Protek receiver pack issues
 

Well, I'm not one to complain too much about things but, I have to mention this one.

I have bought a lot from A-main Hobbies and I like those guys. I've got a few friends working there. No discounts or anything like that. I'm not that way. I've returned 1 item and there were no question asked (of course this was 1 day after I got a damaged part)

Anyway. Has anyone had a receiver pack simply blow up in size. My battery was fine last year. I put it into storage, about 50-60 degrees during the winter and I went to check it and it's really large. The battery reads at about 3.74v per cel.

Anyone experience this?? In the same box, I have some 5000MAH batteries I've had for several years now and they are just fine. The are at 3.74v per cel as well. I also have about 4 sets that have never been used, sitting in my house that have been sitting for 2 years and they are at 3.74v per cel as well.

Any ideas. This is my first lipo receiver pack and I'm thinking it's going to be my last one of these.

Did you store it fully charged? I've had a receiver pack puff up after sitting just two weeks at a full charge, learned that lesson. I think it's just luck of the lot mostly tho, I've had lipos puff two days after buying them and I've got some cheapo's that I've abused the crap out of that have yet to puff and one i ran completely dead so i jumped it with a car battery for about 6 min to get voltage in it so my charger would read it and it's been working solid for almost two months now.

Battery
 

Well, I think I left about 3/4 of a charge on the battery.

I don't think I ever really leave the batteries fully charged. My other lipo are roughly the same voltage and they haven't puffed.

I have a bunch of cheap o dime a dozen lipos and they have been sitting for at least 1.5 years. New never put in a car. They still have 3.7v per cel on them.

The ones I run were put away the same way as the receiver pack and they are in the same box as well. These haven't puffed either.


Who makes a good receiver pack?

I have 2 protek's. One is a life and the other a lipo. I bought them both march 2012. I always put the lipo in storage mode if not using for a week or so. The life pack is recommended to be stored at full charge. I put them in a baggy and put them in the butter storage tray in the fridge. No puffing out of either of them. Maybe you got a bad one? I haven't heard any bad reports about protek's. I would buy protek receiver packs any day.

^^^^ agreed. Just drew the short stick on that one man, i rarely hear bad about the protek packs

I use Amain for a lot of things and definitely am happy with them.
However the protek receiver packs are not up to standard in my opinion. I know how to look after lipo packs, but i have tried 4 different protek receiver packs and they all puffed.
In saying that, Amain credited me with no problems under their warranty and I am happy customer.

Lipo Batteries
 

Storage of batteries in a butter dish in the refrig???

Hmm. Now that's a new one. I was under the impression that storage of Lipo batteries in cold conditions is not optimal for the batteries.

I have about 6 packs sitting next to me in the floor. The are brand new and have never been below 3.74v. (Now that I think about it, I haven't check them in 3 months) Anyway. They have been sitting there for about 1.5 to 2 years. These are cheap Chinese batteries I bought as a test to see if they were as
powerful as the IB batteries I bought when I first started racing 1/8th scale electric.

I left my IBs in the garage which got around 35 degrees. Left the Lipos during the winter time with 3/4 of a charge. The packs were swollen, but, I raced these packs for 2 years with no problem. Last year, they finally started to get hard to balance so I stopped using them. I could basically
pull the trigger on my buggy and flip it over. I could mow the grass with my buggy as well. The buggy could go about 50mph easily.

Anyway... I have another 5 to 6 packs I race with of the cheap batteries. The C rating is about 20 I would say because the IBs were 40 and these don't get nearly as much punch as the IBs. I recorded with a spread sheet the charge times, run times, how much volts I had to put back into the batteries and how many cycles I got out of these batteries. I would say, around 50 cycles and the Chinese batteries were done. Batteries started to puff and then forget about trying to balance them. It just would not happen.

Anyway. the ones I have left seem to be holding up o.k. Given I'm not racing as much so it's hard to tell. They are not puffing and are balancing fine.

I have read here somewhere the Protek batteries do puff. I also have heard people say they didn't get many uses out of them as well.

I think all toll, I got maybe 6 charges out of this pack before they puffed. I may contact A-main just to let them know, but, unless Lipo Receiver packs are hard to find, I don't think I'll be buying another one. 6 races surely won't cut it.