Dr. Evil

iTrader: (12)

Good day. I was wondering.

Since technology has changes and brushed motors are kind a thing of the past, (I still have about 30 motors so I still run them sometimes) What batteries are you running in your offroad cars/trucks and why??

What are you looking for in a Battery??

Thanks

ptv83

turnigy nano-tech 3S 45-90C 5000mah.(purple)
OR
turnigy 3S 35C 5000mah(blue)

why?
1. hardcased packs are a waist of $$ and a SCAM, they're more dangerous if they're defective(you can't see them puff, they're insulated from heat/cooling, case instantly melts incase of fire anyways)

2. ALL lipo cells are made in china, any battery that advertises made in USA is lying, they should read ASSEMBLED IN

3. Turnigy matches their cells just the same as the domestic brands that charge you triple the price bcause they took the time to match the cells... it's BS

4. they only take 7 days to arrive via a stardard shipping... sometimes quicker. and cost the same as a weekend of nitro fuel, so you can quickly aquire enogu batteries to keep you racing non-stop without waiting for one to charge up.

5. never had a single cell puff with 3years of buying about 30 batteries from them.

6. anything more than 45-90c is impossible to utilize in 1/8 scale(150/200amp) and a waist of money.

T-BirdJunkie

iTrader: (10)

*Cue fear-mongering LiPo-will-burn-your-house-down post*

kufman

iTrader: (6)

For racing I run Lipo batteries because I need the best performance I can get (1/8th electric). For bashing I generally use A123 (LiFePO4) because they are very durable and I can charge them quickly. By durable I mean they have many more charge discharge cycles than Lipo. I use NiMH for my portable phone and my flashlights, lol

Dr. Evil

iTrader: (12)

So.. Let me ask this.

Without Naming companies, some advertise they have a 50/100c rating. I hear good things about the expensive batteries, but, I don't hear any puffing issues.

I suppose this is all relative to the person using /charging/discharging the packs as well.

Tunigy I have heard of. I have not tried them, but, I would like to.

Some people say, you get what you pay for. Is this not true with batterieis??

I think paying 200 + dollars for a 4 cell battery is out of this world and I can't find myself doing it. But, if the 200 dollar battery lasted really long, then maybe.

I have 4 lipo packs that i bout about (after this winter) 3 years ago and I will say, the first year, they were fine. The 2nd year (first winter, they were o.k. Now I noticed they are puffed. They don't shrink they stay the same.

These are IB (Intellect) Now, Maybe I did something wrong. They still charge fine, they still balance out fine. I have made the mistake of leaving the balancer on the battery a few days ago and discharged the battery down to about 2.9 volts per cell.

My fault. (forgot and left over night) Quickly threw a charge back on the battery to bring it back above the required level. I will keep a watch on the battery especially when I charge and discharge it next time.

With LiFe packs, do you need to follow the same safe guards as LiPo??

Not to mention, the cost of LiFe seems to be much Higher??

MindThoughts

iTrader: (19)

I'm running the Thunder Power 40c 5000mah 3cell Lithium Ion Polymer type battery- also known as a Lipo. These are the Pro Race series- Hard Case LiPo. But I must say- these sure cost allot. And once these batteries die- I will most certainly give the very low cost Hobby King Turnigy LiPo and LiFe batteries a test. I was not aware of the outstanding record of the lower cost batteries until I read allot more and started to talk to more and more racers who have been using the lower price batteries with great results. It's clear that sometimes people will receive a battery that is clearly no good- but the extreemly low cost still makes this a much better deal in the big picture. I've spent many thousands of dollars buying big name brand LiPo batteries. And that's money I could still have in the bank if I had just bought a few low cost Turnigy(Hobby King) batteries. I also like to charge my lipo batteries at 30amps which is just under the 5c charge rate capacity of the batteries I use. But I've recently learn that even the new Low cost Turnigy cells can handle a 5c or even greater- Balanced Charge Rate. And I always use a LiPo safe Charging Bag for safety. When I charge the Thunder Power Lipo- at 30amps- the battery does not even get warm. The battery will only increase in temperature 3 to 5 degrees. At this point in time if I were to purchase a high end battery- I do believe I would most certainly give the Max Amps Batteries a Test. In fact- most recently I've ordered a Transmitter LiPo battery for my M11x Radio. Jason of Max Amps made me a 2cell LiPo from the 5c quick charge safe cells, and added an aditional third plug which has the 12Gauge wires to permit the high amperage balanced charging- and this LiPo cost well under 50.oo Dollars shipped. And- this LiPo comes with the now standard(with MaxAmps) 3 year, 300cycle warranty- included in the cost of the battery. And- MaxAmps has recently lowered all of their prices 20%-30% off. And this is not a sale- This is MaxAmps new pricing. I do believe that Max Amps offers the best warranty in the RC industry for LiPo(3year 300cycles) and Life(5year 1000cycles) batteries. But I've not yet used this warranty- and if and when I do- I'll most certainly post my experience in great detail. I can say thus far- my experience with Max Amps has been absolutely incredible in every way. And I'm very happy with the cost of my Transmitter battery that Max Amps made for my M11x Radio. And now MaxAmps offers this exact same LiPo as a standard item in stock for anyone that may need a new battery for their M11x(You must choose which type and kind of plugs you wish to have added to the battery). Also keep in mind that LiPo batteries weigh much less than any other chemistry battery available at this time in the RC industry.

Have a very good day and evening

toyota 2jz

iTrader: (21)

ive been running reedy 5000 2c 2 of them for over a year now and have had zero issues with them!! i think ot all comes down to the user and how they treat their batteries i NEVER charge over 5.5 amps on my reedy 4cell noe on my 2 cell packs and they act like they are brand new after every charge!! i drive 1/8 e buggy and would never run soft case lipos in my car thats a ticking time bomb waiting to puff/swell.. just my opinion and you definitely get what you pay for!!

orgnoi1

iTrader: (39)

We run both NIMH and LIPO...

XXXDad

iTrader: (198)

scribbler

iTrader: (1)

Run lipos and Brushless. You can do the math (Amps, Burst, etc) but I'll save you the trouble. A123 cells use to have higher burst values making them very effective with brushless motors. Lipo's have since surpassed these burst values. Giving cars more excelleration. LiFe packs (A123) are considerably more stable, and safer, but you don't get as much punch.

Given these general rules you should be able to draw your own conclusion as for what will work for you. If you want quality batteries, they all cost reletively the same. There is always cheaper overseas alternatives.

ptv83

dispose of the bad cell, you sill have a perfectly good 3S battery there(minor soldering).

i've done this for many people who visit the local track. by far the most common brand to puff (locally) is maxamps followed by thunderpower.

i myself had both of the $189+tax+shipping thunderpower packs i bought puff up on me on 1 and 2 cycles. both times thunderpower refused to warranty. Both times they had been run in a traxxas rustler vxl that had no issue with my turnigy lipos.

luckily i was able to convince a LHS to take them off my hands and warranty them himself. in exchange he gave me a brand new maxamps he had. it puffed after 10cycles and was also refuse warranty because i didn't purchase it direct from maxamps. again the shop owner took it off my hands, and told me he was half expecting it, the other 3 he had purchased all puffed on him in the same time period.
because he was able to convince thunderpower to RMA the original batteries he credited me the value he got in exchange as store credit. i used it on spare parts...lol.


as mentioned the turnigy bateries can handle higher charge rates. the regular are 2C, and the 45C nanotechs are 10C rated safe charging , i charge my 5000mah nanotechs at 40amps without issue. i use the CellPro PowerLab 8 with the free firmware update.

cheers, eh.

Dave H

I thought Kokam made cells in Korea? Do agree about not being made in the States as far as I have heard.

ptv83

yes you're correct, i forgot about the Kokam division of Eaglepicher. Eaglepicher also produces in china though.



CORRECTION.. they're all made in SOUTHERN ASIA

Dr. Evil

iTrader: (12)

yeah. Batteries have surely gone up since LiPo came out. These batteries are coming down in cost and I think they are getting better as time goes on. I think some time in the future, we will see 60C continuous and 120C burst. This will be nice. Also, maybe we will see batteries get smaller as well.


Last I looked, the Turnigy batteries are out of stock. Most of the popular sizes are back ordered.

ptv83

all in stock ATM from what i can see.
35C 3S 11.1v 5000mah - instock 10+ @ $52.32
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=10097

35C 4S 14.8v 5000mah - instock 10+ @ $69.99
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=10096

45-90C 3S 11.1v 5000mah - instock 10+ @ $57.10
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=11956

45-90C 4S 14.8v 5000mah -instock 10+ @ $75.99
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=11957


and damn near every single turnigy 40C battery pack of any size and shape is instock too
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...t=&LiPoConfig=

including many in thier USA warehouse. (click the country flag next to the prices, using the domestic warehouse will mean extra fast shipping)


cheers, eh