Flamron

iTrader: (6)

I bought a couple B44 (oldest gen) buggies off of a couple guys here and am hoping to be able to get them going (one at least, maybe the second for my son as he gets old enough - he turns 5 in a few days).

I am new to the electric scene, having mostly ran nitro buggies and monster trucks.

I've got a couple saddle batteries coming from hobby king - turnigy 4850mh 50C. Seemed like a really good deal. They were back stocked on the 5100mh 65c, so I hope I did ok getting the 50s.

One buggy comes with an esc/motor installed (mamba max 7700 combo). The other was a roller + parts. I've got an old esc (F1) that I got when I traded for some rc stuff to get back into the hobby. I may give it a go on the other buggy if you guys think it would suffice (and assuming it works). I also have a drawer full of motors that I'm hoping will work with it (not sure if they will fit - they might me 1/8 scale). Do you think the F1 would run off of the 2s lipo batteries?

I also bought a duratrax onyx 245 charger from another member from here. It looks like it will do a decent job on these batteries. I don't intend on going bigger for batteries (we all say that, right?) so I think it will get me by for a bit at least.

Any pointers or tips you guys can throw at me? I'm reading through the B44 threads right now just trying to get a feel for what I've gotten myself into. The B44.2 may have been a better buy, but I really wanted two buggies, and they weren't in the budget for what I wanted to do. So I'm going with older, but proven technology.

Am I on the right path or do I need to do/get something different?

Thanks guys! Rctech is an awesome forum. Very glad I found it!

BRSracing

iTrader: (67)

not familiar with the f1 esc, however check the specs on it. some are not designed for 4x4, also depends on what motor you plan to run. a 8th scale motor will not work in the 44.

Flamron

iTrader: (6)

My batteries showed up today. Quick shipping from hobby king. And the onyx is here (235, not 245). I'm getting used to it by charging some nimh packs I have. Seems to work well.

How long is it ok to keep the lipo batteries charged? I stuck them in the fridge for now, but was curious how long I can go leaving them charged. Or do I just run them whenever I can and leave them drained as much as I use up that day and charge the next time I run?

Buggies should arrive on Tuesday, so I will have plenty to do when they get here.

2canSAM

iTrader: (248)

It is recommended to leave them at around 3.85v/cell for long term storage. I would say if you are not going to run them for over 1 week to drop them to storage mode. Most chargers will have a storage mode that will charge or discharge the packs to these voltages. I do not think the Onyx has a storage mode though. I am also pretty sure it does not have a balancer built in so if it is needed for those saddle packs I would pick up an external balancer.

Johnnysplits

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the clean and quiet world!!!

Flamron

iTrader: (6)

I checked the onyx, and it says it does balance. I didn't see anything about storage charge, though. Do I just run it down and then plug it into the charger to see what they read to store them? Or is there something I can get that will storage charge/discharge them that doesn't cost a bunch? I'll get it either way, but it would be nice to buy something cheap in this hobby. My wife is getting suspicious with all the boxes showing up.

Flamron

iTrader: (6)

Thanks. I'm hopeful rebuilding an electric motor is a little cleaner than a nitro motor. And I'm looking forward to not buying nitro fuel as well.

fq06

iTrader: (12)

Check page 10 in your manual, gives instruction on how to storage charge. Most chargers have a setting to do it automatically, but yours seems to be a more lengthy setup.

Flamron

iTrader: (6)

Good deal. It didn't come with a manual, so I just downloaded it. Thanks for the heads up!

Johnnysplits

iTrader: (1)

No rebuilding...just tossing. The brushed motor days are history.

Johnnysplits

iTrader: (1)

Have everything shipped to your job or a friends house!!

I Wheelie A LOT

iTrader: (15)

What is this "Brushed" Motor you speak of?