go_hercules

Has anyone flown an electric foam pattern plane on A123 (LiFe) batteries?? I know all the pros and cons of Lipo and LiFe batteries and am willing to sacrifice some performance with the LiFe's. Someone must have done this or at least tried.

big_G

You would have to do some careful math, as the LiFe's are usually 5C or less. (7.5 amps for a 1,500 ma/hr pack). I'm sure you could find a combo. that works...just that the watts/lb. would be low.

Anthony-RCU

My Feedback: (2)

Built a few packs from Dewalt tool packs a bunch of years ago. Very durable cells that can be charged at high rates but low energy density yielding not a lot of power for their weight. Very sharp voltage drop at the end of the discharge curve. Due to the lower nominal voltage added a cell to compare to lipo. 4 cell lipo used 5 cell A123. Current lipos give much better performance at lower cost. Worked great to power my starter but don't own one of those anymore.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

I've used the little A123 cells for rx power, but they are really not suited for powering the model when compared to today's LiPo batteries. When they came out, the LiPos were only managing about a 12C continuous and burst to 15C. A123's, will run 30C continuous and burst to 60C. While some were used for flight batteries when they came out, these days they are just too heavy.

While the same chemistry, you should not confuse genuine A123 batteries for those just labeled LiFe. The current out put and charge rates on the two are very different.

AWorrest

My Feedback: (5)

According to NoBS Batteries, A123 Systems quit manufacturing the smaller 1100 mAh cells. So what you get when you purchase these smaller cells said to be AI23s is a crapshoot. I used to tear apart tool packs to make my own. I quit it when too many of the cells went bad. The larger cells are still being made and sold under A123 license. I’ve used a 4-cell pack of 2300 mAh cells to power the smaller Vanquish with acceptable results. However, a 4-cell LiPo pack of the same capacity is lighter and the voltage per cell is higher.
　
go-hercules, you didn’t say how large your plane is or what size battery you were after.
　
Allan

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

The 1100's have kind of been an on/off deal for awhile now. Not sure exactly what the situation is now, but WrongWay RC made me several different types of packs with the 1100 size cells for a couple of WarBirds and Turbines where space was an issue and the cells were available again when he did that awhile back.

AWorrest

My Feedback: (5)

It slipped my mind but a couple years ago I had a 3-cell 1100 mAh pack made to power a Herr (Sig) Cloud Ranger. The plane is a fairly small trainer with a 42-inch wingspan. For this purpose, the pack worked. For an electric pattern plane, I doubt it would be the best choice.
　
Allan