V1-RRR-WC

I know it's not the best way, but due to my busy race schedule (other nitro cars) I only get chance to charge my batteries the night before racing.

It works ok for me and I am presently leading my local club points standing. However in an effort to get more efficiency out of my XXX-S with a 5.5R BLM, I was thinking of placing my IB 4200's in the freezer overnight after I charge them and keep them on ICE at the track till my races come up.

Do you think this will keep my overall temps down in a 5 min main and provide more power?

Can this work? Has anyone tried it? Will it damage the battery?

Your comments please.

sportpak

iTrader: (26)

How about trying to charge them 90% the night before, then peak them 10 minutes before your heat. I may be wrong, but I believe the heat cycle is part of their performance. Somebody could maybe explain it in better detail.

V1-RRR-WC

The thing is I race in 3 different classes and setting up a charger in addition to all what I already have to setup on a given day for my Nitro races would be pretty hard.

I know that heat sucks power, therefore I was thinking if I can keep the batteries very cool this should help somewhat?????

sportpak

iTrader: (26)

I've heard of performance gains by freezing the motor before a race, but not batteries.

jeffb

iTrader: (10)

Freezing the batteries is not a good idea. Actually the batteries work quite well right after a charge when they are warm. Try to peak right before your run

fathead

I just bought some new IB4200 and it says on the pack that they work better at a warmer temp (can't remember offhand what the temp was).

Remember that batteries use a chemical reaction to release their energy, and chemical reactions happen slower and slower as the temp gets lower, so no freezing or cooling your packs won't help.

I usually charge the night before and then just repeak my packs before my race, works for me.

sportpak

iTrader: (26)

I knew somebody would have a good explination of temperature of a battery. A dude at my place freezes his motors and he is frickin' fast.

fathead

Cooling the motor (I use a motor cooler that I made) is more about reducing the temp of the motor at the end of the run, if the motor comes off cooler it will have less fade and/or allow you to run a bigger pinion.

V1-RRR-WC

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the info.

I guess I will need to start walking with my charger to the track.

But my question is, when you Re-Peak what amp should it be at? the same 5 amps or lower? (Duratrax ICE)

BigDaddyT

IB cells tend to make the most power when they're warm - freezing them would not be a good thing. Many people use warming trays to keep their IB packs warm after the charge cycle completes.

V1-RRR-WC

Ohh... Good thing I asked.

Thanks man!

MrBlack

I am not sure if your series allows them but Li-Po packs can be charged days in advance without any perfromance loss. Also NiMH batteries do not like the extreme cold or extreme heat this is why there are cooling discharge trays and battery warmers for chargers when used in colder climates.

BigDaddyT

If you're re-peaking less than 5-10 mins or so after the pack has been charged use the same amp rate, but lower your peak detect by a couple of mV.

If it's more than 10 mins (or overnight!) then use the same settings as you use to charge.