Richard39

My Feedback: (14)

I have several old airplanes with old batteries that I need to replace the batteries... Which type battery would you recommend and where do you buy yours? I have some Nicad and Nick metal.. both 4 and 5 cell packs... I am not looking into the newer batteries on the market at this time... Both and nicad and nick metal have served me well for many years....

Thanks...

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

www.hangtimes.com

Nicad or Nimh

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

Hangtimes...

Radical RC

LHS...

Not sure if they are making NiCd any more.. but in glow stuff.. I used 1450mAH 5 cell Hydramax batteries with good luck.

Richard39

My Feedback: (14)

Thanks for the suggestions.... I have had bad luck with hydramax batteries... two of 4 new packs started to failed after a few weeks of use and I could not trust them anymore... the other two packs are working fine but a receiver pack needs to be more reliable that a 50 percent failure rate....

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Tower Hobbies has good prices on Sanyo NiCd packs. They don't come with connectors. You would have to cut off your old connector and solder it onto the lead from the new pack. RadicalRC is also good but a little more expensive. www.radicalrc.com

If you do go NiCd then get the 600 or 700 mAh Sanyos. The 1100 mAh ones do not hold up well over time.

Goldenduff

What about Sanyo enloop batteries?Think they are NiMh- not sure how they are so good but they hold their charge for months, they are the best choice for transmitters/receivers.

Otherwise Iwould strongly consider getting in to modern batteries- namely A123 and lipo for flight packs as they can charge quickly, especialy A123, discharge quickly and are light (although it must be remembered that no point saving 3oz off the flight battery if the plane is built like/by a russian wrestler!)

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

I believe that Eneloops are NiMH, and as such they have higher internal resistance than NiCds. This is a disadvantage for flight packs, but the disadvantage is probably not important unless the OP is flying on 2.4 GHz with a 4-cell pack, or using digital servos, or both. Eneloops are highly recommended for transmitter batteries, less so for flight packs.

If you are flying older airplanes, e.g. with FM receivers and 4 or 5 standard servos, then the old-fashioned 4 or 5 cell 700 mAh NiCd packs are still hard to beat. They are inexpensive, they work great with the wall-wart overnight chargers, they are physically and electrically robust (hard to damage), they don't require balancing, they are not a fire hazard, they last for many years, and they generally have enough capacity for 5 or 6 flights. (At my field it is rare for someone to fly more than 5 flights in a day).

Richard39

My Feedback: (14)

Good information.... thanks.... I believe the old and tried will be best for my old and tried airplanes...

bluebird26

I have found the quality of Hydramax NiMh batts seem to have fallen in recent years.I have some old ones 8 years old still going well (made in Japan).The latest ones ( Made in China)seem to have very high loss of charge in storage means you must charge close to wanting to fly.
I have replaced my Hydramax RX batts with LiFe 1800 mh from HK going thru a diode to give 5.8 volts .Pleased with results so far and by all accounts these do not lose much charge in storage.
Cheers
Duncan