11LikesSMC LIPO BATTERY THREAD
11-26-2012 | 03:11 PM
#198
Hi Guys. I would like to better understand what customers want for packs and care about as this would help me better understand what we need to offer. My goal is to have a pack for every ones needs.
One thing I noticed on the cheaper packs we offer like the non Race Formula packs the IR range isn't very consistent and some packs aren't very well matched for IR. As a perfectionist this upsets me but at the same time these style packs are being sold by many others and it seems like customers don't know or care about this.
I'm ready to order more packs from the cheaper supplier as these sell well.
Should I sort out the packs and offer a 5 dollar discount on the packs that are higher in IR or not matched very well ? I need to move all packs so we can't sit on them so I need to know if some of you would buy a pack at 5 dollars less that isn't as perfect as the ones at full price. I could increase the pack by 5 dollars and offer a 10 discount on the packs that are out of spec.
I could also not care and just sell them like everyone else does with as I don't see anyone doing or offering what I want to do but to me this would be tough to do as I care.
I believe I'm my worst enemy as I want perfect packs but in the end if the price goes down something has to give and there are reasons why one pack costs 20 dollars more than another one.
Thanks for your feedback on this matter.
One thing I noticed on the cheaper packs we offer like the non Race Formula packs the IR range isn't very consistent and some packs aren't very well matched for IR. As a perfectionist this upsets me but at the same time these style packs are being sold by many others and it seems like customers don't know or care about this.
I'm ready to order more packs from the cheaper supplier as these sell well.
Should I sort out the packs and offer a 5 dollar discount on the packs that are higher in IR or not matched very well ? I need to move all packs so we can't sit on them so I need to know if some of you would buy a pack at 5 dollars less that isn't as perfect as the ones at full price. I could increase the pack by 5 dollars and offer a 10 discount on the packs that are out of spec.
I could also not care and just sell them like everyone else does with as I don't see anyone doing or offering what I want to do but to me this would be tough to do as I care.
I believe I'm my worst enemy as I want perfect packs but in the end if the price goes down something has to give and there are reasons why one pack costs 20 dollars more than another one.
Thanks for your feedback on this matter.
Keep your race quality packs at the prices you have them. Anything you consider less than that standard just advertise at a lower price. Most of us by nanotech's, gens ace, turnigy, etc. that are probably in similar situation with the lower quality or worse. I would rather give my money to you who supports a product and is available to answer questions than the other ones I have listed previously who pretty much have no support to speak of.
11-26-2012 | 03:12 PM
#199
Hey Danny,
What about a rewards program for those who continually provide feedback for their batteries?
Something along the lines of... Provide us with packs that are stamped with numbers, which correlate to your testing program research, in which we use them, be honest about how they were maintained, and return them periodically to be retested in terms of IR and capacity.
Any chance off spec packs could "break-in" and maybe provide better numbers after some use? Maybe by chance, with some research, you could better understand how the off-spec packs will hold up over time....
Just an empty thought, lol.
What about a rewards program for those who continually provide feedback for their batteries?
Something along the lines of... Provide us with packs that are stamped with numbers, which correlate to your testing program research, in which we use them, be honest about how they were maintained, and return them periodically to be retested in terms of IR and capacity.
Any chance off spec packs could "break-in" and maybe provide better numbers after some use? Maybe by chance, with some research, you could better understand how the off-spec packs will hold up over time....
Just an empty thought, lol.
11-26-2012 | 03:21 PM
#200
Thanks for the info.
Problem with sending packs to be tested is that no 2 packs will react exactly the same and also certain applications are harder on packs. This would mean allot of work and we're already working on very low profit margins. My goal is to be better than others and I believe my battery testing background gives me an edge. That being said on cheaper packs we just need to offer them and sell them and make sure there is no major issues with them. I think this is already a step ahead of others and what I want to know now should I push this even further by sorting out the packs. This scares me as we're already doing this on some 1S and the 6500-70C and 7200-70C packs and guys think these have an issue but they don't. The mAh is off on the 1S and the IR is up on the 2S so if you run classes or play around with packs these packs are a great value for the price but guys seem to be reluctant. I don't want to create this same issue with the cheaper packs as we can't sit on them forever and make low profit just makes no sense.
Keep the feedback coming.
Problem with sending packs to be tested is that no 2 packs will react exactly the same and also certain applications are harder on packs. This would mean allot of work and we're already working on very low profit margins. My goal is to be better than others and I believe my battery testing background gives me an edge. That being said on cheaper packs we just need to offer them and sell them and make sure there is no major issues with them. I think this is already a step ahead of others and what I want to know now should I push this even further by sorting out the packs. This scares me as we're already doing this on some 1S and the 6500-70C and 7200-70C packs and guys think these have an issue but they don't. The mAh is off on the 1S and the IR is up on the 2S so if you run classes or play around with packs these packs are a great value for the price but guys seem to be reluctant. I don't want to create this same issue with the cheaper packs as we can't sit on them forever and make low profit just makes no sense.
Keep the feedback coming.
11-26-2012 | 03:24 PM
#201
Tech Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,671
From: budapest, hungary
Should I sort out the packs and offer a 5 dollar discount on the packs that are higher in IR or not matched very well ? I need to move all packs so we can't sit on them so I need to know if some of you would buy a pack at 5 dollars less that isn't as perfect as the ones at full price. I could increase the pack by 5 dollars and offer a 10 discount on the packs that are out of spec.
Keep your race quality packs at the prices you have them. Anything you consider less than that standard just advertise at a lower price. Most of us by nanotech's, gens ace, turnigy, etc. that are probably in similar situation with the lower quality or worse. I would rather give my money to you who supports a product and is available to answer questions than the other ones I have listed previously who pretty much have no support to speak of.
I think when IR of the cells within a pack are not matched, then the cell with higher resistance will get more load than if it were paired with a similar cell, so it will fail sooner. Do you have any data on how these packs age? It would be good to have an estimate on how many useful cycles we can get out of them, before trying to sell them on to drifters
11-26-2012 | 03:31 PM
#202
I have a question - in the info I got with my new pack it says something about not charging at less than 1C - I always thought the slower the charge the better?
I normally charge my packs about 3-4amps, which is just a tad shy of 1C.
I normally charge my packs about 3-4amps, which is just a tad shy of 1C.
11-26-2012 | 03:33 PM
#203
We have just started to sell cheaper non Race Formula packs so apart from my cycle life testing I did I really can't say how they will hold up over time. All I know is there is plenty of other places selling the same style packs and all I can do is offer them at a good price and see how they do. We use real Deans and real Traxxxas connectors which is an added value compared to the crappy split style high resistance 4mm connectors found on allot of these cheaper packs.
Bottom line there is no miracles but some customers seem to want to buy cheaper packs so we have to cater to them and this is what we're trying to do and do it better than others if possible. We already test the packs to make sure they are in balance so we don't ship out defective packs. Now depending on the feedback should we just leave these alone or do some sorting this is what I need to know.
Bottom line there is no miracles but some customers seem to want to buy cheaper packs so we have to cater to them and this is what we're trying to do and do it better than others if possible. We already test the packs to make sure they are in balance so we don't ship out defective packs. Now depending on the feedback should we just leave these alone or do some sorting this is what I need to know.
11-26-2012 | 03:35 PM
#205
This is for guys who try and charge a big mAh pack on a very low amp charger this isn't very good. If your close to 1C this is fine. I personally use 2C to 3C with good results. The current crop of Lipos have lower IR than the ones from 3 to 5 years ago so higher amp charging is fine on lower IR packs.
11-26-2012 | 03:59 PM
#207
Tech Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,671
From: budapest, hungary
My point is the more savvy people, like most of those on this thread want you to differentiate between them, since knowing what we get is important. It was a tough lesson for some of us that races are not won by having the best lipo, but can be easily lost by having a bad one, so I guess most know their packs and keep the better ones for races or the more demanding classes and the rest for practice.
Knowing good IR from slightly worse IR gives peace of mind of getting a race bred pack for a few $ more; and a few $ less for a still good pack that just might not have the edge over the competition. The difference in pricing that I saw last week seemed fair to me.
Knowing good IR from slightly worse IR gives peace of mind of getting a race bred pack for a few $ more; and a few $ less for a still good pack that just might not have the edge over the competition. The difference in pricing that I saw last week seemed fair to me.
11-26-2012 | 05:19 PM
#208
You could just label them "sport" packs and let it ride. I have a lot of different brands but I know my batts and I know which one I want to use for a main. To me 5 bucks would not intice me to purchase what would be marketed as a lesser battery. I also do not search out the cheapest batts I can find. I am one of the few who probably purchase MA batts.
11-26-2012 | 05:21 PM
#209
You could just label them "sport" packs and let it ride. I have a lot of different brands but I know my batts and I know which one I want to use for a main. To me 5 bucks would not entice me to purchase what would be marketed as a lesser battery. I also do not search out the cheapest batts I can find. I am one of the few who probably purchase MA batts.
11-26-2012 | 05:36 PM
#210
We already have 2 different series. Race Formula is using what I feel is the best factory but these cost more. The regular non Race Formula packs are cheaper as they come from a different source and this is why they cost less.
Maybe I should just not worry about the cheaper packs and just sell them and just make sure we offer the best possible Race Formula packs at the regular price and when we see a batch is out of spec we just sell them cheaper like we're doing now.
I like peoples perspective but everyone seems to have their own opinion and feeling on this so maybe there is no miracle solution and I just should sell the cheaper packs as they are and not worry about this. I don't see many packs priced like ours and being offered with real connectors.
Maybe I should just not worry about the cheaper packs and just sell them and just make sure we offer the best possible Race Formula packs at the regular price and when we see a batch is out of spec we just sell them cheaper like we're doing now.
I like peoples perspective but everyone seems to have their own opinion and feeling on this so maybe there is no miracle solution and I just should sell the cheaper packs as they are and not worry about this. I don't see many packs priced like ours and being offered with real connectors.