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Other sources of Lithium - 12/8/2003 9:18 AM   
whstlngdeath



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From: Broken Arrow, OK, USA
Status: offline 		Would any other source of Lithium batteries work for our hobby? The ridiculous prices of the current packs have me looking elsewhere. What about cell phones, camcorders and such? All the modern ones come with either -ion or -poly and can be had cheap used. I have a older cell phone with a 7.2v Lithium-ion. Very thin and very light. The phone's charger will charge it in about 40 minutes (Sony) and has a car charging cord. Anyone try this? I'm looking for a very light source of power for a 1/2A P-51 using a speed 400 motor.

Jesse

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 12/8/2003 4:21 PM   
Matt Kirsch



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Status: offline 		I guess ridiculous is in the eyes of the beholder. If you compare prices based on $ per Watt-hour, even the early LiPolys were competitive with NiCd and NiMH technology. Since then, capacity has gone up and prices have come down significantly, and to the best of my knowledge, LiPoly now holds the lead in $ per Watt-hour.

Salvaging lithium cells is a crap shoot. The odds of getting something usable are not in your favor. Most consumer goods, like cell phones, are low-current devices. Depending on the setup, most planes are not low-current devices. The only way to know if your salvaged cells are usable is to try using them, after you have baseline performance data using the appropriate NiCd or NiMH cells.

Basically, you can spend your money on something that MIGHT work, spend lots of time testing, and spend money on a NiMH/NiCd pack anyway, or you can spend a little more (less than the cost of the three NiCd/NiMH battery packs a single LiPoly replaces) and get something that's been tested extensively and is KNOWN to work.

Etec 1200 LiPolys are a very good deal these days. Usually, about $12 per cell for assembled packs.

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 12/8/2003 8:36 PM   
A10FLYR



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quote:

ORIGINAL: Matt Kirsch

I guess ridiculous is in the eyes of the beholder.

Salvaging lithium cells is a crap shoot. The odds of getting something usable are not in your favor.

Basically, you can spend your money on something that MIGHT work.


Having been that route I couldn't agree more!!! Having gone thru 30 or more cell phone packs I found they just were not worth the effort for the money. Go with the latest and greatest.........you will not be sorry!!

< Message edited by A10FLYR -- 12/8/2003 5:38:36 PM >

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 12/25/2003 12:30 AM   
enrique1123



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Status: offline 		When you factor watt/hour and price the new packs that are in the market now are the best you can get for the money and prices keep falling, check on the FMA sale that they have on their 640 cell now, at just over 6.60 a unit with a discharge capacity of 5c you can make some interesting set ups. TP packs are really good but a little bit more money, but they are worth the price tag because of their high discharge rate. When you consider how many Nimh or Nicd packs one LiPo cell replaces for the same flight time you end up saving money.

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 12/27/2003 2:57 AM   
Daniel Z



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Status: offline 		So.... no one has made an effort? I`m curious


Daniel

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 1/23/2004 10:50 PM   
bnentrup


 

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Here are my collection of links cocerning lithium battery sources:

http://pease1.sr.unh.edu/aew/rc/HowTo/Qualcomm/
http://www.shdesigns.org/lionchg.html
http://www.bktsi.com/skyborn/rcm_july02.htm
http://www.rcgroups.com/links/index.php?id=3929
http://members.aol.com/davthacker/lipolyapplication.htm

i know that not all the links are just about lithiums, but they are interesting!

Good Luck
FYI : you can purchase new lipoly cells on ebay for less than $5.00 per cell at 800mah - Its all in the 'search-method' - for example:
dont just search lithium polymer -- try the following:
- li-poly
- lipoly
- lithium-poly
- li-polymer (this was the winner for me)

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 1/24/2004 12:26 AM   
Matt Kirsch



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Status: offline 		I know this thread's been dead for a month, but I have to reply to Daniel:

Yes, people have made an effort. Just read further up in the thread. A10FLYR spent a lot of money and a lot of time testing cells that turned out to be worthless. Before hi-discharge LiPolys were available for R/C planes, people made efforts all over the place looking for suitable high-capacity cells. It's literally a crap shoot, and always has been. 99% of the cells turn out to be useless, or only useful in small park flyers like the GWS Tiger Moth.

People are still constantly searching for "the next big steal" in surplus battery technology. However, it's just not worth it from a financial standpoint. By the time you're done testing 100 different cells to find the ONE that is actually usable, you've spent far more than you would have if you'd just purchased the purpose-designed LiPoly cells in the first place! On top of that, few people are willing to be the "guinea pig," spending significant amounts of their own money and time just so you can save yours. Once in a while, you'll come across someone who enjoys the challenge of experimentation and is generous enough to share his findings with the rest of us. That's where crazes like the old "Qualcomm 830" of years past come from.

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RE: Other sources of Lithium - 1/24/2004 6:15 AM   
whstlngdeath



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Status: offline 		I just read today that Kyocera is recalling thousands of Lithium batteries on some of their phones. I guess even the high-end users have problems with this new technology. It wasn't mentioned if the batteries were -ion or -polymer.

Jesse

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