Stick 40

"jester_s1

LiFe batteries are a newer lithium chemistry. They have all the good things about Lipos (fast charging, no self-discharge, high amp capacity) with a usable voltage for our receiver packs and none of the fire danger. A 2 cell pack gives 6.6v nominal, but the actually voltage to the receiver is very close to the same as a fully charged NiCd. I'm a fan because I can charge them when I have a chance during the week on planes I don't fly much and they'll be ready when I am. They are also a touch lighter than NiCd's but close to the same weight as comparable Nimh's. "


On another thread , Jester put this out about "Life" battery's.

I am ready to swap out some of my battery's and wondered about the Pro's and Con's of the Life battery's???

sticks

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Well you already posted the pros.

About the only con is you need a charger that has the right program for LiFe (A123) cells.

www.wrongwayrc.com sells packs with genunie A123 cells and inexpensive chargers (Cell Pro4)

I have them in all my big planes, they make excellent reciever and ignition packs.

airraptor

My Feedback: (66)

All i use now is LiFe packs.

The 200, 1100 and 2100 from tower and the 850 from Hyperion.

The 200 is great for small planes 15 ( with 4 servos or less) and smaller. Very light weight. it doesnt bother me if i have to charge it every three flight or so.

I use a single 2100 on H9 mustang with a DLE 30. I get about 6 flights on it before I charge again just to be safe. I usally put back around 500-800 MAH

dignlivn

I'm using 2 A123's 2300 mAhs and have a new LiFe that needs
to be installed. Thanks for the input. I'm charging with a thunder power
610C BTW, it charges both these types of lithium ion/phosphate.

Bob

Stick 40

so if I get a "Life A 2 cell pack gives 6.6v nominal 2500 mAh pack" , it will be the same as a "2500 Ni-Mh 5 cell pack"

dignlivn

The LiFe is better, 6.6 volts vs nMhi is 6.o volts (Nominaly)
The LiFe uses a balance plug, when charging, as do A123's.

Bob

jester_s1

It's not better, just a bit more voltage. As quoted above, the actual voltage the receiver sees is very close to the same between the two. The nominal voltage ratings really don't mean much with batteries. The number that actually matters is how much voltage is actually there under load from fully charged to the point where you recharge.

As stated above, the only negatives I see are that you need an LiFe capable charger and some data suggests that the LiFe's won't last quite as long as NiCd's will. But most of us replace our packs every 3 years anyway so that's a non-issue. Besides, LiFe's a generally a little cheaper than top quality NiCd's, so the lifespan issue is a wash.

Stick 40

What is the difference between Life and the A123, and is one better than the other?

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

The same difference between Acetominphin and Tylenol.

A123 is a brand name, though for me I prefer my packs with genuine A123 cells in a hardcase with the nanophosphate technology.

GarySS

My Feedback: (13)

Another negative (sort of......) is as far as I have read you really can't tell when the end of the reliable "Life" has come for a LIFE. One Flier said he will just recycle his after the two year point. Any input on this issue.

airraptor

My Feedback: (66)

The A123 cells are 2300 MAH they weigh more than the other brands of LiFe's. A123 were the first ones on the market and they have a big following like the DA. The DLE perform just as well just cheaper.
I use the hobbico ones from tower :
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXYAS9&P=0

They have them in different sizes. remember most 45 size planes with 4-5 standard servos we used to fly with only 500 Mah 4 cell pack.

One thing wiht all packs of any type is to get to know your batteries. what i mean is that you should cycle any battery so you know if it meets its rated capacity. Charge the pack then use your charge to cycle the battery 3-5 times. most new charges will do this for you. just put it on the number of cycles you want, put the battery (any type) in a fire proof container then start the cycle process. I usally start this in the morning when working on other planes. This way you know if that 2000 MAH pack is putting out close 1800-2000 mah. I have had some NiMh packs that were stated to have 2500 mah capacity yet when cycled were only giving out 1000 mah. these were the true rating of the pack yet the seller was pulling something over on us or just five bad packs in a row.

One thing about LiFe's is that some people think they will explode or catch fire when they crash the plane heli or what ever. i know from experience that the LiFe will not catch fire. i put one plane in at over 140MPH into hard pack dirt. The plane hit straight down and so hard that the engine OS65AX broke the muffler off and riped the muffler mount off the engine, broke the carb clean off, turned the fuel tank inside out, the wing left full span indetations in the ground, every servo split in to many pieces, it even pulled the rubber of the aluminum hub on the tail wheel, and the LiFe battery was (the 1100 hobbico pack) was smashed into a flat pancake with exposed Life substrate. It got to about 99-101 degrees by the temp gun and no fire at all.

I will never use a Nicad or NiMh again.

Oh yeah to guy that says the reciever sees the same voltage no it doesnt its close but a fully charge LiFe is just over 7 volts right around (7.05) some older servos will not handle this.

Stick 40

Thanks for all the input

I should have known it would not be that easy to go to another battery, I am still going to switch.

But I will have to look into which ones to get.

The one big plus is, I don't have to buy a charger. My Thunder Power tp 1010 has a LiFe charge setting, I have overlooked for so long I had to go back and run through the different brands to see it.

Anymore input on brands to buy or over look would be appreciated.

sticks

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

All my big stuff uses packs from www.wrongwayrc.com

Stick 40

I just ordered two A123 rx packs from them, going to get my feet wet. I found one of my Ni-Mh's is close to dead, it shows a good cycle on charge but very low on discharge.

thanks

sticks

garyr1

I am also going LiFe this spring, after what I consider to be unsatisfactory life span of NiMh packs.
My 'old technology' NiCd's last longer than the newer NiMh's, and I definitely notice the self discharge thing.
I have several 'name brand' NiMh packs only 2 years old that are done...with not that much flying on them.
The buzz out there seems to be that the LiFe packs have a much better shelf life and minimal self discharge, so I'm in.
Lets see how these work...

Stick 40

I have a lot more years out of my NiMh battery's, and some should last for more years.

I plan to read the instructions for the A123's and follow the instructions for break-in.

I have read there is a break-in procedure for them.

I have a charger that will charge the LiFe and A123 battery's , if you don't have one you should get one.

sticks

Minnreefer

I am thinking about going life as well, most of my batteries are 2+ years old and I am worried about them. I have a couple basic questions, since you don't have much warning on when they run out and recharge at 50%, what size are people getting for a 40-60 size sport plane with standard servos?
Have people been using any from hobbyking? and if so with any problems? I am thinking the cheaper ones for more of my hand me down sport beat up planes.

Thanks

Jon

K-Bob

My Feedback: (1)

Don't believe for a minute that the only difference between A123s and LiFes is the name.

A123s use patented nanophosphate technology and are capable of a much higher discharge rate as well as almost double the life cycle. Not to mention the consistency in quality as opposed to LiFes.

Nothing like the feeling when you lose a multi-thousand dollar airframe because you tried to save five or ten bucks on batteries. To each his own.

Stick 40

What I was told and ordered is the A123's 2300 mAh

http://www.shop.kavarootusa.com/prod...&categoryId=10

If you can go to that site, that's what I ordered for flight packs for my 40 to 60 size planes.

As to the LiFe's and A123's being different, they are. But from what I have read up to this point its might be a Ford/Chevy thing. I am not sure, but at present I am going with the A123's for the time being.

K-Bob

My Feedback: (1)

Good move. Wrongway is a good source for true A123 packs and I have purchased from him before.

Nothing in the world wrong with LiFes in general as long as you buy a quality pack, but they are only close to A123s, not the same.

Hill202

My Feedback: (24)

You'll be glad you did. I just switched over to A123 packs a few months ago and never looked back. Once you get a feel for how the battery matches up to your flying style, there're great. I know about how many flights I can get on a charge and still be in the safe zone and now I have a routine for charging.

jak_kkaall

Refering to an 2S 6,6v LiFe 2100mA accu. Selected LiFe balance for 2S and 1A current but the charger didn't raise it above 03A and it took about 4 hrs to put 1200mA in it until I got bored and turned it off. Tried to select again, this time 2A, same thing...charging current won't raise above 03A. And from start to finish the pack voltage staid at 7,2v on the chg display and the cells went from 3,33 to 3,38v/cell. Same with the other pack. Why ? Before charging I start tuning the 50cc engine on the ground, and burned about one tank. During this running on the ground it took 1200+mA from the pack?! Thank you.

ARUP

I love LiFe Batteries because LiFe Batteries' advantages outweigh LiFe Batteries' disadvantages. An individual LiFe battery's life span is much longer than an individual NiCad battery's or NiMh battery's life span. Their discharge rate is better when they're used as designed. There just isn't anything better when they're used in my models!

jak_kkaall

The charging process didn't perform well because I was charging through the switch harness. Conected the pack directly to the charger and it charged it properly. Don't understand why...only if there is some electronics in the switch to influence the charging.

OldScaleGuy

My Feedback: (2)

I have a .40 size Wildcat profile with an 1100 Life pack in it that has 4 seasons on it now and still works flawlessly. Perhaps it is time to change it just to be safe. I wanted to try Life in a simple airplane that i didn't have one year or more of building time. So far so good. I have always charged through the switch harness so i don't have any idea what is up with yours jak. I have never been a big fan of Nimh. I still have a lot of planes with Nicd's, the good old traditional packs. Going forward, i will use Life on larger more complex subjects but due to the fact these packs only have 2 cells, i will use 2 packs and 2 switches for redundancy, which is not a bad idea on any plane. If one cell fails on a Life pack and you only have 1 pack, well, the rest is history.....