Battery questions...

[Headcase]

I run a Monster Beetle with an Mtronik EC027 esc, and a standard motor.

My battery life is about 10 mins.

It is a Tamiya Ni-Cd 7.2v-1200mAh.

The charger is a standard block like a phone charger

What can i do to make it last longer?

Also, which motor would be a good replacement (for speed)?

Would i have to change the esc?

Hope you can help!

Thanks, Rick

PS. Many thanks to Stefan for his advice on previous queries!

[tamiya terminator]

thats all you are expected to get with a 1200 but do these steps to make it last much longer

install bearing

after car has ran out of juice dicharge it totally with another motor just plug the motor up to the batterie

also get a better charger which will put mor ooomph into it

for a better motor i would recemend upgrading it to a 20 turn traxxas stinger (expect to get less runtime though unless you get better batt) if you install 6 turn to 19 turn it is likely to flip the car from a stadstill and rip your body apart (ot a good idea!!!)

[BiggusDitchus]

You cannot install anything other than the standard motor if using that esc, it has a turn limit of 27. but ballracing and buying higher mah cells will give longer run time.

[mud4fun]

I think that is about right for battery life on a monster beetle from a 1200 pack. I only get 20 mins on my blackfoot using a stock motor, Novak Rooster ESC and a 2400NiCD.

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Fitting ball bearings and making sure everything is properly lubricated will help a little but probably best to get a new/secondhand delta peak charger and a couple of 1400-1700NiCD packs. My LHS is selling these for about £12 each as most people want the 2000-2400 packs which are £25-30 each.

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Don't really know what to suggest for your motor as I don't know what budget you have but you may need to change the gearing to suit most of the modern high performance motors. I think with the weight of a monster beetle (2Kgs fully loaded?) you may be better getting a Kyosho Monster Mayhem truck motor, these are relatively cheap at £25-30 but give loads of punch. I run one in my monster sand scorcher which weighs 2.5Kgs and I get 15-20mins runtime from a 2400NiCD and it goes fast but acceleration is superb (for such a heavy car!) using the stock gearing. You would also need to check that your ESC can handle any new motor, I run Novak roosters/super roosters so am not really limited too much but most cheaper ESC's won't handle anything less than 17T motors.

[Headcase]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm considering a Delta charger on ebay, along with a 2000 mah battery.

There is also a 'sport tuned' RS540 motor.

Are these any good?

Thanks!

[SJoerD]

A sport tuned is a cheap alternative to the standard 'silver can' motors. It gives pretty good performance for a good price. I am using one in my Mini and it went really well, enough torque and speed and a LOT of fun driving!

I suggest that you would upgrade the ESC before buying hotter motors. The Eco27 is basicly only good for 27 turn motors. A higher limit than the turns you are using is never bad. For a Monster Beetle I wouldn't put in too hot motors as the drivetrain isn't very strong. It will also topple over quickly at high speed, just like what happens with my King Blackfoot if I am not carefull enough.

23-20 turns would be good enough for such car. Remember more speed (in the form of a modified motor) doesn't equal more fun, but it does equal more wear to moving parts, less runtime, and more damage in the event of a crash.

I recommend buying electrics new, this way you avoid buying a broken product. Also if you are dealing with a new product it is easier to apply for waranties etc., and most of all you know it hasn't been abused by a previous owner... []

I hope this helps.

[wriggleandgiggle]

I strongly recommend AGAINST totally flattening the battery by any method (lightbulb or motor) as it is possible to have one of the cells 'reverse', this is not good. Run the car until the car barely drags itself along. This is plenty 'flat enough'

The reason individual cells 'reverse' is that you are taking a 7.2 volt pack (made up from individual cells of 1.2 volts each)down to zero volts, what can happen is that some of the cells run flat whilst others still have some charge in them. What happens with 'reversing' is that the cells which go flat first start to run at a negative voltage (IE below zero). Whilst I know its possible to restore packs with reversed cells in them I don't recommend it at all.

The 'memory effect' often bantered around with NI-CD packs/cells doesn't really come into play with when used for an R/C cars motor supply as I'm pretty sure most people agree that you run your car until the battery is flat.

The best way to maintain your packs is to buy a charger/discharger and use it properly.

[WillyChang]

quote:

Originally posted by mud4fun

...but you may need to change the gearing

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id="quote">id="quote">

On a Monster Beetle, gearing choices are very limited unless

you're willing to do some serious surgery.

Fitting Frog gears might be a possibility, but haven't

progressed to quite that stage yet... [|)]

HC:- SportTuned motor is a good choice, its as torquey as

a silvercan 540 and just as hardy with a little more speed.

It should be comparatively cheap too.

[DJTheo]

If you put Frog gears, the gear ratio will be too low for the big MB wheels.

Cheers

[Headcase]

Thank you for all the replies.

I've decided on the 2000mah pack and delta charger.

After fitting a set of bearings i think i'll leave it be.

Some muppet has painted it, though. Some metallic muck. That should be a laugh getting it all off!

Thanks again,

Rick

[WillyChang]

quote:

Originally posted by DJTheo

If you put Frog gears, the gear ratio will be too low for the big MB wheels.

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id="quote">id="quote">

was thinking, what if one used the Frog gears *with* the

BF/MB's motor-offset mounting plate...?

[DJTheo]

As far as I remember Frog is geared around 1:8 with a not too big pinion, so even if you use a small 13T pinion the gear ratio would be propably still too low.

Cheers