6.0 volt lipo
 

other then the 3 companies that I heard of at vegas has anybody heard anything else about this form factor. thought someone said it was lithum pasphate and that the charger was different. this would be sweet for 12th scale.

nobody got anything....

I've worked at a hobby store untill recently, and we've had a few questions about lithium nano phosphate (spelling???) cells a few times. After doing a little asking around, and a little research in the past I've found a few things out.

These cells are a type of lithium-ion cell. They are also known as A123 cells I think. Commonly used in tools now, and a popular alternative for a rx pack in rc aircraft. They have a hard, cyclindrical metal casing that protects the internats of the cell. The ones I have seen are larger than your typical sub-c cell and for the given capacity.

Now... in terms of charging. I'm not sure what they exactly like/need as far as charging. I see that some newer chargers from Thunder Power, and Hyperion have a seperate li-fe mode to charging. So I assume it's something different than anything else we've used. I do know you can charge them extremely rapidly though. I've heard people comming through the shop talking about 15 min charge times (not sure on the overal capacity of the cell they were talking about though)

Performance, we did a few back to back tests in an Align Trex 500 helicopter. The typical setup is a 6s 2500mah li-po pack (22.2v). That customer also tried a 6s li-fe pack which had a similar voltage to a 5s li-po pack. They said the power was decent for a 5s lipo, but nothing spectacular. I've heard the metal casings that li-ion cells and li-fe cells create a lot more resistence so they don't perform as well.

But... after that huge post I think I'm done. Thats pretty much all I've heard. Hope that helps a little bit Nash.

-Korey

I run A123 cells in my GenX and my Pro10. Here the facts...

-Dimensions: ø27x66mm
-Voltage per cell: 3V (At 20A a lttle bit less)
-Capacity: 2300mAh
-possible to charge in 15min (4C max.)
-Hard to solder (aluminium case)
-charge with CC/CV until 3.6V, you can easy overcharge them until 4.2V without destroying them, but that affects less lifetime
-indestrucible (like nimh)
-Weight: 70gr/cell (Less than nimh, more than Lipo)

there are some tool companies importing Sub-C sized LiFe cells. I have 20 of these cells. Most other companies are just using the 26mm x 65mm cells (Long C) because these cells were designed for full sized EV's and scooters.

They wear like NiMH batteries in the respect, treat the cells hard and they only last about 30 cycles, but 1000 cycles in a light duty operation could be expected (RX packs)

So if you keep your batteries from being overcharged and overdischargered in amps and volts these cells should last.