Yep, I know I used it everytime on the track. My truggy engine had two tanks ran through it before this weekend, and even with the low temps, it was a breeze to fire and tune and ran flawless all week thanks to the heater. I always said that 2.4 radios and personal transponders were the top 2 things to ever hit the market, and I think this ranks in at 3rd. Almost seems like a preferred necessity at any event, warm or cold outside.

Oh sure, Eric.....rub it in! I've been wanting to race at Badlands for a while, and was trying to make it to this race, but I just had too much family and work stuff going on to make it happen this year.

I was secretly / selfishly hoping that it would be cold and raining all weekend, so I didn't have to feel bad about not going, but sure looks like that didn't happen! Oh well....hopefully the Spring race will be as much fun. I'm gonna try and get to that one.

By the way, are you going to be at the PNB in March?

i've used mine for the last 3 weekends (5 heat cycles, 5 start ups each meeting) off the starter box with no dramas, just after u charge the gel cell to 13.8v hit your starter plate 1/2 a doz times to bring the voltage down to about 12.3v max as u need bugger all to start the motor from the gel cell when the motor is up to temp
i won't use lipo's either

You guys make me laugh! LOL any 12 volt battery will work that why it is called 12 volt! Now how long do u think a battery will stay at a full charge, just charge a battery up and dont worry about it! LOL If u want to run a 12 volt Gel then run it on it! WOW

I'm not saying it won't work... but I also don't want to kill it by giving it to many volts on the 12v gel.

In all the "recommended" texts I have read it says to set it at 11.5v..

example: "charge to 12.1V Max for optimum performance and reliability"

I'll just run it and hope it is OK. If it just gets hotter faster, thats fine by me, I'm more concerned about it lasting.

just got my 12v comp heater today and it worked to perfection on a 30c 5000mah lipo, no hassle easy to use and engines fired straight up very happy with this product and the engines are happy too!
cheers

just get this battery and be done with it put a dean connection on and you will have up to 1 hr run time on your heater
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/11-1v-5000mAh...item19bda5ea8c
cheers

Is 1 hour of run time of the heater enough for a full race day ?
Or for a complete break-in ?

Planning to buy one but I want the 110v version .I have no extra 80$ for battery and 150$+ for a powersuplie with regulator ...Nice and usefull product but I hope the 110v stay available .......

Gabor. You got PM

Charlymbx5- 5 heat cycles on race day should be plenty, although before Main event time I recharge everything to make sure I'm ready to go.

Gabor Szilagyi- The 110V Comp Heater will always be available. We have no plans to discontinue, in fact our New 110V Comp Heaters come with the new cover just like the 12V.

Thanks for the quick answer.
Could you please explain what do you mean by "5 heat cycles" ?
Is that heating the engine 5 times ?
During a race day i have to start the engine at least 6 times (practice, 3 quals, semi, final).
The benefit i see with the 12V version is to be able to use it when there's no 110/220V available at the track.
So it means that i will have to get 2 lipo packs.

No problem...

Yes, it means heating the engine 5 times in 10 minute cycles each. In really cold weather you would want to leave it on for 10 minutes, but when the weather is warm it will only need to be left on for 5 minutes giving you twice the number of heat cycles.

Most tracks in the US have power, if your local track has power then I would recommend the 110V. If you can afford to have both, then you will have the best of both worlds when it comes to pre-heating.

No need for two lipo packs, just one. I use a 3S lipo with 2100 mah in my starter box for the Comp Heater. I don't mind charging batteries and working on my equipment when at the track, it's a part of the hobby I very much enjoy.

To packs was not to have to charge the only one during the day.
I'm in Europe, so the 110V is not so convenient !
And some tracks don't have 220V. So for me the best option would be the 12V version, with 2 packs.

If you purchase a 5000 mah battery there's really no need, unless you have the extra cash and just want a backup.