jeff4912

I bought a Evolution 15cc gas engine for my Sig 4 Star 60 and wondered what battery would work well for the igition?

raptureboy

What are the voltage requirements? If it will handle 6.6v I would go with a LiFe battery 1500mah will do but bigger won't hurt. If you don't have a life charger then nicad or nmh will work fine.

jeff4912

4.8v-8.4v is the voltage range. I do have a charger.

I guess I could use a 2000mah nimh for both the ignition and receiver. (one battery for each)

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Just like on my larger airplanes, if it were mine I would use the Tech Aero IBEC and just run the ignition off of the receiver battery. This way you don't have to haul around an additional battery and you get the added benefit of an ignition kill from the transmitter ... plus other benefits.

jeff4912

Wow.....I like that! Thanks for the reply.

Saves me a channel on my receiver from another battery too.

How many Mah battery should I use to power my Sig 4 Star 60's ignition and receiver from one battery?

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

The IBEC still has to plug into an open channel on the receiver, both for power and to turn it on and off from the transmitter. Power requirements vary considerably depending on the servos you are using. On the low side with standard BB servos, you could probably get by on a quality farily high C rating 1100 LiFe battery. They aren't overly heavy though so I'd prefer something like a 2300 MAh A123 LiFe battery. This larger battery would probably give you 10 or more flights even with higher torque servos in that size plane.

http://www.tech-aero.net/ultra-ibec

jeff4912

Would a 2000Mah NIMH do the job? Prefer a battery with a universal plug.

Does it matter if it's 4.8v or 6v?

I want to run the receiver and ignition through a IBEC on a single battery.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Yes, a good, low impedance NiMh battery would work just fine but many NiMh batteries do not qualify. If you are not familiar with low impedance NiMh batteries, go to the Hangtimes Hobbies website and read what they have to say there. A common battery available known as Hydramax doesn't qualify and I would not recommend them for this application.

With all that said, LiFe batteries are so much more reliable and most any brand of these would be my choice before I would use any NiMh battery these days. Genuine A123 cylinder cells are probably the most reliable and a bit more expensive than the poly packs but are well worth the cost. Go to the battery forum and read up on these. Also much info at the Hangtimes site. LiFe batteries have a 6.6 working voltage which along with a 5 cell NiMh pack is far more common these days than a 4.8 V system. You can put a universal connector on any battery and many LiFe batteries come with a variety of connectors.

http://www.hangtimes.com/

jeff4912

Does the IBEC regulate voltage to the servos as well as the ignition. This is from the IBEC website:

Compatible with the power requirements of single and multi-cylinder model CDI ignition modules via jumper selectable 5V, 5.3V, 6.1V and 6.6V voltage outputs.

Are those voltages going to both the servos and the ignition once the jumper is set at the IBEC? The reason I ask is that servos don't want more than 6.0v for operating.

acerc

The IBEC such as Tech Aero's goes between the receiver and the ignition module. It has no effect on any other channel or component. Using such a device isolates the ignition from the receiver from any electronic noise, it also provides remote shut-off, and alleviates the need for another battery. I, as Truckracer, use the single battery method and have not had any issue. I also run a Life battery and love how well they work. Life batteries do not have a sharp current drop off curve like A123's and do not pose as high of a fire hazard for on board charging as LiPo. I also would not use NiCd's or NiMh's because of the lack of power needed for current electronics as previously mentioned.
I get my Life batteries from Fromeco and they will provide what ever type plug one desires.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

I would not recommend using a NiMh battery for this. You have much better options, and the internal resistance of NiMh batteries is very poor. I would go with a 2300-2600 A123, and then an IBEC. If you are going to use 1 battery, it needs to be a good one, and right now I believe the A 123 is the best.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I won't use a NiMh battery ever again. Too much trouble with them going bad in less than 1 season sometimes. They self discharge like crazy and don't like high temps. Well hey, I live in the desert and can't always protect my airplanes and batteries from high ambient temps. Yeah I know, the Eneloop batteries are supposed to be low discharge. Still don't want NiMh. For now I have switched to good old fashioned Nicads on some things, and Lipoly batteries with regulators on others. When I can afford it, everything I own is going to A123 batteries. Meanwhile, I've had good Nicads last for years, even with abuse.

AV8TOR

bcchi

You should not use nicad or nmh charger for life or A-123 battery packs.If you must keep close tabs on cell voltage.Do no use LiPoly charger on life,use life or 123,charger.
BCCHI

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

You can use any charger if the charger has a voltage setting on a "per cell" basis. My chargers can be set at 3.3 or 3.7 volts per cell, then you set the number of cells. 3.3 is for LIFE batteries, 3.7 is for LIPO.

Agree with the above statements about NIMH batteries. Finicky and unreliable.