tc3team

there is no difference apart from the safety of deans plugs, unless you are very bad at soldering.

frozenpod

iTrader: (1)

Deans are marginally (you will never tell on the track) better compared with 4mm bullets. I now use 5mm bullets.

Skiddins

Though SMC have tested 5mm connectors and they were always slightly higher resistance.

Skiddins

Not superstition though

The problem with packs that use Deans is that the balance cable will also stick out and they end up with the case slowly cutting into the balance leads.
This is exactly why I stopped using Deans Thunder Power packs

howardcano

iTrader: (37)

I'm curious: the thread title mentions "Deans Fake". Are there indeed copies of Deans connectors being made? I haven't seen any myself.

howardcano

iTrader: (37)

I've been using Shoe Goo to add some strain relief to this area, with good results.

ElectricMann

Yes howard their are knock off deans in the xt and standard deans...
the knock off deans are slightly off color.. a lighter red and a looser fit to a standard deans .. when i run into people with these I always recommend heating plug end with lighter and using needle nose to tighten opening(make it smaller) also they tend to melt under 45 amp draw.. deans about 60 amp

and the deans xt I like these best I will always use these at 80 amps no melting and I just like them more for my uses..

Raising hand cause I have never crossed a bullet plug cuz i will never use these due to that reason and there is no advantage to using them in amps ir resistance..

2uzferunner03

The knockoff deans really are no good. Unless your highly skilled at soldering the plastic always melts and leaves the plugs hard to line up. I've never had this issue with real deans. So if your a pro at soldering and running low power setups the knockoffs may work OK for you.

jlfx car audio

iTrader: (37)

I used deans for a long long time . real and fake but only in vta or 17.5 tc. And typically kept my cheap connectors on my charger or discharger ... now that its lipo im using bullet 5mm and even tho one yr ago i did hook one pack up backwards i still use them . U have to be careful. The orca packs can be flipped over allowing you to reverse the wires...... (i was late for my Amain...)
but in tc i prefer to use bullet connectors to keep any flimzy wires as low as possible without adding any extra weight high in the car..
but if connectors are a must i loved the EC3 . Flow more current than deans (dont come unsoldered in pro4 SC ) less risk of shorting out from wires not being exposed (if shrink wrap gets damaged) and no need for shrink wrap and the EC3/5 is way easier to solder

locked

iTrader: (1)

Never and all of my cars use bullet connectors. You just have to glance at it for half a second before plugging it in. I don't understand how so many people make this mistake. It takes no effort to get it right and you know if you do it wrong, you'll most likely have to replace your ESC and your race day will probably be over, so why would you not pay attention while doing this? It's not hard. You just have to open your eyes.

Pintobean11

iTrader: (17)

IMO, Dean's are hard as hell to solder. But I do love them.

theproffesor

iTrader: (66)

Been back into RC for a couple years now and NEVER plugged ky stuff up backwards. I paint the + terminal on my batts red, and all + wires are either red or have red shrink wrap on the ends. In addition my + wire from ESC is too short to reach the - side of the batt.

I ran deans years ago back in the nicd days because I didnt want to solder in my batts every time. But even with deans you have to be carefull if you ever use anyone elses stuff. They may not have the polarity the same as yours and poof there goes your ESC. At least with bulletts your stuff becomes fairly universal if you keep a pigtail in your pit box.

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

Denial's not just a river in Egypt.

To re-use an old racers' adage... There's two kinds of people who use bullet plugs. Those who have connected them backwards, and those who will connect them backwards. You'll get your turn someday.

That said, I still use bullets. It's just a lot cleaner, particularly because of the balance wire on dean's packs. When I ran Schumacher, I did it because it's a a few grams lighter, but now it's just a question of tidy wiring.

I've only plugged in backwards probably 2-3 times, and every time it was due to trying to use batteries that had the opposite plug orientation to what I was used to, and I was distracted just at the moment I was plugging in the batteries. I've also loaned a battery to someone else and watched as they immediately plugged the wires in backwards.

-Mike

ElectricMann

I always carry a roll of Red electrical tape and mark my bullet plugs and batterys with it on those that have bullets on pack.. I run high amp draw esc with high amp motors and have never had any issue with deans xt..

RCNutJob

iTrader: (31)

Plug a male and female together before soldering them, that will keep the plugs lined up and allow for easy plugging in and unplugging.

I've been using Deans and the knock off ribbed ones from hobbyking for years and years, never had a problem with them on anything I own, even 1/8 stuff and big monster trucks.