Battery choices

[Muratt 4]

Hello,

I have a cc01 landfreeder and i will use it like a crawler.  I will not change its standart electronics. But i prefer Lipo battery. Is it logical to use Lipo for brushed motor? 

2500MAH LIPO 2S 3C, for example is it good for my car?

 

 

 

[WillyChang 1814]

Sure, Lipo works fine... I assume you have TBLE02 or TEU10X ESC? They won't have good Lipo low voltage cutoff protection do you'll also have to keep an eye on the packs voltage manually. Or clip on a Lipo low voltage alarm.

Also assume you've got a suitable Lipo charger.

 

i use Lipo in CC01 but the chassis only takes stick packs; I haven't bothered buying the special stickpack rounded shape lipos.

Instead I've been using either smaller lipos meant for Traxxas 1/16th they give about 2200mAh. They last a fair while on 540.

For higher capacity I use square "shorty" type Lipo but they cannot go in the side hole, I've gotta take off the receiver shelf then put then in and bolt the shelf back on top. My shorty packs are ~4300mAh and they run for much much longer.

To be safe I've changed my ESCs to ones with good Lipo cutoff. 

[Juggular 4964]

3 hours ago, Muratt said:

Hello,

I have a cc01 landfreeder and i will use it like a crawler.  I will not change its standart electronics. But i prefer Lipo battery. Is it logical to use Lipo for brushed motor? 

2500MAH LIPO 2S 3C, for example is it good for my car?

Welcome to Tamiya Club!

Electricity is the same whether it comes from NiCd, NiMH, LiPo or LiFe.  Only the voltage and the amp makes difference.  Going from 7.2 to 7.4v isn't large enough to make difference.  Motors can also use any battery.  LiPos generally allow larger amp draw.  If you have a faster motor, it could go faster.  For a crawler, you would not have a low turn motor.  So it won't make much difference on amp either.  

The real difference is --as Willy pointed out-- the ESC.  ESCs have amp limit.  But for a 2S 3C battery running a 27t motor would be just fine.  But LiPos will Die, if it goes below certain voltage.  That's why some ESCs have voltage cut-off.  Tamiya's TBLE02S doesn't have a voltage cut off for LiPo.  So, I would get a voltage alarm.  (You can get a voltage alarm for $2 to $3).  You can plug the balance lead to it.  Other ESCs like Quicrun 1060, has a voltage cutoff, so you don't need an alarm.  

If you don't want to plug it every time, get a larger capacity LiPo like 4000mAh.  Run it once, see how long it takes for the alarm to go off.  If it takes 45 minutes to go off, run it only for 25 to 30 minutes.  

In conclusion, I would order a voltage alarm when I'm ordering the LiPo.  A fireproof bag too (cheap ones are about $3-6).  

Good luck!

[Muratt 4]

Thank you guys for your honest replies. Now i will definetelly use lipo. İ am sure about that. My friend has one extra and i will buy from him. 

But as Willy said, i will prefer a lipo which fits the chasis. İ dont want to change chasis because of lipo, if it is not a necessary. 

And also what about C of lipo? İ am planning to buy 25C 4000mah lipo. 

[WillyChang 1814]

25C 4000mAh means the battery is comfortable getting drained at 25X4.00=100A. 

That’s plenty. A stock 540 won’t draw even a fraction of 100Amps  

Fancier lipos might be rated 30C, 40C, 80C etc but they’re all just nominal ratings nothings set in stone. You might get a dud pack even if you pay lotsa $$$. And all lipo will age with time even if they’re unused & stored properly  

[Muratt 4]

4 hours ago, WillyChang said:

25C 4000mAh means the battery is comfortable getting drained at 25X4.00=100A. 

That’s plenty. A stock 540 won’t draw even a fraction of 100Amps  

Fancier lipos might be rated 30C, 40C, 80C etc but they’re all just nominal ratings nothings set in stone. You might get a dud pack even if you pay lotsa $$$. And all lipo will age with time even if they’re unused & stored properly  

So what do you suggest? Like 10C or lesser like transmitter lipos?

And if i use 25c, will it damage stock 540 motor? 

[DK308 219]

You don't have to settle for ill fitting rectangular packs just because the RC needs classic stick packs. Also, your motor will not get damaged from using a higher C rating. What can damage your motor is too much load on it.

Here's a few options for actual stickpack style lipos. I use the Antix by LRP, and mine perform flawlessly at the end of their second year. I run them hard and often. The car stays fast and responsive throughout it's entire run, whereas I find the HIMH to run about as long, but rapidly run out of punch and top end.

https://www.lrp.cc/en/product/antix-by-lrp-5200-graphene-76v-lihv-45c-lipo-car-stickpack-hardcase/

https://www.horizonhobby.com/4000mah-2s-74v-20c-lipo%3A-tam-roar-un-vnr15085

Some find LIPO and LIHV to be more of a concern/expense/hassle, but I have never looked back since I went to lipo/lihv.

[WillyChang 1814]

I'm starting to wonder about LiFe cells... them's Panasonic A123s by the 100s in a Tesla pack aren't they...?  

[Nicadraus 6198]

I have a brushed ESC & motor with Lipo batt set up on my CC01.

Here's the battery I'm using.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/nano-tech-4200mah-2s-25c-hardcase.html?___store=en_us

[Juggular 4964]

On 4/23/2019 at 6:41 AM, Muratt said:

So what do you suggest? Like 10C or lesser like transmitter lipos?

And if i use 25c, will it damage stock 540 motor? 

25C is a bit of an overkill for a 27t motor.  But why not?  You might get a brushless later.  A 35t, 45t or 55t crawler motor won't draw even 1A.  But it won't damage the motor.  

The ESC and the motor decide how much amp to take, not the battery.  You don't want to use higher voltage than what the ESC can handle.  But the amp draw is decided by the thickness of wires (so to speak).  TBLE02s and 1060 ESCs have a 60A limit.  But it won't draw 60A unless the motor can draw it.  The C rating shows "how much energy in given time."  So yes, even 10C would be more than enough for a 45t motor, if the wires are bigger than 20 gauges (most batteries have bigger 16 or 14 gauge wires). 

Imagine a bathtub full of water in your backyard 3 feet above the ground.  (water being energy--like electricity)  If you connect a straw to the bottom, it will take a long time to drain.  27T motor is like that straw.  That's like 1A.  Even a full tub cannot let a lot of water through a straw in a short time.  Think of the ESC as a valve made out of thin plastic sheet, like a plastic bag.  It can stop the water going down a straw.  

If you have a 5.5t brushless motor, that can drain 100A.  That's like a 4 inch pipe.  In one minute, you can drain the entire tub.  A thin plastic bag (ESC) cannot stop that much flow.  It will burst, and that means the battery will burn out TBLE02S ESC.  

But, a crawler motor won't draw much amp, so it should be safe, no matter the C rating.  

 

 

[Muratt 4]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:10 PM, Nicadraus said:

I have a brushed ESC & motor with Lipo batt set up on my CC01.

Here's the battery I'm using.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/nano-tech-4200mah-2s-25c-hardcase.html?___store=en_us

That is a good example. Exactly what will i do. Thanks for that suggestion.

[Muratt 4]

On 5/2/2019 at 11:05 PM, Juggular said:

25C is a bit of an overkill for a 27t motor.  But why not?  You might get a brushless later.  A 35t, 45t or 55t crawler motor won't draw even 1A.  But it won't damage the motor.  

The ESC and the motor decide how much amp to take, not the battery.  You don't want to use higher voltage than what the ESC can handle.  But the amp draw is decided by the thickness of wires (so to speak).  TBLE02s and 1060 ESCs have a 60A limit.  But it won't draw 60A unless the motor can draw it.  The C rating shows "how much energy in given time."  So yes, even 10C would be more than enough for a 45t motor, if the wires are bigger than 20 gauges (most batteries have bigger 16 or 14 gauge wires). 

Imagine a bathtub full of water in your backyard 3 feet above the ground.  (water being energy--like electricity)  If you connect a straw to the bottom, it will take a long time to drain.  27T motor is like that straw.  That's like 1A.  Even a full tub cannot let a lot of water through a straw in a short time.  Think of the ESC as a valve made out of thin plastic sheet, like a plastic bag.  It can stop the water going down a straw.  

If you have a 5.5t brushless motor, that can drain 100A.  That's like a 4 inch pipe.  In one minute, you can drain the entire tub.  A thin plastic bag (ESC) cannot stop that much flow.  It will burst, and that means the battery will burn out TBLE02S ESC.  

But, a crawler motor won't draw much amp, so it should be safe, no matter the C rating.  

 

 

Thanks for that explanation. I got the logic for lipo batteries. Thanks a lot.