Originally Posted by chicagokenji
...what's the benefit of running Lipo technology, besides the batteries being lighter in weight?
i recently went for lipos because of the ff:
1. almost zero maintennance - no need to discharge/tray/rematch/etc.
2. charge it right after running - no need for cooling down because it doesnt heat up during using and charging (although i think it would still be better if you put a fan on it right after running, just to be safe. just my opinion
)
3. you only need 1 pack for the whole day (see above)
4. doesnt need a fancy charger - orion avionics makes a nice full featured lipo compatible charger for only $80. i think you can get away with even cheaper chargers but they only charge at a lower amp rate, so it will take a long time to charge.
5. punch/power lasts longer than comparable nimh/nicad batts - havent seen this advantage yet because i only had my lipo for a few days. but ive read that you can charge this days/weeks/months in advance and run it with the same power as a freshly charged one. ive also read that repeated charge/discharge cycles show that it still retains the same punch as the first cycle. for nicad/nimh, you have to use it immediately (or repeak) after chaging to get the full power. also, they cant be used several times per day (the reason why most racers have at least 3 packs for a race day)
6. lastly, lighter weight
the downsides are:
1. expensive
but compare this to having 3 nimh packs to race.
2. wont fit some R/C chassis ie. especially saddle pack configs (but i think theyre working on this. maxamps has saddle packs)
3. not yet ROAR legal, or some clubs may not allow this (yet
)
4. horror stories of exploding/burning lipos (but i think a large percentage of this is user error or faulty charging equipment
)