Best Battery Brands

[edan]

Hello,
Well…..I’m finally changing over a few of my rigs to LiPO’s and I am curious as to brand names.
I know you would not use the same battery for the crawlers below. But for this question please assume that you would use the same battery (# of cells, discharge rating, capacity, etc.) as this will help me to get an idea of what brands may be best to purchase for all the crawlers below.


What brand names would you purchase for the following:


Best Scale Crawler (dependability important)


Comp Crawler (Bully 2) (run time consistency important)


Basher (cost more important)


Thank you in advance.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Zippy, gens ace, sky lipo, turnigy, nano-tech, venom etc are all solid brands. C rating is dependant on capacity of the battery. A 20c discharge 5000 mah can spit out a whole lot of power but a 20c 500 mah battery will be ruined if you try pulling the same amperage out of it.

[mikebecher]

Brands are going to be all over the board since most everyone swears by a specific vendor. Personally, I use cheap batteries, mostly from Value Hobby, since I don't treat them with the best of care and replacing one is just part of the game. It's nice to have near-new batteries for comps and just use the older ones for everyday use. I've never had a battery failure out on the trail.

The Hobby King Lipo Finder is a good resource for comparing specific sizes and weights.

[magic_yeti]

If u know the max current of your setup. u can calculate depending on the capacity which c rating u need for your rig.

C * Capacity = max A
for example 60c 5800mAh / 1000= max 348A
20c 500mAh / 1000 = max 1A

if u don't put them to the limit they last longer, max A of my set up: 180A Burst 120A current and i use zippy compact 60c 5800mAh softpacks in my yeti, which is way over sized. but my lipo's never get to the limit and lifetime will be exceeded. for example: lipo temp round 35°C at 30°C air temp after a pack mostly full throttle. price difference to a 40c same capacity lipo a few euros.

in the electronic section are a few interesting threads regarding lipos like this one I'm thinking of getting a lipo

[Col_Sanders]

I have had good luck with the Turnigy Nano Techs. I have a couple of the regular Turnigy batteries and I don't think they live up to the C rating. My Bomber has noticeably less power when I am running them, but it has a pretty big brushless setup (Mamba Monster X, Tekin 3500kv Pro 4 HD). With a normal brushed setup it probably wouldn't be noticeable.

I just bought a couple Gens Ace packs but its too early for me to have much of an opinion on them.

[linkedranger]

Airplane soft lipo packs

[sabo308]

I buy all my batteries from Hobbyking, as it's the only way to get decent batteries that don't cost an arm and a leg here in Australia.
I have had good luck with the standard and Graphene variants of Turnigy batteries, as well as Zippy brand batteries.

[ktm597]

Lot of the "so called" bigger brands use the same manufacturer as the "Chinese" counterparts. I'm right now using Turnigy and haven't had an issue, I know racers around here also like their SMC packs. (now that SPC is done)

[edan]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my question. Since this is new to me, all the information helps.

I just got to thinking how lucky I am having the internet for questions like this. I ask a question in a forum, do my research by googling the key words, and after a short period, I am ready to look for a product, again, over the internet. For the people who have been in this hobby for a long time, it must of cost a fortune in the beginning finding out what works and what doesn’t.
I greatly appreciate all who share their knowledge here.

[RiDET4R]

Amazon has got some good deals for 3s 5000 50c+ batteries.

[NitritedCarbide]

Running SPC for 2+ years, no complaints, zero issues.
Side note- I know your not supposed to store lipos on a full charge, but I had one sitting fully charged for a year. Didnt puff up, no loss in performance.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by sabo308

I buy all my batteries from Hobbyking, as it's the only way to get decent batteries that don't cost an arm and a leg here in Australia.
I have had good luck with the standard and Graphene variants of Turnigy batteries, as well as Zippy brand batteries.

How are the Graphene batteries treating you months later? Are they worth the extra size and price compared to regular LiPos? Do you see any performance or run time gains?

Originally Posted by NitritedCarbide

Running SPC for 2+ years, no complaints, zero issues.
Side note- I know your not supposed to store lipos on a full charge, but I had one sitting fully charged for a year. Didnt puff up, no loss in performance.

And now SPC is dead. Long live SMC.

[CoolRunning]

For RC cars/trucks simply buy HobbyKing Turnigy lipos.

I've used them in RC helis and they murder batteries. The longest lasting batteries always seem to be the Turnigy packs.

They are prob 1/3 to 1/2 the price for an equivalent C rating at the expense of 15% extra size and weight and a little optimism in regards to their actual C rating.

They have loads of power in our rock racers and crawlers, have better IR than 60C Gens Ace and Revolectrix and don't even get warm. They'll likely last a couple of years of frequent driving for $20-30USD each. They come in hard packs too.

Only get nanos for nth degree power, quick depletion as you get less cycles...wow do they put out some current though in a powerful heli!

[SCARFACE5]

Hi guys. A total Newb to the RC scene. Was hooked as soon as I saw a TRX4 in action a while ago. Impulsively, I ended up buying a vaterra 1/10 chevy suburban ascender because I thought it looked pretty cool & the price kind of felt right to me at the time. I have no idea what sort of battery and charger I should be using with it though. Guru's, your wisdom would be much appreciated! Fire away!

[Inspector86]

There is a whole thread on batteries here without starting this discussion again.

Definitive ESC, MOTOR, and BATTERY threads - RCC's top tech threads!

[durok]

Originally Posted by SCARFACE5

Hi guys. A total Newb to the RC scene. Was hooked as soon as I saw a TRX4 in action a while ago. Impulsively, I ended up buying a vaterra 1/10 chevy suburban ascender because I thought it looked pretty cool & the price kind of felt right to me at the time. I have no idea what sort of battery and charger I should be using with it though. Guru's, your wisdom would be much appreciated! Fire away!

One good thing I will point out - your Suburban version of the Ascender has the newer full-size battery tray, so you don't need to buy Shorty packs.

The older Ascenders (like mine) only had room for a Shorty pack, which limited your choices.

I bought an aftermarket tray to rectify the situation...

Enjoy your new ride - and check out the Ascender thread here:

Scale Rigs Brand Specific Tech - Vaterra Ascender at RCCrawler.com

[dirtman71]

I have always had good luck with SMC batteries. They were the first batteries that made me say “wow” when I was racing in 2011. I had 3 of them. Raced them for 2 seasons in 3 classes. Just saying that they got used a lot. And now they have been in my crawlers ever since. Just had one puff. Left it plugged in overnight and something must have drains it

So they are almost 8 years old. Not bad for a $35-40 battery. They might not handle a 4x4 short course truck any more but they do great in the crawlers still

[durok]

While I love my SMC packs,I just picked up a "Goldbat" branded pack from Amazon, they really try to do a nice job - you get a free velcro strap and XT60 connector with purchase, in case you want to swap it for the Deans it comes with. I actually have 2 of them, but the first is a huge 4S 6000mAh pack I thought would fit my Team Associated Nomad - no go, the battery tray is too short. It will fit the Bowhouse TRX-4 Low-CG battery tray, so if I later convert my TRX-4 to use a Holmes Revolver 1800kv I will likely put it to use in that application. I decided to give the brand another chance (not their fault I didn't check dimensions first!) and the new pack is another 6000mAh, also 55C, but a 3S to use in the TRX-4 in its current brushed configuration.

I'll report back on its performance...

[QuesoDelDiablo]

I only run Gens Ace or Turnigy Nano-tech for my scalers, bashers, on-road racers, quadcopters, helis, boats and snow cat.

imo those 2 are the best batts in the business.

[djc32294]

I've been running Gens Ace in my bashers. Really good quality for price.

Just picked up a zippy 3s for the crawler. Have been very happy with them as well. Prefer the quality of the gens ace though