JR007

^^ I've used both, and they make NO difference. There may be some crap ones out there, but I haven't seen them.

All they are is a piece of metal with nylon moulded around them. Saying they are no good because they aren't made by W.S.Deans is B.S.

As for conductivity, it is a single metal strip, connecting to another metal strip, it's not like there is some kind of "magic formula" Deans use. I know different metals have different conductivities, but we have very small cars with very small batteries and very small power compared to almost anything else we have that uses electricity. I mean 200 or 300 watts of power?, about as much as an electric jug or a strong light.....

Please correct me if necessary

RCRat

iTrader: (3)

That's what I'm saying I HAVE used those exact connectors..I still have some left that I won't touch with your ten foot pole! Want mine?

I mean we are talking a few dollars...I would rather solder up connectors that I know will work, than solder up ones that MAY work! Just to save a few bucks...come on, plz I know we are in a recession but....geez!

Put it this way....I have been in this hobby a short time so far and I have already learned one thing....You definitely get what you pay for! Plain and simple.

f00fy

iTrader: (1)

If you spent more time attempting to read correctly, rather than jumping to conclusions, you would notice that people here have mentioned that they tried generic Deans connectors which failed. Only one person says they have used THESE generic Deans connectors (and that was after I asked for someone who has). He doesn't like them, but doesn't really specify why.

Fortune favors the bold. You can follow the leader and do what everyone else does, or experiment with parts that go against the grain. They aren't magic, or that difficult to use.

You can buy 10 pairs of Deans,
or
You can buy 10 pair of hobbycity plugs, and some new tires.

I'll bet your car will go faster with the new tires.

What's the risk in trying something different? If you don't like them, you are out a few bucks, and 5 minutes soldering on connectors you like.

f00fy

iTrader: (1)

Why didn't yours work? I solder them on, any my kids use them without issue all day long. I'm curious to know how these can't work for you.

I've been into electronics for 29 years, and R/C for 22 years. I agree that you get what you pay for. Spending $3 for a pair of simple T connectors, you get a name brand, patents, marketing, label, package, and a connector that works. The packaging and marketing costs more than the product! I'd rather pay for the product, rather than waste my money on the silly stuff.

teeforb

iTrader: (94)

I use those plugs. They are OKAY. they are not as smooth as deans, but they get the job done!!! for 6 bucks, i'll do it again. For me, they hold solder and connectivity is just fine. The only grip i have with them is they take a LITTLE more work to fit into each other vs the Deans. but they do fit.

2wdMod

iTrader: (42)

I have quite a few of them still left from my last purchase from hong kong(very honorable). They are good running down to about a 6.5 novak motor before they start to melt down,which has happened 1 time on a very high bite oval running a 5.5 in a sprint car.Given the bite of the track,the drag of the body, and well, a 5.5, I 'm not upset that they melted down.it still took about 10+ minutes of practicing to do it.

They have worked flawlessly for every thing else I have used them for though.If I were just running stock ,or mild mods,I wouldnt hesitate to order another 20 sets for the price.

teeforb

iTrader: (94)

?, did the Dean hold up to the same condition the generic melted? Also, i wonder the difference in power dissipation from what you are running vs. 1/8th electric offroad.

MattWebb

iTrader: (3)

Only 1 (or 2?) posts have touched on the real value of Deans plugs - the low resistance. For those who arent running 6.5BL, heat and melting plugs may not be an issue.

What Im really curious to know is how the resistance varies from genuine Deans and non-genuine...

nexxus

iTrader: (315)

My understanding is Deans are only rated to around 75 Amps constant, so the effect of a 38C 3800mah lipo's ability to give a constant current of 133 Amps is somewhat lost.

I use the 4mm bullet plugs as they have a constant current rating of 100 Amps, given that I use a 25c 3800 mah lipo for a constant current of 95 Amps.

Deans were fine with a Nimh pack, a decent 4200 pack is still only rated around 15C so 63 Amps, but with these high output lipos, once again the connector is the bottle neck, Deans or aftermarket Deans.

JR007

Good point. I was never sure of the C rating of a good NiMh. I am still using them, so I wouldn't have the same issues as Lipo users.

I think even an average material in a generic Deans plug would still be able to hold the current.

BUT, even though I haven't had issues with the generics I use, I could imagine build quality could be a problem on some connectors. They are a fairly perfect fit, and if the manufacturing tolerances were out, it would be difficult to plug them in.

RCRat

iTrader: (3)

Okay so here is my story...lol...I never said they can't work. I just said that the ratio to good ones was low, at least in my experience. I ordered them thinking "Hey, they are cheap I get a bunch and awesome!!" Buy new tires...LOL

But, what happened is I solder 3 up (I have been soldering for 18 years now, I too have been into electronics for about 20 years), I go to hook them up and they work fine. Then I use some more about 3 more and one didn't work at all (had to throw it away and try again after testing with a multimeter) which puzzled me, because "Hey they are just little pieces of conductive metal touching each other". Anyway, I then re-solder another connector on and works fine...yes, I checked to connection it was tight and solder was shiny. So I solder up another and this one won't even plug in all the way to the other connector! So I'm thinking what the heck is going on. Then a few days later I get a call from a friend who I had solder one of these up for and he told me that it didn't work. I get the battery from him and find out it too won't seat properly! So I take out my 10T Firestorm and proceed to melt one of the connectors...which again is odd because the other three batteries didn't melt......It was at this point I threw them in a bag under my workbench and went out and bought deans connectors.

I have since replaced EVERY generic connector I had with Deans and I have had no problem with any of them (8 males and 4 females).

So this is my story and it does have a happy ending with Deans!

P.S. I run a 5700 Mamba....

Briguy

iTrader: (125)

Something you have to think about , if it wasn`t for Deans marketing and popularity there wouldn`t even be a generic deans plug available . From what I`ve seen they might be ok for nimh and brushed . But with lipo and brushless there is a higher draw and can see why they have failed .


That is a constant rating , do you go full throttle all the time on the track ? Don`t think so . Like any other conductor it is rated for constant use which which in rc the amp draw constantly changes .
I`ve been in this hobby a long time and use what is tried and trued , I have seen the generic plugs do good and seen them fail , it al depends on application and the quality control for generics surely isn`t a match to Deans . But if you want to risk melting one and shorting your $100 battery or have a set that don`t fit well , go for it .

rccartips

iTrader: (3)

hi,

i've tried genuine deans and the generic (flat red, black). both work, but for mod tc racing, i will go for genuine deans.

thanks.

joel

Dave H

OK. How many of your strong lights regularly draw an average of around 20 amps, with peaks approaching 100? Power is fairly low on our little cars for sure, but the amperage is pretty high. Which is what counts in this case.

rearviewmirror

iTrader: (17)

Well I am neither swayed or convinced that the Dean's is superior given we're talking about something so simple. Marketing is a wonderful thing, I learning that marketing is so much more powerful in R/C than it is in mountain biking racing (my other all time consuming hobby). What I mean by that is in this hobby people are convinced they need the best and need to upgrade all the time. I believe in having a good baseline, but beyond that I monitor lap times and performance limiters and make changes where needed. The noobs that think they need a V-Spec, or that they must have Losi 2.0 because the 1.0 is inferior now just crack me up. Oh well, they're a marketing majors dream though, this hobby is all marketing. A lot of folks would pay 2x for lipo batteries just because someone says the brand is better. Until I have a firm grasp on who the major players are in lipo cell manufacturing I can't proclaim to be an expert on it. But I guarantee most lipo's are made in the same place, much like old NiCD were, but if you were smart you could buy generic NiCDs with the same Sanyo cells that a battery that cost 4x as much had. So I will try anything that's not "brand name" provided it doesn't have actual reviews citing safety and/or failures. In the case of Dean's connectors, well my only gripe with them is packaging, until I find them in bulk I'll look for other alternatives.