skengines

iTrader: (226)

Yep, I've seen the Orion 90C packs swell up after a few cycles.

Stick with Protek. Best warranty out there period. After sometime my Protek packs will swell (appx 1yr) and they replace it at 50% off.

billjacobs

iTrader: (65)

Orion 6500 90c: $134 at amain
Protek 6400 70c: $109 at amain
Nanotech 6500 65c: $55 ($45 + shipping) at hobbyking

Hmm, which one to get???????

And if you think the orions are actually 90c, meaning they can handle 6.5x90 = 585amps continuously, I have a bridge to sell you. The orions are probably 45c, 90c burst, although they might be 60c, 90c burst. Either way, the nanotech are a much better value.

With the proteks, you get 1 for $109 + a replacement for $55, making the replacement cost the same as the new cost of the nano-techs. So you can get 2 of the 6600 65c for the price of 1 protek.

billjacobs

iTrader: (65)

DO NOT store lipos at 100% (8.4v). Store them at 7.9v and check on them every few months. In addition, I have found the best thing to do is buy the batteries you need (1 per car,) use them repeatedly, and then replace for the next season. This way you still get the year out of the batteries, but you are buying far fewer batteries.

I have never had an issue with nano-techs. The real question is how many lipo factories do you think are out there making r/c packs?

Wild Cherry

Oman !



Its Kool to allow bash-n the Max Amps for false C rates , ect .....

Orion ?

Not kool to do too its seems ....

Cptn Cartwheel

iTrader: (4)

I had 2 of the 6500 90c batteries I got for my SC10 4x4 when they first came out. The 1st one broke internally after less than 10 cycles. The 2nd puffed and went flat after about a month. It would be gangbusters for about the first 3 to 5 laps and then had a severe drop off in power. I contacted Horizon and they said their warranty was, and I quote, "You bought it, you opened it, and it worked, beyond that is not our responsibility".

I didnt abuse the packs, I didnt go to lipo cutoff, didnt over charge them, didnt overheat the motor or esc (Tekin 540 5.5 and RS Pro), didnt leave them in any storage mode since I used them in my 17.5 SC mainly. Basically, anything you can think of that might be bad for a battery didnt happen and still they quit on me.

I use TrakPower stuff now, with no issues. Period.

Integra

iTrader: (8)

Ive also witnessed these 6500's go up FAR too soon. 4wdSC and 1/8 E bug with 2S config. bad batch, Maybe.....who knows.

For the price. Ill stick with my Nano's.

kcobra

iTrader: (11)

Couple comments (un-related to the Orion rant):

- Lipos do no need to be cycled every 3 - 4 weeks. Lipos have a extremely low self discharge rate. Cycling them does nothing for them.

- 3.6v per cell is to low of a storage voltage. That is getting pretty close to empty. You want to store anywhere from 3.8v to 4v per cell.

arm2storm

iTrader: (25)

Horizon is terrible....Poor customer service, pricing, bad business relationship....You name it they are horrible at it.

seth556

iTrader: (43)

Working at a hobby shop I've seen many people with these packs get them and have them go bad within a few weeks. Either puffed or they'll charge up normally and be dead in less than a minute. Horizon won't fix them. We don't sell many Orion packs but I'd say I still see more people come back with bad Orion batteries than all other battery manufactures combined.

Although I've heard of Orion replacing motors if they have issues, it's weird they'll be happy to replace one but not the other. And when I had a small defect on a TLR kit I called them and they sent out a replacement right away. They seem to do fine with warranties and more, but I guess see too many problems with the batteries to do anything for them.

ilanstylz

iTrader: (142)

HUH did you not read my post, I never said the user didn't have the right to bash the company, I just simply asked for an explanation as to why he felt like horizon wasn't making due on their end since he seemed very upset about the situation..........

Wease

iTrader: (77)

Not entirely true. Horizon is fantastic at supporting their Spektrum brand. They've fixed several radios and receivers I sent in for free, even after admitting the issues were out of warranty and/or my fault.

However, they are awful with their Orion support. Last year I bought a brand new 4S Orion hard case. After two qualifiers the case separated. Not because the cells swelled, but it just wasn't put together well at the factory. I called Horizon and gave the the story and had the receipt in hand to show that it was less than 1 week old. I said it works, it charges, it balances and the cells are not swollen. I called Horizon and they said, "If the pack works, too bad . . . just tape it and run it". While that's true, I didn't pay $150 for a hard case that comes apart on the first run. They wouldn't budge, so guess who has never and will never buy an Orion battery again?

sschultz

iTrader: (15)

Well considering there's probably 1000's of these battery's out there, there's bound to be some bad ones out there. I've sent 2 items to horizon and they fixed or replaced them and got them back to me in a timely fashion . Only cost me shipping, one way.

ach86

iTrader: (45)

Wow, this is pretty harsh. I personally have dealt with Horizon multiple times 5+ and have yet to have an issue. Everything I have ever received from them has been over knighted with no cost. You can read countless members that have the same experiences I have had on many other threads on here. I believe each situation is unique, but most of the time a bad experience is just as much to blame on the person calling Horizon, as the representative on the other line.

As far as batteries go. I personally like the new SMC batteries. I just tested and ran the 7200mah 70C packs at a recent race and they are phenomenal lowest IR of any batteries I have seen. After talking to Danny, everyone should understand batteries, punch (a figment of our imagination), and charging/care of your lipos. Just my two cents.

Deja Vu

iTrader: (11)

I normally avoid these types of threads, cause I realize, sometimes, %^$# happens. I've actually have had pretty good luck with all of my equipment so far. Yes, I've had a few failures, but never anything like my experiences with this battery.

I bought one new for my daughter's SCTE running a Castle SCT system. She had previously been running cheap, Peak 4200, 45C batteries with no problem, but I felt it was time to upgrade her batteries since she was running well. After only one night of 3 5-minute races and 3 5-amp charges, the battery had began to puff. I ran it one more night before deciding not to risk it any longer. A friend at the track had the same battery that he chose not to run any longer, wanted cash to buy a new motor, so I bought it from him to replace the first one. I was able to run this one for 2 weeks before it too was puffed to a point of concern.

Though I decided never to buy anymore of 'em, I ended up with two more that were like new as part of a local trade. That was just a few weeks ago. One still works but honestly hasn't been used more than a few races. The second one already fails to charge on several different chargers. Though I didn't personally pay brand new price for 3 of them, they were all like new with very little usage. I have one good battery out of $600 in total sales.

I have since bought a TrakPower 6800/70 for right at $100. This battery has ran non-stop, has been loaned out to others running high powered systems and is even my "go to" battery when we run Pro-20. It has every bit as much "punch" as the Orion...and of course actually works.

If a $45 Peak can way out last an Orion (I still have and use the Peaks BTW) and if a $100 TrakPower can out perform a $150 Orion, I know will never buy another one, ever. And I also know that the one and only Orion that is still working will never be sold. Not that I like it, I don't actually. But I simply wouldn't risk selling it knowing that it will likely fail at any time. I don't do that to people. I wish Orion didn't either.

Grouchman

iTrader: (76)

I've been running Orion 90c batteries for over a year and never had an issue. IMO, Orion have been the best batteries I've ever used and I tried almost every brand. I run Orion saddle, shorties, and full stick.