I have NiMH batteries, is there really a point to going to LiPO
08-13-2010, 11:15 AM
#1
I have NiMH batteries, is there really a point to going to LiPO
Hey Guys,
I have 6 Nimh batteries, all 4200 mah with the Duratrax OYNX 240 charger which allows you to charge 2 batteries at once, which I absolutely love.
It seems that more and more people are switching to LiPO and I know they have a greated mah rating and hold a voltage better, but would it really be worth my while to upgrade to LiPOs?
At the moment I don't do any racing just backyard bashing.
If I were to upgrade to Lipo, what would I need charger wise and what would be a good battery to get and where is a good place to order them?
Thanks
Disjaukifa
I have 6 Nimh batteries, all 4200 mah with the Duratrax OYNX 240 charger which allows you to charge 2 batteries at once, which I absolutely love.
It seems that more and more people are switching to LiPO and I know they have a greated mah rating and hold a voltage better, but would it really be worth my while to upgrade to LiPOs?
At the moment I don't do any racing just backyard bashing.
If I were to upgrade to Lipo, what would I need charger wise and what would be a good battery to get and where is a good place to order them?
Thanks
Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 11:39 AM
#2
You'd need a lipo capable, balancing charger, about the cheapest available will run $55. It will not charge 2 lipos at once like your 240 does with your NiMhs. You'd need to be running escs with low voltage cutoffs to protect the lipo from overdischarge or add a separate add on type LVC if your esc doesn't have one. You can run without an lvc, but you have to be careful to not overdischarge the lipo, paying attention to your run time and stopping early enough to avoid overdischarge.
With no info about your vehicle, its hard to guess exact lipo you'd need, but possibly a 2S 5000+mah hard case type would be a reasonable guess. As far as ordering, look at the Turnigy lipos from HobbyKing, or lipos from Tower Hobbies, A-Main or Stormer or something from your local hobby shop.
Why switch if you're happy with what you're running?
With no info about your vehicle, its hard to guess exact lipo you'd need, but possibly a 2S 5000+mah hard case type would be a reasonable guess. As far as ordering, look at the Turnigy lipos from HobbyKing, or lipos from Tower Hobbies, A-Main or Stormer or something from your local hobby shop.
Why switch if you're happy with what you're running?
08-13-2010, 11:44 AM
#3
You'd need a lipo capable, balancing charger, about the cheapest available will run $55. It will not charge 2 lipos at once like your 240 does with your NiMhs. You'd need to be running escs with low voltage cutoffs to protect the lipo from overdischarge or add a separate add on type LVC if your esc doesn't have one. You can run without an lvc, but you have to be careful to not overdischarge the lipo, paying attention to your run time and stopping early enough to avoid overdischarge.
With no info about your vehicle, its hard to guess exact lipo you'd need, but possibly a 2S 5000+mah hard case type would be a reasonable guess. As far as ordering, look at the Turnigy lipos from HobbyKing, or lipos from Tower Hobbies, A-Main or Stormer or something from your local hobby shop.
Why switch if you're happy with what you're running?
With no info about your vehicle, its hard to guess exact lipo you'd need, but possibly a 2S 5000+mah hard case type would be a reasonable guess. As far as ordering, look at the Turnigy lipos from HobbyKing, or lipos from Tower Hobbies, A-Main or Stormer or something from your local hobby shop.
Why switch if you're happy with what you're running?
I don't do any racing but I might at some point, not sure though. I slowly trying to get the equipment for racing, for example I have a 3PK Super coming and the Tamiya buggies I'm considering I might race, again not sure yet.
I just don't want to show up to the track, pull out NiMH batteries and get laughed at. I know Lipos are lighter and have better voltage over the charge, but I have been looking at the prices and they are expensive. I'm happy with the NiMH batteries and their cheap, I can get two 4200mah batteries for like 46 bucks and they last a good long time in my vehicles.
-Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 11:54 AM
#4
If you buy lipos from HobbyKing, you can get them a lot cheaper and for the many people that use them they seem to be as good as the higher cost lipos - heres an example
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...~50C_Lipo_Pack
These are $30 and is just an example. There's a ton of info about them and HK here.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...~50C_Lipo_Pack
These are $30 and is just an example. There's a ton of info about them and HK here.
08-13-2010, 11:59 AM
#5
If you buy lipos from HobbyKing, you can get them a lot cheaper and for the many people that use them they seem to be as good as the higher cost lipos - heres an example
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...~50C_Lipo_Pack
These are $30 and is just an example. There's a ton of info about them and HK here.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...~50C_Lipo_Pack
These are $30 and is just an example. There's a ton of info about them and HK here.
Thanks
Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 12:16 PM
#6
This is a good charger for 2S, its AC/DC -
http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html
Yes, you need a balancer, the above charger is a balancing type charger and you should always balance charge (for several reasons). I always balance charge lipos.
I use 3.2v/cell to 3.5v/cell as a cutoff. My heavier RCs (Flux, Lightning) get the higher value and my lighter ones (Slash, Vendetta) use the lower lvc.
http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html
Yes, you need a balancer, the above charger is a balancing type charger and you should always balance charge (for several reasons). I always balance charge lipos.
I use 3.2v/cell to 3.5v/cell as a cutoff. My heavier RCs (Flux, Lightning) get the higher value and my lighter ones (Slash, Vendetta) use the lower lvc.
08-13-2010, 12:18 PM
#7
The AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com is the $55 one he was talking about. It works great and will charge almost any battery you have.
The Novak Smart-Stop is a good cut off device, usually about $25
I think the switch to lipo is a good move for most people. Even if you get the same mah as your nimh you will get more runtime. And you will likely be amazed at how much power you get from switching.
Edit: I want to add that you can likely sell your Nimh and charger for enough to buy even more Lipos.
The Novak Smart-Stop is a good cut off device, usually about $25
I think the switch to lipo is a good move for most people. Even if you get the same mah as your nimh you will get more runtime. And you will likely be amazed at how much power you get from switching.
Edit: I want to add that you can likely sell your Nimh and charger for enough to buy even more Lipos.
08-13-2010, 12:24 PM
#8
The AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com is the $55 one he was talking about. It works great and will charge almost any battery you have.
The Novak Smart-Stop is a good cut off device, usually about $25
I think the switch to lipo is a good move for most people. Even if you get the same mah as your nimh you will get more runtime. And you will likely be amazed at how much power you get from switching.
Edit: I want to add that you can likely sell your Nimh and charger for enough to buy even more Lipos.
The Novak Smart-Stop is a good cut off device, usually about $25
I think the switch to lipo is a good move for most people. Even if you get the same mah as your nimh you will get more runtime. And you will likely be amazed at how much power you get from switching.
Edit: I want to add that you can likely sell your Nimh and charger for enough to buy even more Lipos.
Thanks
Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 12:31 PM
#9
And yet another questions, I would looking at hobby king online. What exactly am I looking for, I know what the mah is . . . obviously but what is the 25C, the 2P, extra.
What should I be looking at if I'm trying to replace my 6-cell 7.2v NiMH batteries?
Here are some of the batteries I'm considering:
Turnigy 5200mAh 2S 30C Hard-Case Car Lipo Pack
Turnigy 5800mAh 2S 25C Lipo Pack
*UPDATE*
Also I found this charger:
Turnigy A-6-10 200W Balance charger & discharger
And a couple of other, but I'm not really sure what would be good for my Clod, Dual Hunter and F201 . . .
Thanks
Disjaukifa
What should I be looking at if I'm trying to replace my 6-cell 7.2v NiMH batteries?
Here are some of the batteries I'm considering:
Turnigy 5200mAh 2S 30C Hard-Case Car Lipo Pack
Turnigy 5800mAh 2S 25C Lipo Pack
*UPDATE*
Also I found this charger:
Turnigy A-6-10 200W Balance charger & discharger
And a couple of other, but I'm not really sure what would be good for my Clod, Dual Hunter and F201 . . .
Thanks
Disjaukifa
Last edited by disjaukifa; 08-13-2010 at 12:44 PM.
08-13-2010, 12:46 PM
#10
If you buy the correct lipos they should not be hot at all after a full run. Then you can put them on the charge immediately.
You will want a 2s pack, of at least 25C. The higher "C" number you can afford the better. This "C" stands for capacity, you multiply the "C" number by the packs capacity to get the total number of Amps you can continually discharge from the pack. For heavy monster trucks and such I would suggest 100A minimum. So for example you could get a 5000mah 20C, this is 20 times 5000mah, or 5 AH. This equals 100A that can safely be discharged from the pack continually. I still recommend at least 25C though if you can afford it. Here is a few more examples:
20C 3000mah--60A capable--not enough for most heavy trucks
40C 3000mah--120A capable--plenty of amps, but might not be enough runtime
20C 5000mah--100A capable--plenty of runtime, but the Amps is the minimum I would suggest
25C 5000mah--125A capable--plenty of runtime and plenty of current for all but the craziest high power systems
30C 5000mah--150A capable--plenty of everything, but sometimes cost can be an issue
You will want a 2s pack, of at least 25C. The higher "C" number you can afford the better. This "C" stands for capacity, you multiply the "C" number by the packs capacity to get the total number of Amps you can continually discharge from the pack. For heavy monster trucks and such I would suggest 100A minimum. So for example you could get a 5000mah 20C, this is 20 times 5000mah, or 5 AH. This equals 100A that can safely be discharged from the pack continually. I still recommend at least 25C though if you can afford it. Here is a few more examples:
20C 3000mah--60A capable--not enough for most heavy trucks
40C 3000mah--120A capable--plenty of amps, but might not be enough runtime
20C 5000mah--100A capable--plenty of runtime, but the Amps is the minimum I would suggest
25C 5000mah--125A capable--plenty of runtime and plenty of current for all but the craziest high power systems
30C 5000mah--150A capable--plenty of everything, but sometimes cost can be an issue
08-13-2010, 12:50 PM
#11
If you buy the correct lipos they should not be hot at all after a full run. Then you can put them on the charge immediately.
You will want a 2s pack, of at least 25C. The higher "C" number you can afford the better. This "C" stands for capacity, you multiply the "C" number by the packs capacity to get the total number of Amps you can continually discharge from the pack. For heavy monster trucks and such I would suggest 100A minimum. So for example you could get a 5000mah 20C, this is 20 times 5000mah, or 5 AH. This equals 100A that can safely be discharged from the pack continually. I still recommend at least 25C though if you can afford it. Here is a few more examples:
20C 3000mah--60A capable--not enough for most heavy trucks
40C 3000mah--120A capable--plenty of amps, but might not be enough runtime
20C 5000mah--100A capable--plenty of runtime, but the Amps is the minimum I would suggest
25C 5000mah--125A capable--plenty of runtime and plenty of current for all but the craziest high power systems
30C 5000mah--150A capable--plenty of everything, but sometimes cost can be an issue
You will want a 2s pack, of at least 25C. The higher "C" number you can afford the better. This "C" stands for capacity, you multiply the "C" number by the packs capacity to get the total number of Amps you can continually discharge from the pack. For heavy monster trucks and such I would suggest 100A minimum. So for example you could get a 5000mah 20C, this is 20 times 5000mah, or 5 AH. This equals 100A that can safely be discharged from the pack continually. I still recommend at least 25C though if you can afford it. Here is a few more examples:
20C 3000mah--60A capable--not enough for most heavy trucks
40C 3000mah--120A capable--plenty of amps, but might not be enough runtime
20C 5000mah--100A capable--plenty of runtime, but the Amps is the minimum I would suggest
25C 5000mah--125A capable--plenty of runtime and plenty of current for all but the craziest high power systems
30C 5000mah--150A capable--plenty of everything, but sometimes cost can be an issue
Again thank you for all the information!
-Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 12:50 PM
#12
Those packs are awesome, but double check the measurements to make sure they will fit in all of your cars. Also, sometimes the measurements given can be off a little, read thru the reviews and discussion, as many people will correct the measurements in the reviews.
That charger is essentially the same as the AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com, but it uses only DC input power, meaning you would need a power supply of some kind, in short, you cant plug it into the wall.
That charger is essentially the same as the AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com, but it uses only DC input power, meaning you would need a power supply of some kind, in short, you cant plug it into the wall.
08-13-2010, 12:56 PM
#13
Those packs are awesome, but double check the measurements to make sure they will fit in all of your cars. Also, sometimes the measurements given can be off a little, read thru the reviews and discussion, as many people will correct the measurements in the reviews.
That charger is essentially the same as the AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com, but it uses only DC input power, meaning you would need a power supply of some kind, in short, you cant plug it into the wall.
That charger is essentially the same as the AC-6 from Hobbypartz.com, but it uses only DC input power, meaning you would need a power supply of some kind, in short, you cant plug it into the wall.
Thanks
Disjaukifa
08-13-2010, 12:56 PM
#14
Lipo cells are 3.7v nominal and fully charged are 4.2v. A lipo batt is made from 2 or more cells wired together usually in series. 2S means 2 cells wired in series, voltage adds in series so a 2S is 3.7v + 3.7v = 7.4v nominal. This same 2S lipo off the charger will be at 8.4v. A 3S lipo is 3 3.7v cells and is 11.1v nominal and 12.6v fully charger, and so on for 4S, 5S etc. This is a little like your NiMhs where they are 1.2v nominal and off charger closer to 1.45v fully charged.
To generate longer run time, lipos can be wired in parallel. So they take a 2S lipo and wire it in parallel with another 2S and produce a 2S2P lipo that has twice the mah but is the same voltage. Its alos twic eas big physically. Cars and trucks usually don't have the room to run 2S2P type packs as they're usually larger than battery compartment.
Capacity is mah - its directly related to run time, the bigger the number, the longer the run time. Like a fuel tank, but instead of gallons, its mah.
The C business is the discharge rating. This is what the lipo is theoretically capable of producing amp wise. A 5200mah 30C is supposed to be able to produce 5200/1000 x 30 = 156amps. The 5800mah 25C would be 145amps. The C rating provides a rough way to gage and compare lipo capability.
If you're running 6 cll pacs, you'd prob want to run 2S lipo, thats comparable voltage wise. 8.4v lipo vs ~8.7v NiMh. You usually want the biggest mah you can fit into your RC without weighing too much. 5000 - 5600 is a popular size.
If the ones you linked fit where you want them to fit, you're good to go. Yopu'll prob need to change the connectors or make an adapter since few seem to use the bullet type conns HK installs on these.
To generate longer run time, lipos can be wired in parallel. So they take a 2S lipo and wire it in parallel with another 2S and produce a 2S2P lipo that has twice the mah but is the same voltage. Its alos twic eas big physically. Cars and trucks usually don't have the room to run 2S2P type packs as they're usually larger than battery compartment.
Capacity is mah - its directly related to run time, the bigger the number, the longer the run time. Like a fuel tank, but instead of gallons, its mah.
The C business is the discharge rating. This is what the lipo is theoretically capable of producing amp wise. A 5200mah 30C is supposed to be able to produce 5200/1000 x 30 = 156amps. The 5800mah 25C would be 145amps. The C rating provides a rough way to gage and compare lipo capability.
If you're running 6 cll pacs, you'd prob want to run 2S lipo, thats comparable voltage wise. 8.4v lipo vs ~8.7v NiMh. You usually want the biggest mah you can fit into your RC without weighing too much. 5000 - 5600 is a popular size.
If the ones you linked fit where you want them to fit, you're good to go. Yopu'll prob need to change the connectors or make an adapter since few seem to use the bullet type conns HK installs on these.
08-13-2010, 01:04 PM
#15
Lipo cells are 3.7v nominal and fully charged are 4.2v. A lipo batt is made from 2 or more cells wired together usually in series. 2S means 2 cells wired in series, voltage adds in series so a 2S is 3.7v + 3.7v = 7.4v nominal. This same 2S lipo off the charger will be at 8.4v. A 3S lipo is 3 3.7v cells and is 11.1v nominal and 12.6v fully charger, and so on for 4S, 5S etc. This is a little like your NiMhs where they are 1.2v nominal and off charger closer to 1.45v fully charged.
To generate longer run time, lipos can be wired in parallel. So they take a 2S lipo and wire it in parallel with another 2S and produce a 2S2P lipo that has twice the mah but is the same voltage. Its alos twic eas big physically. Cars and trucks usually don't have the room to run 2S2P type packs as they're usually larger than battery compartment.
Capacity is mah - its directly related to run time, the bigger the number, the longer the run time. Like a fuel tank, but instead of gallons, its mah.
The C business is the discharge rating. This is what the lipo is theoretically capable of producing amp wise. A 5200mah 30C is supposed to be able to produce 5200/1000 x 30 = 156amps. The 5800mah 25C would be 145amps. The C rating provides a rough way to gage and compare lipo capability.
If you're running 6 cll pacs, you'd prob want to run 2S lipo, thats comparable voltage wise. 8.4v lipo vs ~8.7v NiMh. You usually want the biggest mah you can fit into your RC without weighing too much. 5000 - 5600 is a popular size.
If the ones you linked fit where you want them to fit, you're good to go. Yopu'll prob need to change the connectors or make an adapter since few seem to use the bullet type conns HK installs on these.
To generate longer run time, lipos can be wired in parallel. So they take a 2S lipo and wire it in parallel with another 2S and produce a 2S2P lipo that has twice the mah but is the same voltage. Its alos twic eas big physically. Cars and trucks usually don't have the room to run 2S2P type packs as they're usually larger than battery compartment.
Capacity is mah - its directly related to run time, the bigger the number, the longer the run time. Like a fuel tank, but instead of gallons, its mah.
The C business is the discharge rating. This is what the lipo is theoretically capable of producing amp wise. A 5200mah 30C is supposed to be able to produce 5200/1000 x 30 = 156amps. The 5800mah 25C would be 145amps. The C rating provides a rough way to gage and compare lipo capability.
If you're running 6 cll pacs, you'd prob want to run 2S lipo, thats comparable voltage wise. 8.4v lipo vs ~8.7v NiMh. You usually want the biggest mah you can fit into your RC without weighing too much. 5000 - 5600 is a popular size.
If the ones you linked fit where you want them to fit, you're good to go. Yopu'll prob need to change the connectors or make an adapter since few seem to use the bullet type conns HK installs on these.
And its not all the expensive which is surprising. I need to see how much the low voltage cut-offs are. Going by the math that has been provided, 5000mah 25C will work fine, however, would I overload on power if I got 6000mah 25c? Or at that point should i get 6000mah 20c?
Also would it be worth my while in trying to get hard case lipos?
Thanks
Disjaukifa