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Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/18/2012 2:30 PM   
gsmith6879


 

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Status: offline 		I'm looking for some experience with the Tenergy brand LiFe batteries.

I know that the A123 LiFe cells are the gold standard for our use and I have started changing over all of my receiver and ignition batteries to A123. In the past I have built a number of LiIon 2600mah packs from Tenergy cells with great success. They are performing very well and showing no issues. They just have to have regulators for our use. I usually buy my Tenergy cells from http://www.all-battery.com/index.aspx. I was on the site recently and found that they sell Tenergy brand LiFe cells.

http://www.all-battery.com/cylindrical_LiFePO4.aspx

I have looked at the specs and capacities and they seem to match or exceed the A123 specs. I have ordered a pair of cells for testing, but would like to know what others experiences are.

Gaines

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 2:23 AM   
plaurence


 

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Status: offline 		A123 Systems is in chapter 11. May or may not continue to supply cells for the hobby .

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 4:11 PM   
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ORIGINAL: plaurence

A123 Systems is in chapter 11. May or may not continue to supply cells for the hobby .

Bull$)(*. The division that makes car batteries is in Chapter 11. Our hobby cells are plentiful and they have even introduced a higher capacity cell.



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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 4:21 PM   
BarracudaHockey



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Status: offline 		+1 to what K-Bob said

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 4:45 PM   
gsmith6879


 

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Status: offline 		I have no problem finding A123 cells or receiver packs made from A123 cells. My question was about any experience with the Tenergy LiFe cells.

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 5:37 PM   
GarySS


 

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Status: offline 		The Tenergy Items must be too new to be known. It looks like you are OUR tester for this product once you put them into service!!! Hope it works well. Question for you?? When do you know its time to stop using a LIFE? What is your standard for this issue??? Thanks

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/19/2012 6:02 PM   
gsmith6879


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GarySS

The Tenergy Items must be too new to be known. It looks like you are OUR tester for this product once you put them into service!!! Hope it works well. Question for you?? When do you know its time to stop using a LIFE? What is your standard for this issue??? Thanks


Unfortunately I'm not the guy to answer that question. I have just started using the LiFe batteries and plan to replace all flight packs with them this winter. My research tells me that a LiFe (A123) has a cycle life of 1000. I plan to keep a log of the amount of mah I put back into each pack after use to get a feel of how long I can fly on a charge. I will also do a charge/discharge cycle every 20-30 uses to check against my baseline info. There are a lot smarter guys out there that should be able to answer this question. Here is a great source for the A123 info:

http://www.hangtimes.com/a123_batteries_for_giants_faq.html

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 12:02 AM   
Four Stroker


 

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Status: offline 		Fry's (spelling ?) carries these with solder tabs. Questions to be answered:

1) Does it hold up to vibration
2) Can you charge it as fast as A123
3) Does it put out enough current - certainly for a RX pack.
4) Does is have the lifespan of A123 - the nano tech is credited with the long life or slow degradation of A123

Why not just get A123 ? I wish someone sold A123 with solder tabs. ED used to do that.

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 12:56 AM   
gsmith6879


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Four Stroker

Fry's (spelling ?) carries these with solder tabs. Questions to be answered:

1) Does it hold up to vibration
2) Can you charge it as fast as A123
3) Does it put out enough current - certainly for a RX pack.
4) Does is have the lifespan of A123 - the nano tech is credited with the long life or slow degradation of A123

Why not just get A123 ? I wish someone sold A123 with solder tabs. ED used to do that.


If you look at the specs they are very similar and in some cases the Tenergy cells are better. That is why I am asking the question and plan to test them. I may still stay with the A123 because of the experience in the Hobby but I am always looking to improve the process.

I have been buying my A123 cells from EPBuddy. http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22_7&products_id=334&zenid=26fo8hjdm41qf4106qafceov40

I've been very impressed with the service form them. The solder tabs are "substantial" compared to anything else I have seen. They have 6 spot welds and the SS tab is heavy. I assume that is to allow them to accept the high charge and discharge rates. I have made up 6 packs so far with not issues. You have to watch out for some of the other sellers and if you read the EPBuddy description of the cells they sell and those that are available on other sites, you will understand the difference.

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 12:20 PM   
OldRookie


 

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Status: offline 		What specifications for the Tenergy cells exceed the specs of the A123 brand?
A123 has only two sizes to compare to, but I would highly doubt that any LiFE cell could come close, much less exceed the A123 specifications. This is because of their nano technology which is patented.

Greg

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 2:14 PM   
gsmith6879


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: OldRookie

What specifications for the Tenergy cells exceed the specs of the A123 brand?
A123 has only two sizes to compare to, but I would highly doubt that any LiFE cell could come close, much less exceed the A123 specifications. This is because of their nano technology which is patented.

Greg


The only spec that exceeds the A123 is the rated capacity. My unscientific testing of the A123 2300mah packs that I have built indicates that one cell will drop to the 2 volt cut-off before the second. That cell becomes the limiting factor for the capacity of the packs. As of right now I am getting about 2100mah capacity out of the packs. The Tenergy specs "advertise" 2500-2600 for 2500 mah cell.

Apparently no one has any experience with these cells. I'll forge ahead with my testing and if I find anything interesting I'll report back.

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 4:45 PM   
Four Stroker


 

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Status: offline 		I tested the A123 at 2.3A (1C) discharge down to 3.0 volts per cell. They come out at about roughly 2050 mAh. 2 volts is much too low in my opinion but allows them to claim higher capacity. Mine are about a year old and have not lost any capacity. I field charge them at 2.3A and they don't even get warm. I replaced Sanyo RC 2400 NiCD's that don't have 2400 either. There was an advertising trick. They were 2400 mWh. I considered them good down to a consistent 1850 mAh. Battery capacity is like horsepower, a big lie.

The EP Buddy cells look genuine. They appear identical to the ones that I got from ED. I will order a few and test them since I need some new packs. There is a new 2500 from A123 BUT big deal.

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/20/2012 5:00 PM   
Four Stroker


 

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Status: offline 		The Tenergy cells are not that much cheaper than the A123. They certainly don't appear to be the same quality. How much is a crash worth ?

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RE: Tenergy LiFe Cells - 12/24/2012 6:46 PM   
rexbirk


 

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Status: offline 		I dont trust my soldering abilities enough to risk a plane by building my own packs. You can't go wrong with Hangtimes Products though. I have purchased 6 A123 packs from Milehigh RC and they have served me well.
quote:

ORIGINAL: Four Stroker

The Tenergy cells are not that much cheaper than the A123. They certainly don't appear to be the same quality. How much is a crash worth ?



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