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K-RAD

Battery and charger

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I've ordered this battery (http://www.ebay.com/itm/272350378004) for my new Tundra. Is it any good? (did not want LiPo since I'm a beginner). Thinking I might have to buy another battery soon cause I understand you shouldn't run Ni-Mh more than once or twice a day.

What charger would you recommend? I was looking at Traxxas EZ-Peak Plus or Dual..

 

 

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It should be amazing for that price! 3700 is heaps for a standard car, you will get good runtime. Not sure about only running NiMH once or twice a day, I have run mine more than that.

I would probably look for a different brand to Tamiya and buy a few, you will be able to get comparable batteries for about quarter the price. I bought 3800mAh NiMH for about NZD$45  and those are NZD $114 plus shipping, and rc stuff is pretty expensive down hefe, Even if those are the best NiMH in the world they won't be as good as lipos and for that price you can get some a really good lipo. Someone on here will know which shops will be better for you to buy from since you're in Sweden you may have different taxes etc.

You have a couple of options for chargers. You can get cheap and cheerful which charge NiMH only, or spend a bit more and get one that can handle lipos, it should balance charge and also be able to storage charge them.  Mine is Hyperion 606i from memory and works well, it can run off 12v or mains power and charges all battery types. Its nothing special, there are loads of comparable chargers available. 

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2 hours ago, K-RAD said:

I've ordered this battery (http://www.ebay.com/itm/272350378004) for my new Tundra. Is it any good? (did not want LiPo since I'm a beginner). Thinking I might have to buy another battery soon cause I understand you shouldn't run Ni-Mh more than once or twice a day.

What charger would you recommend? I was looking at Traxxas EZ-Peak Plus or Dual..

 

 

You only really need to spend that much on a Tamiya NiMH if racing in a Tamiya series that only allows Tamiya batteries.

They are good batteries but cost 4-5 times the alternatives. 

NiMH can be run all day long, just make sure they cool a bit before charging and then again after charging before a run. 

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From what I know, Tamiya branded NiMH battery packs aren't available outside of Japan anymore, unless you import them by yourself. This is why they are so expensive, they seem to have become a collector's item.

I'd rather choose a brand of 7.2V NiMH packs that's available locally. E.g. Dickie-Tamiya Germany provides Carson Modelsport branded batteries and permits them in the Tamiya Fighter Cup racing series.

From my experience, NiMH packs decrease in perfomance over years anyway, since usually you can't balance charge single cells of a pack (unlike LiPo). Well, unless you are skilled in battery dis- and reassembly.

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What other battery manufacturers should I look into? From my searches, I saw that different batteries have different connectors, e.g. Traxxas?

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If you have a soldering iron, you can put any connector on a battery pack. Please see this tutorial:

I use Deans connectors.

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My advice is to skip NiMh packs and go LiPo. Regarding connectors, almost everything I have is Deans on my cars, but were they available when I started, I would in hindsight go XT-60 connectors. They are better than Deans in every way. I use them exclusively on all my FPV quads.

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22 minutes ago, Theibault said:

My advice is to skip NiMh packs and go LiPo. Regarding connectors, almost everything I have is Deans on my cars, but were they available when I started, I would in hindsight go XT-60 connectors. They are better than Deans in every way. I use them exclusively on all my FPV quads.

How do I charge an XT60 battery, for example if I get a Traxxas EZ-Peak charger? I've seen adapters to dean or tamiya

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I still use NiMH packs with Tamiya connectors and for me there is no need to go Lipo at the moment. My CC-01(55T) runs for hours on a 4600 pack. Of course it is a bit old school but why not? I even run NiCAds :-).

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I've a few of these :-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Overlander-3300mah-7-2v-Nimh-Battery-Pack-Stick-SubC-Tamiya-RC-Car-/331367323094?hash=item4d270815d6:g:ggUAAOSwKrxUZUEh

Seem to work quite well, and I normally got bored before they ran out! (Time to swap to lipo if that's the case) 

Charger wise, I went for an Imax B6,which you can get quite cheap (seemingly some copies about) or they do an Imax b6ac which plugs straight into the mains. Will do everything you want and will do lipo's if/when you want to.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/142255204847?_trkparms=pageci%3A2c47e000-4aea-11e7-885c-74dbd180b758|parentrq%3A7ec60f8915c0ab66aa632f7bfffbd4af|iid%3A4&_mwBanner=1

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One of best values is the Banggood AntiMatter 300 watt charger. At $56 it's a steal of a deal.

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6 hours ago, K-RAD said:

How do I charge an XT60 battery, for example if I get a Traxxas EZ-Peak charger? I've seen adapters to dean or tamiya

It's just an adapter type. You can always just buy an XT-60 lead for your charger. I personally solder up my own if I don't have a connector. PS, if you are going to be in this hobby for a little while, I highly encourage you to buy a decent soldering iron and learn to solder if you haven't already. Soldering is a must have skill in this hobby and honestly very easy to learn.

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I run Tenergy 3000mah nimh and charge them with a prophet sport charger plus. Good run times ~45 mins on a stock Lunchbox and charging wise you can abuse the crap out of them.

I think I paid $35 for 2 on Amazon.

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11 hours ago, magnumb said:

One of best values is the Banggood AntiMatter 300 watt charger. At $56 it's a steal of a deal.

The same one is available with a different name at Hobbyking. Look for Turnigy Reaktor 300W.
Both are also available in a 250W version or in combined quad versions.

The one I recently chose was the Turnigy Accucel-6 from Hobbyking. I got the 80W version, but there is also a 50W version.
Combined with a HobbyKing 105w 7A Compact Power Supply (100v~240v) power supply youre looking at a set price for around 40-45 euro for a charger with loads of options.
I like it.

Good luck choosing one.

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13 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Charger wise, I went for an Imax B6,which you can get quite cheap (seemingly some copies about) or they do an Imax b6ac which plugs straight into the mains. Will do everything you want and will do lipo's if/when you want to.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/142255204847?_trkparms=pageci%3A2c47e000-4aea-11e7-885c-74dbd180b758|parentrq%3A7ec60f8915c0ab66aa632f7bfffbd4af|iid%3A4&_mwBanner=1

Is this a fake B6, or an original?

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Why don't you just buy a charger which has Tamiya connectors rather than having to solder and re configure?

Loads to chose from or chargers which allow different connectors then get a Tamiya connector. 

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2 minutes ago, Prescient said:

Why don't you just buy a charger which has Tamiya connectors rather than having to solder and re configure?

Loads to chose from or chargers which allow different connectors then get a Tamiya connector. 

I was looking now at Venom Pro 2, but it's hard to find outside the US 🙁

Since I am brand new to the RC world, I'm not familiar with all the reputable manufacturers, and I don't want to buy any no-name or ****ty stuff that will burn my house or RC car down 😊

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46 minutes ago, K-RAD said:

I was looking now at Venom Pro 2, but it's hard to find outside the US 🙁

Since I am brand new to the RC world, I'm not familiar with all the reputable manufacturers, and I don't want to buy any no-name or ****ty stuff that will burn my house or RC car down 😊

I never skimp on chargers personally. 

Ah sorry just realised you are in Sweden. Will have a look at EU dealers. Tamico.de is a great option for chargers, kits and batteries.

http://tamico.de/Carson-Expert-Charger-Station-10A-230V

Or Modelsport / Wheelspin Models ship quickly to the EU

 

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I'm using a Carson Modelsport Expert Charger 3 Ver. II.

gsobild_49268648uwi.jpg

Does NiCd, NiMH (both delta cutoff), and LiPo (incl. balancer socket, up to 3s). Charging current adjustable 1, 2 or 4 Amps. Mains power supply is integrated, but can also be attached to a 12 V power supply (e.g. car) using a supplied adaptor. No funky LCD screens and cryptic menus, just two physical switches for current and battery type. Can also discharge batteries with the press of a button.

I don't use the TX/RX charge jacks, since they're measly 0,15A of constant trickle charge current only, no cutoff.

Still does a reliable service to me. Went out of production some time ago, though.

I had issues with wonky charging leads, so I decided to solder them by myself, using quality laboratory 4mm banana connectors and decent gauge cables.

 

Funny sidenote: If I'm feeling bored, I hook up my Brymen BM 235 and Fluke 12E+ multimeters during charging, to measure current flow and voltage. :D

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The Imax B6AC charger seems to be very popular as it gives you the ability to charge off mains power in your home as well as a 12V car battery in the field.. It will charge NiCd, NiMh and LiPo batteries..

I would suggest looking at the chargers that are available from the HobbyKing EU Warehouse.. Just be sure to buy one that has a suitable plug and voltage for your area..

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/chargers/battery-charger-ac-dc.html?wrh=7

You may also want to check out the Turnigy NiMh batteries sold by HobbyKing while your looking..

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/batteries/nimh-nizn-batteries.html

 

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I would avoid Hobbyking if new to the hobby on something like a charger. 

Their customer service is not always ideal. 

That's my personal opinion, but I would always buy the charger from a main dealer with decent support and warranty. 

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3 hours ago, GregM said:

Is this a fake B6, or an original?

No idea how to tell the difference.

It's the same as mine which I've been using for years (which could be fake? ) 

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I guess this might be helpful then :)

 

Viewed best on a computer browser due to the overlay text used, which won't be shown on a mobile device/apps.

Google image search also results in lots of comparison pictures.

You can also check if the serial is authentic:

http://www.skyrc.com/antifake/indexen.php

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Is SkyRC a reputable company? Cause I see them all over the EU stores.

I am close to going with a Carson, it seems some people use that and at least it comes with an EU power plug.. otherwise I would've gone with a Duratrax/Venom/Imax B6AC

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