I charge all my smc batteries at 30a. You will be fine doing the same

Are you willing to spend that kind of money ($200)on a charger?
If so, get a Powerlab6.
http://www.progressiverc.com/fma-powerlab-6.html

Only 6A on the second channel.... meh.

What about this as a charger, Danny/smc us the dealer, there ac/dc, 20amp 230watt which would charger a 4s fairly well, plus if you buy packs at the same time you could combine postage.

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...product_id=212

Justin

For the past year and a half, I've run the same packs as you. The 6500 Premium Certified packs puffed a little, however the 7200s have puffed considerably more. The last two I ordered, approximately a year ago, puffed horribly after their first use. When I received the packs, I cycled them 4 times on my PowerLabs charger at 10amps charge and discharge modes, then ran them for the first time.

The setup was a Serpent 811be (two packs wired to 4s) with a Tekin Rx8 and T8 2050kv motor. Same setup it's always been. Other vehicle I run is a Losi SCTE, also with a Tekin Rx8 and Revtech 4800. I never run to low voltage cutoff as I have an alarm on my radio when it's time to come in. I usually discharge to about 20% depending on how I've run it. I'm an occasional racer, but usually just hit practice time at the track. I really don't run much, especially considering how much time a serious racer puts in. For example, I just went back to the track last weekend after 8 months of not even touching anything RC.

Being a repeat customer (10 packs total from SMC), I contacted Danny and he immediately said it was abuse of the packs and he never has had anyone report anything bad about his batteries. I reiterated my setup and use but didn't get anywhere. I got him to agree to let me send it in and have him check it out to see if a cell was bad. These packs weren't matched like the 6500s, so this was something to at least check. I reiterated all other packs were OK, it was just these last two that weren't right.

I sent one of the packs in he never responded. I followed up a couple of weeks later and he said he would look into it. I followed up a month or so after that, and he indicated the packs were back-ordered and he would send a replacement when the other paid orders were filled. I watched online and when they were back in stock, I followed up again and received no response. Finally, I just left it alone as I could tell he still didn't feel responsible to replace the pack.

The packs I do have still run good, but they're just all puffed. In the Serpent, they are so tight, I have to use a pull string around them to get them out and it's a hard pull to get them out. I also have some Gens Ace packs and they have been run just the same as the SMC with no issues whatsoever. They don't maintain the same power output due to their higher resistance, but I'm not worried about them ever rupturing or anything like that.

Not sure what I'll try next, but the Promatch may be something to look at. A couple of seasoned veterans at my track have said the same about everyone running SMC packs as well. I'll run 'em till they finally diminish, but just disappointed overall. I do still like them for the price/performance.

It is sad to see that Danny is taking the path that he is on any problems with puffing and other complaints.
I will not buy another SMC battery, ever.
99.9% of the time, it is all ways the customer that is going to get the blame for doing some thing wrong:flaming:
I also have two 2S/7200mAh batteries that puffed with only a few uses.

In smc defence . I run spec17.5 tc over charge my packs to 8.44 @20a then only discharge them the ammout they r ran on the track . Usually still above 8v. Each pack was cycled 6 times a race day and I ran them from aug '12' to feb '13' only missing 2 weekends . Then took them outside with slight swelling (+.125"+-) and ran them in series in my tekno 48 w/1900 & HW150a . Hooked them up backwards and fried 3 esc and melted wires a few times... and they never got any more swolen... so actually 260 cycles before I sold them to a basher for $25 each . So for me smc based packs worked great given the torture I put them thru. Just dont want to sink 180 in 2 4s packs to have issues ...

I just got that charger and its pretty sweet!
Plus with the package deal with the power supply you can use the $45 off coupon, makes it a pretty good deal!

Yeah! I just odered a combo on eBay for $245 shipped :eek:
Can't wait :nod:

Just received my square pack for my b5 yesterday so that I can test it against my shorties. Can't wait to try it since this is my first smc battery.

I have 3 none of them are puffed but all 3 have cracked cases 2 of which happened after their first runs. I love the value but I think it's funny that all these problems are everyone but SMC's many others have the cracked case problems as well. I use foam with all 3 too so it's not like I am miss treating them

My gen ace batteries had hard cases and they cracked in my Summit. The SMC soft pack 9400mah have been awesome in it. 2+ hours of battery time easy.

Crap, my 7200's are staying true to course it looks like. Only cycled 3 times and run in my 17.5 sedan and starting to puff a bit. My 2 year old gen aces and 6 month old nano-techs are still in perfect shape. IR's are about the same between all 3 according to my icharger duo. Will have too keep an eye on it.

I had some of the older smc orange softpacks that puffed like these and heard that they fixed their qc issues.

Since everyone is posting about their problems I will post about my satisfaction with the packs.
I have 2 square packs & both have very low ir as measured by my cell lab 8.
I have 2 7200 packs used in my tekno 4w SC--no excessive puffing after nearly a year of use, and the ir is still very good.

4s--I just ordered a SMC 4s pack & its enroute. I own a 5500 Reedy pack--the case cracked the first time I used it. I was mad but taped it up & proceeded to use it for 2 yrs til it just died last week. I almost forgot--the ir on the reedy pack was good but it did not measure up to the very low ir from my $35 turnigy 4s pack---go figure.

I'm not sponsored or affiliated with SMC in any way but thought I would post my very positive experience with the products they sell. I hope the people who have had bad experiences have better luck with whatever products they choose to spend their money on in the future.

+1
Same here!
I did have 2 packs puff badly on me right off the bat, I emailed Danny and he got me fixed right away! Excellent customer service!

That being said, I think most people out there don't understand, all lipos puff to some extent! They also don't understand that the lipo dimensions are set by ROAR ( I know who cares about ROAR right?) and they are packing that 7200mAh lipo into a case that was designed to hold a 5000mAh lipo....

I have to say for the money my SMC pack is the best pack I have right now!
I have been monitoring IR's and my SMC pack is the lowest! I have a protek, a venom, a gens ace, and 2 turnigy nano techs.

I am also not sponsored unless ya count my employer and bank! ;)