Originally Posted by
Dialed_In
Wow! You really go all out when building your minis. Nice work
. Thanks for the info on the shocks. I'm not sure they would work for me as I want a shock that is a bit longer than the stock RC18MT shocks. The mini-t shocks I bought are just a little longer for more travel. Your RS4 shocks do look awesome though. I love that beefy look on minis. I'll keep them in mind going forward
You really should take another looks a lipos. I was also scared to death and spent a long time reading and learning about them before using one. Maybe you can build a "battery bunker" to charge your batteries in and put a smoke/fire detector above the setup. In all honesty your supposed to keep an eye on any type of battery you charge. With that said I do understand your concerns and fires can and do happen. Lipos aren't for everyone but they have nice benefits.
Thanks. I just installed the replacements. Pics later
I don't remember what the rc18t arms were originally, since I built my last 2 using RPM arms, but with RPMs, there's 3 mounting holes. If using the hole closest to the body, you'll raise the chassis slightly and have more travel. The shocks are stiffer than you may want though, but they're cheap.
TBH, I don't remember much concerns with charging before lipo. With all the batteries I've been charging, the most dangerous I've had have been phones (tossed a swollen lithium extended battery) DSLR (2 more lithiums that went bad), and a laptop - the charger melted (charger that MSI sold me was rated for 35 watts, laptop needed 65 watts). Think of all the batteries you're charging right now - Shaver, camera, laptops, cell phones, UPS, tablets, power tools - the list goes on. I doubt most people keep an eye on them all, yet given my track record, cheaper batteries for phones, cameras and other consumer devices have a higher chance of having problems.
It's not like I leave RC batteries charging over night - they DO have a high specific power compared to other batteries, but I truly believe my NIMH and a123 are safer than most other battery chemistries. I spend a few minutes during the start of charge while it's charging in a plate while working on some mod or wood work or something, then come back in an hour to check on the charge. I don't leave them overnight.
The worst experience I've had with a123 was when struggling to solder an a123 pack. It's hell. Sand the top to make it rough, and solder still wont stick right. I globbed too much on one and it shorted. I only noticed because it became hot as expected, but I was able to melt the lump and remove it. That battery still works fine. It's just beautiful how robust those cells are.
I guess I should retrofit my charging station with a fireproof box - can't be too secure, especially if I do go lithium. Thinking If I use something like this
http://www.amazon.com/STEELMASTER-Fi...=fireproof+box,
and charge the battery in there it should be pretty safe even if it does catch fire. What do you think?
Interestingly development, I just received my LiMn VTC5 batteries today. Wall wart charger at 0.375amps so I'm looking at a 7 hour charge time :P Looking forward to trying these in my rc18t and comparing it to the current 8 cell elite 1500 pack - though I had to junk my transmitter/receiver. It's the old 27MHz AM, but I think it's been damaged from flooding a couple years back. Purchased a Radiolink RC3S 4 channel. If I try a 4 wheel steer mod it should have me covered. Testing the batteries will wait till I receive it.