Reason for Different Battery Connections?
 

Hey guys,

Still a bit new to the electric scene, been a nitro guy my whole life. Question though...

I bought an eTruggy for primarily racing. My eBuggy has an XT90 connector for the battery. I see that other people have those bullet connectors that plug into the battery.

Is there an advantage or reasoning to running the bullet connectors vs an XT90 plug?

TIA

Some people say bullets have less resistance and therefore you supposedly go faster. In anything 8th scale resistance doesn't matter with the amount of power they have so it's really just for cleaner wiring.

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Tamiya has its own Tamiya plug, Horizon Hobby loves to use the EC3 and EC5 plugs. To me it looks it is all a bit brand related.

In the racing scene the 4 and 5mm bullit plugs are most common

in the electric RC world.. its all about resistance or the LACK there of...

and for the RC manufacturing.. the minimum of Cost.
I have used "Deans" connectors for 20 plus years.

On my 1/10 cars I run direct wire bullets to reduce both resistance and weight, these are key factors for stock racing to help get a slight edge on the competition... if you decide to go with bullets, be sure to reduce the length of the connector so you can't accidentally reverse the polarity, all it takes is a split second to fry any ESC.

On my 1/8 cars I just use Deans compatible connectors, mod cars don't need to mess with the above nonsense.

Well there are two points of connection possibly. The first is the battery. Some batteries meant for car/buggies/trucks have female bullet connectors and some have wire leads comming out. Those with wires have various connectors depending on the brand and some are sold with no connector.

I am not really sure why some surface batteries come with bullet sockets. Seems like an extra point of connection/resistance. Batteries with built in wire leads should have a slight advantage because the solder connections inside the battery should be better than having an extra connection point at the bullet. I am guessing the batteryies come this way because the layout is more predictable and the model designers can design the battery box for a tight fit. batteries with wires don't always fit.

On the end of the battery leads any of the leading types should be fine. Obviously, the battery and ESC connectors have to match. As mentioned, Horizon Hobby tend to push EC-series. Hobbyking mostly supplies XT-series on their batteries. I started with horizon Hobby products so most of my stuff is EC. But I have noted that XT is a little easier to work with. Pushing the contacts into the EC housing can be hard.

The only way to know for sure is to measure connections with a micro-ohm meter which most folks don't have and such measurements are trick anyway. If you connector seems hotter than the wire after a hard run, you should upgrade to the next size up.

thanks for all the responses!

I guess as long as their no "advantage" of using the bullets over say an XT90, then I'll stick with my XT90, although I am trying to justify the extra cost of running LiHv, in which case those I've only seen with bullet connections on the batteries.

If I buy a battery that comes with in line bullets, then I would run direct wire to the ESC, no sense in having more than one connector in the circuit.

I personally feel that LiHV is only necessary with stock racing, keep in mind that capacity for LiHV is overstated unless you charge to 4.35V/cell, most folks charge at 4.2V/cell to extend the longevity, however you also reduce the amount of charge going into the pack as well at the lower voltage.

Without a doubt, being able to solder is a valuable skill in the RC hobby. I routinely cut off connetrs that come with batteries and install whatever I prefer at the moment.

Bill's point though is a good one, for batteries that come with female bullet sockets, it does make sense to solder wires to your ESC that are just terminated in bullets.

I see you've already made a decision but I'll add 2 cents here.

My preference is to stay away from 1/8th scale batteries that use bullet connectors. My reasoning is this: Any connector has some resistance. Resistance causes heat when the current flows. I would rather have the heat being generated in a connector in open air where there can be some convection to carry the heat away than have the heat being generated inside a battery case where there is no convection and the heat just builds up. I've seen many batteries with melted areas around the bullet connectors and I believe the internal head build up is why.

Yes, I know lots of people use bullet packs in 1/8 - I won't for the reason mention above.