Adn_spark

I really wish there was a better industry standard for testing batteries. I like amain and my order should be arriving in two days, but I will NEVER pay their prices for lipo batteries. I'm sure everyone's seen the big squid battery comparison where gens ace cleans house every time. These "expensive" battery's are simply "licensed" battery's from the same manufactures which means that the anatomy of the pack isn't crafted by the company with the sticker on the case (in most cases). I've yet to see a battery where the seller actually post true data about the particular cell in question. Prove to your customer that you actually assemble this battery. I've used the same 4 nanos for 2 years now two of them are showing a little swelling and one has a melted -5mm. The melting of the cases has very little to do with the packs themselves quality. Heat is generated by resistance, resistance in this situation is cause by improper fitment of the actual male bullet connector. If your bullet slides in easly it's not making good connection. Buy cheaper batteries and don't fall victim to the man!!! I like what smc has to offer, the best of both worlds.

PetRock

The C ratings on packs are all over the place, so for the price of a pack buy an IR Meter and measure things yourself.

I can't buy every brand, but I've got a few Turnigy Nanotech and a few SMC, and SMC consistently have less resistance (higher C) new, and after 30+ charges. I have a strip of red electrical tape on each pack and just tick off each discharge so I can track packs degrading over time.

I didn't have any noticeable performance issues with the Turnigy lipos... until I bought a Tekno SCT410. The Nanotechs bounce off the LVC more times before they're dead (the SMC's tend to hit the LVC once, or twice, then dead: which is better as they're holding higher voltage under load). I lean towards SMC for my Tekno, but I'd gladly tell a new hobbiest to save $$$ and buy Nanotechs if they're not pushing around a heavy SCT.

Next packs I buy will be SPC or Team Great Hobbies (LHS rebrand). Gens Ace are interesting, but more difficult to ship to Canada. Don't be afraid to try new brands!

Chevis

I'll give a recommendation for the SPC packs. Great support and very knowledgeable. I bought some of the 5400 50C 2s packs. I was told when I called with some questions that the cells were Japanese mil spec cells. Some of his other batteries use good quality ISO 9000 company China cells. The batteries have performed flawlessly, although they are not under a tremendous strain (2wd SCT).

Chevis

dmayhew25

iTrader: (14)

There are for sure better quality packs than others. If your looking for the best pack, Which to me is the one that makes the most power, then the RevTech packs are some of the best. For most offroad racing a little more power doesn't matter but if you race stock or super stock on a large higher bite track and can use the power a good pack is gonna help. Don't use the packs that the Amain worlds guys are using necessarily as they are using mod motors and dont need that extra power as they can just motor up, Ie Reedy packs. The top brands of packs are Trinity Sting, RevTech, SMC, OHP, EA and a few others that run well. Cycle packs on a GFX charger and you can see a good pack from a mediocre pack. If your having problems with inboard bullets then your more than likely using a very low end pack.

codeman

Nice, thanks for the reply. The best to me is also the pack that outputs the most and most consistently high amount of power and should also last as a whole (durability, life cycle).

Out of curiosity are the Racers Edge packs any good? My LHS is offering these as high end packs when I asked the same question, looking for high end packs.

BRSracing

iTrader: (67)

Marty, I see some Pro Tek batteries have 5mm tubes, some have 4mm. Is 5mm going to be the new standard for Pro Tek?

Adn_spark

5mm bullets are a big step in lipos and should be standard. Electrons flow on the surface of copper conductors, not "threw". More surface area equals less resistance. Which leads me to the crazy clams made by the battery industry 100c on a 7000mah pack is 70amps!! It is very hard for my to consider this as being factual simply due to the fact that electric "code" says you must use at least #3 stranded copper conductor!! That's about the size of your middle finger!!! Not to mention the burst C rating they claim. Madness.

mkorn

The 5mm bullets have proven to be far more efficient and we do plan to add more of our battery sizes to include 5mm bullets.

Adn_spark

Marty, can u plz explain how 70amps is possible using 10 gauge wire? Thanks.

codeman

Actually, I've been wondering the same. How you're able to push up to 160amps through an ESC with these things. On my Orion ESC it's sating a "Max Amp rating of 760A" - makes no sense when you look past the marketing unless I'm missing something...

You have to use higher gauge wire just for a 20Amp wall socket in your house. How the hell are they claiming this tiny ESC can pump through 160A continuous, and correct me if I'm wrong but something like a 100C rated battery at 5,500mah ... doesn't that equal 5.5*100 = 550Amp output capacity?

8ightracer2.0

iTrader: (2)

It is easier to understand those output claims when you use the equation V=IR.
Voltage = Amps * Resistance

For example, households run off of about 120V. Therefore, depending on the gauge wire used through out the home, only a certain amount of amperage is available usually around 12A. This is casued by a lot of resistance due to the lengths of wire used as well as the type of wire.

Now compared to our stranded wire in Rc, solid wire found in our household will carry less current in comparison because it has less surface area.

Additionally, our cars running on lower voltage with batteries that have lower internal resistance which will yield higher current. This makes those large Amp outputs accurate but only as accurate as the manufacturer makes them. At this point, it comes down to whether or not the output was fudged.

Hope this helps!

Wild Cherry

Best low C saddles you can buy anywhere...


Don't get fooled by those who say you can buy better ...

They are incorrect and I just save you mass bucks , just compare their price to whoever you can ...

xxx123

iTrader: (22)

i go by weight of the battery. IF they both claim 5000, i choose the one that is heavier since there is no real standard to measure the real discharge rate. Just my way to buy battery.