another Tamiya motor not sure..??

I'd like a good length of run time so which Lipo to buy??

Also what Charger to buy..??

I've got a sneaky idea its going to cost a fortune, but I need to know from an expert what the best to get nice power/speed and good run time? otherwise I'll be wasting money.

HOPE YOUR GUYS & GIRLS CAN HELP

Steve

I hope I caught you in time. Not many - If any - LiPos will fit in the Radio Box of an SRB. If you have a Butterfly chassis np but in the old plastic tub no.

There are special LiFe batteries but I will leave it to others to promote them I personally run NiHms in my vintage cars and LiPo (wont fit the SRB radio crate) in my up to date racers. I have no experience of LiFe batteries.

Paul

[WillyChang]

LiFE aka "A123" batteries are a variant of lithium battery technology; they are built into round cylindrical cans like Nickel cells and can take super-fast charging. They will also tolerate running until they dump without bloating up & become toast.

A 2cell A123 pack is smaller than a NiMH stickpack.

Main drawback is they are 6.6V (3.3V per cell) and capacity is 2300mAh; they will not be punchier than a LiPO @ 7.4V (actually ~8.4V when full).

Check them out here http://www.a123systems.com/ ... looks like they can build you a replacement pack for your Toyota Prius too.

[SRB Bloke]

I hope I caught you in time. Not many - If any - LiPos will fit in the Radio Box of an SRB. If you have a Butterfly chassis np but in the old plastic tub no.

There are special LiFe batteries but I will leave it to others to promote them I personally run NiHms in my vintage cars and LiPo (wont fit the SRB radio crate) in my up to date racers. I have no experience of LiFe batteries.

Paul

How gutted am I......

I had no idea I wouldn't be able to upgarde to lipos in the existing tub. I want to keep the tub as I hope to run at the beach this summer.. any ideas, anyone..

[WillyChang]

the radiobox will not fit a standard "stickpack" across its width, it is only wide enough for 5cells' worth

however you can buy smaller LiPO packs with lesser capacity that are physically smaller, no probs there

alternately you may be able to reorganise your radiogear inside the crate to allow the pack to sit lengthwise.

Perhaps a pair of "saddle" packs may be the go too? Dunno haven't tried.

[94eg!]

Get a decent Lipo balance charger (I use the Thunder AC6) and then run LiFe battery that Tamiya sells. Any decent Lipo charger will be able to charge LiFe as well. Then you can get Lipo stick packs for your other cars. So far I'm up to 4 lipos and loving every minute of them.

Orion 2400/20C for vintage cars

Intellect 3800/35C x2 for touring car racing in an MSXX

Intellect 5000/25C for off-road in the DB01

The best part is how nice they look in the car:

[tamiyoman]

Hey people, totally agree with most here saying Lipos are better than Nimh!.

I dont use em in cars myself (most if my runner rc cars are nitro) but i do use them in leccy planes. I use the Turnigy 3s1p 11.1v 5000Mah in my Brushless powered Multiplex Pico Jet and these give approx 40% more duration for same weight Nimh battery (in 9.6v mode or even more weight saving for 12v batteries).

I used to run my Pico on 9.6v 3300GP Nimh and it flew well although take off was tricky with that heavy battery (578gm i think) used to get around 12 mins of std flying, with the new LIPO battery i get 19mins for 412gm battery and you can stiull charge them at 2C (if your charger can charge at 10A that is LOL), meaning full charge in 30 minutes for nearly 20 mins flight, pretty good!. Fortunatley my charger can charge 4 packs simultaneously at 4.3A each meaning i get 76 minutes flying time from 65 minutes charging time, cant really say fairer than that!.

Go Lipo and you wont regret it ( I am glad i did).

A few people have recommended www.hobbyking.com and i got my batteries from them and a new brushless set up (for my newly ordered plane lol) and they shipped within 2 days and arrived after 7 days, very good considering the total shipped price for 3 x 5000mah 3s1p packs was the same as my local shop wanted for 1 pack!!!!!!.

Cheers

[TenzoR]

LiFE aka "A123" batteries are a variant of lithium battery technology; they are built into round cylindrical cans like Nickel cells and can take super-fast charging. They will also tolerate running until they dump without bloating up & become toast.

A 2cell A123 pack is smaller than a NiMH stickpack.

Main drawback is they are 6.6V (3.3V per cell) and capacity is 2300mAh; they will not be punchier than a LiPO @ 7.4V (actually ~8.4V when full).

Check them out here http://www.a123systems.com/ ... looks like they can build you a replacement pack for your Toyota Prius too.

When full my A123 packs ares actually close to 7V (my pack after full charge is about 6.99V from my volt meter)

They came out with 4600mAh but I'm not sure if they will fit in normal stick pack cars though the places I bought my batteries had a description with compatible cars for what its worth:

This pack will work with Associated SC10, RC10B4, RC10T4, Duratrax Evader BX, Evader BX Pro, Evader ST, Evader EXT, HPI E-Firestorm, Kyosho Lazer ZX-5 Lazer ZX 5,Ultima RB5, Losi Strike, XXX-T, XXX-S, Drift-R, Speed-T, Speed T, Desert Truck, 1/10 Slider, High Roller, Tamiya Sand Viper, Gravel Hound, TXT-1, TXT 1, Durga, Traxxas Rustler VXL, Bandit VXL, 4-Tec, Spirit, Slash, and Yokomo MR-4TC.

[SRB Bloke]

That machine looks awesome........

I'm going to have a look at that charger now.

thanks

[JeepnMike]

I nearly always come home with unused, fully charged batteries these days instead of messing around charging on site running my real car battery flat(actually destroyed it)

You mean that you usually come home with a car that has broken before your batteries have run out too??!!?? LOL Honestly, this is a fantastic thread, I am in the same shoes too and considering LIPO batteries.

[DCLXVI]

You could measure the size of the tray and then have a look around at hobbycity.com to see if you can find a soft case lipo that will fit...

They should have quite cheap chargers there also, I'm using a Imax B5 with a PC power supply (very easy to mod for use as a power supply, and cheap)...