Finally jumped on the Lipo bandwagon.

[YelloTJ]

I been kicking around the idea of swapping my crawler over to lipo batteries but just never would order the stuff b/c i thought it was gonna cost too much. Well after nearly a year of wanting to, I finally ordered what I needed to get me by w/o upgrading the ESC. I was surprised at how cheap it turned out to be.
I got a charger/balancer that also charges all other types of batteries, A low voltage cut off that stops the crawer before i ruin a lipo, A 2 cell lipo, and 5 pair of xt60 connectors. All together it was $66 shipped.
HobbyKing R/C Hobby Store :



before:

Gutted the electronics to solder on xt60 connectors.

Quick moc up to see if the wires will still reach front to back. The barely do.


Size difference of the batteries.



I still havent got it all back together. Just slapped it in to check the fitment and ran one pack through it in the house tryin to get a estimated run time. I got 45+ mins out of it holding it wide open back and forth in the living room and dinning room nonstop. I was tired of tryin to kill the pack by 20 mins into it lol. It has some punch like never before and the voltage doesnt seem to slack off and get weak, it has the kick in the pants all the way to the end and then it just shuts off. Wish I'd done this a long time ago.

I know the runtime may drop once i start putting more of a load on in it and do some actually crawling but then again i may get longer times since im not on the gas 100% of the time.

Running a Integrity 55t motor with stock ax10 pinion and spur. The lipo is 2cell 25c.

Thanks to all the ones on here that helped me pick out the right stuff.

[Trubble]

+1


Just got in 4 LiPo packs from ValueHobby this week. Can't use them yet as I need to make an adapter for my LVA (or buy a new one), and solder on my beloved Traxxas connectors. Can't do that today, we have what sounds like a pretty fun comp scheduled for Hobbytown Oshkosh, WI. So, one more roll on my "Frankenstein'd" NiMh packs.

Now my debate, Homes BR-XL combo, or another Onyx 230/ external balancer?

@ Yello; looks like a pretty nice setup, enjoy.

[RksPlz]

I have that same charger. You can't beat the price for a dual power charger How do you like those connecters? Have you used them before? I'm kinda of getting tired of pullin tiny deans apart.

[YelloTJ]

Originally Posted by RksPlz

I have that same charger. You can't beat the price for a dual power charger How do you like those connecters? Have you used them before? I'm kinda of getting tired of pullin tiny deans apart.

Well i havent used them enough to really say. Never used anything but the standard taymia plug which suck comparded to these and any other.
I will say this, these are A PAIN IN THE ASS to unplug. TIGHT for sure. I really hope they break in and get easier to use. May try a dap of lube.

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by RksPlz

I have that same charger. You can't beat the price for a dual power charger How do you like those connecters? Have you used them before? I'm kinda of getting tired of pullin tiny deans apart.

Originally Posted by YelloTJ

Well i havent used them enough to really say. Never used anything but the standard taymia plug which suck comparded to these and any other.
I will say this, these are A PAIN IN THE ASS to unplug. TIGHT for sure. I really hope they break in and get easier to use. May try a dap of lube.

I like these way better than deans, they are much easier to plug and unplug.

They do break in, some are tighter than others. It they are so tight that you are having a hard time unplugging them then you can take the male side (male bullets inside) and squeeze the bullets a little bit with some needle nose. Obviously dont do this if your male is attached to your battery because you will probably touch both prongs and short it out.

[YelloTJ]

Originally Posted by SMR 510RR

......... Obviously dont do this if your male is attached to your battery because you will probably touch both prongs and short it out.

That reminds me of an idot mistakc i made when i was cutting wires/connectors gettin ready to put the xt60s on.
For some dumb reason in my excited moment of new stuff, I cut the lipo plug off both wires at once Scared me to death b/c it got hot and the wires were hot as soon as it happend, all i could think was KAABOOOM lol. I rushed it outside and left it for a hour and it cooled down no puffing. I put the xt60 on and stuck on the charger and the voltage looked ok so i charged it. Reckon i got lucky.

[bbking9]

GREAT charger. i like the connectors better than deans too. easier to solder.

good choice.

[YelloTJ]

Originally Posted by SMR 510RR

...... If they are so tight that you are having a hard time unplugging them then you can take the male side (male bullets inside) and squeeze the bullets a little bit with some needle nose. Obviously dont do this if your male is attached to your battery because you will probably touch both prongs and short it out.

Thanks for the tip, it worked great, they slide on/off with ease but not too loose.
It was on the battery but i took a piece of fuel line and slide over one prong so i wouldnt short it out. then put on the other one to do the other prong.

Ready to do some crawling now.