A few Crawler battery buying tips

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

tecnica2001:

4c what a 4 cell pack or a 4200 mah lipo thats 4c. I assume 4 cell and if thats true you wont really have much power. I couldnt tell ya on runtime because thats a question no one really can answer. But you dont need sub-c cells to have good runtime and power. I run Elite2000's with an 55t motor cc bec, 5955tg and 225mg and get a little over an hour.

NeXt559:

No promo codes sorry. Prices are set

[NeXt559]

lol i was actually just kidding
i was actually thinking about making my own split pack but it actually costs me less buying it from ur site.
thanks though.
and thanks for the tips

[toy4crawlin]

I wonder what my 4000 C nimh cells are and if they are not the discharging type ?

wow 1.5 -2hrs on a 1500 brushless

wonder how long mine will run


great info
Great service and products

[ManxCrawler]

Just a quick note for anyone wanting to replace those tamiya conns - cut one wire at a time, not both together! (we've all done it once)

Kev

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

One thing I would like to add(I am editing this into my opening post too) is that I see alot of people who are inquiring about lipo because it's there. They want to go lipo because they have friends that have them, but only are willing to spend 10 bucks....


This is a problem beause you cant have a cheap lipo or cheap charger without risking damage or fire. And I mean cheap in quality not price. Some are poor quality buy over the top expensive.


It's simple... Unless your willing to invest into lipo the right way, just save your self the time and money and stick with Nimh/Nicad. This I see alot in the crawler world, brushless fast cars, and airsoft guns. A guy will spent lots of coin on making his car faster and stronger but is not willing to spend the money to buy the right stuff or research to buy the right stuff. If you put so much money into building a sweet car or gun, why would you not power it properly? I mean you dont build a race car with a nasty powerfull engine and put in crappy gas do you? Then why put crappy batteries in your model?

This means buying a nice Lipo capable charger, ballacner(For ballancing while charging if the charger doesnt already have it), and a reputable battery. It can be spendy, but well worth it when your not killing batteries all the time. It eventually pays for itself. I recommend Hyperion or Elite chargers for all hobby batteries. And I would ONLY buy the brands that I have listed because they are the only batteries on the market that are truly rated.

[blacksmith]

Chris I am new to crawling and don’t know much about batteries .my battery is a wolf Pack 3000 NI-MH7.2volt REEDY sc3000-R . it is 6 batteries 3 side by side is this battery worth braking down to 3&3 to go on the front axle on each side of the servo on a ax10. Also my charger is a hot bodies micro charge input 117v 60Hz dc12v power source ac/dc 4-7 peak charger. Is there any kind of gauge to make sure the pack is at full charge. Thank You
for the tread

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

I wouldn't bother with SC's on a 2.2. A 2/3A cell would be better for you. And I Would consider upgrading your charger too to something at least along the lines of a super brain 960 or Elite 5i BC.

[blacksmith]

Would that give me the same run time I am running a stock ax10 rtr

[dacaur]

one more great brand of lipo is http://commonsenserc.com/ I have used them for years, and they have a much better selection than most places, not just in capacity and voltage, but in C rating too... a 2 cell 2000mah 8C pack is perfect for a crawler and can be had for $21.00... Honestly there is no need to spend $50 on a crawler battery when the truck only uses 10 amps.....

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by dacaur

one more great brand of lipo is http://commonsenserc.com/ I have used them for years, and they have a much better selection than most places, not just in capacity and voltage, but in C rating too... a 2 cell 2000mah 8C pack is perfect for a crawler and can be had for $21.00... Honestly there is no need to spend $50 on a crawler battery when the truck only uses 10 amps.....

They may work fine for a crawler.. .but are not that good for much else. Keep in mind, if you under use a high C battery, it will out last a lower C battery, even if you aren't using it close to its threshold.

[tedmales]

I have been looking at the fleebay special batteries trying to talk myself into them. The price is tempting, but I am not sure if I would want those bombs in my house. Your info is a great read.

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by tedmales

I have been looking at the fleebay special batteries trying to talk myself into them. The price is tempting, but I am not sure if I would want those bombs in my house. Your info is a great read.

Cheap lipos arent really a hazard as much as a waste of money. Lipos dont just spontaneously combust. It takes user error

[dacaur]

Originally Posted by Chris_The_Battery_Man

They may work fine for a crawler.. .but are not that good for much else. Keep in mind, if you under use a high C battery, it will out last a lower C battery, even if you aren't using it close to its threshold.

True they are not much use in a 1/10 scale other than crawlers, but actualy something like the pack i mentioned is great for a 1/18 scale vehicle.... commonsenseRC also has higher C rated packs, and they are all top quality.

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by dacaur

True they are not much use in a 1/10 scale other than crawlers, but actualy something like the pack i mentioned is great for a 1/18 scale vehicle.... commonsenseRC also has higher C rated packs, and they are all top quality.

Higher C rated doesnt mean they hold up to it though. I can think of many places that over rate their product and dont rate it in a real world usable manner. Dont believe what the label says all the time. Plus a crappy lipo will always seem better than a Nimh pack. Thats why alot of placed get away with it.

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by Chris_The_Battery_Man

Plus a crappy lipo will always seem better than a Nimh pack. Thats why alot of placed get away with it.

Better in what way? If that is the case, a good lipo should blow the doors off any Nimh pack right? Do you mean in power or runtime of equal mah batteries?

Thanks!

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by Harvo

Better in what way? If that is the case, a good lipo should blow the doors off any Nimh pack right? Do you mean in power or runtime of equal mah batteries?

Thanks!

Well assuming your comparing a 5000 mah Nimh to a 5000 mah Lipo then yes. I was side by side testing the new Elite5000 35C packs against a 7 cell Elite5000 Nimh and hands down there was no contest. The lipo was Faster, Stronger, and ran longer. Even against a pack that has a higher nominal voltage. But if you put a crappy lipo up against the Elite 35C lipo, It would get destroyed too. But 99% of the time people arent comparing apples to apples. So they almost always go from a venom or piranah pack to a crappy lipo, and yeah... DUH the crappy lipo will seem better because it has a slightly higher voltage and is lighter. But put a crappy lipo up against a good Nimh and(6 cell SC VS. a 2S of equal capacity) you will hardly be able to notice a difference besides the loss in weight. So thats why I cant sress enough how important it is to buy a good lipo that is truly what it's labeled.

Put a Polly quest, Thunder Power or Elite 30+ C lipo up against a falsely rated pack and you will see the difference. We have tested pretty much every lipo out there at one point or another and will only carry what is good. We have been doing lipos for about 6 years. Alot longer than 99% of the battery places out there and know what to look for and what to avoid. Just pay attention to Electric RC boat racing and see what batteries are winning... It's all Neu(Enerland based), Polly Quest(Enerland based), Thunder Power(Enerland based), and Elite.

Common sense, Fire power(I believe thats the name), Tenergy BYD Powerizer are just a small sample of names that cary not so good or accurately rated product. Of course there is alot more I could name, but the little blue star prevents me from saying that

[dacaur]

Originally Posted by Chris_The_Battery_Man

Higher C rated doesnt mean they hold up to it though. I can think of many places that over rate their product and dont rate it in a real world usable manner. Dont believe what the label says all the time. Plus a crappy lipo will always seem better than a Nimh pack. Thats why alot of placed get away with it.

CommonsenceRC uses very good quality lipo cells, and they dont overrate their packs, they test them theirselves and put a "real world" rating on them, they also have discharge curves for all their packs right on the website... ive yet to hear anything bad about them, and have used them in my planes for a couple years and now my rock crawler...

[Team X]

Originally Posted by dacaur

CommonsenceRC uses very good quality lipo cells, and they dont overrate their packs, they test them theirselves and put a "real world" rating on them, they also have discharge curves for all their packs right on the website... ive yet to hear anything bad about them, and have used them in my planes for a couple years and now my rock crawler...

+1, if anything they underate there cells

[acrosteve]

All this talk about batteries seems to have left out one application.

I would like to get some AA cells for my Futaba transmitter. What are the best cells for that?

Something that will hold a charge for a long time.

Would the 2000mah eneloop or Sanyo be the best bet? Or should I pay the extra $$$ for the 2700 sanyos?

How would the those compare with the rechargeable energizers or rayovacs I can pick up at wally world?

Thanks

[scale4x4]

great thread! Thanks for posting!