Please HELP!! Newbie Needing Help Finding Right Batteries and Charger
 

I'm new to brushless and decided to build a brushless erevo. I have a Nue Castle 2200kv green motor and a Hobbywing brushless Max 8 150 amp ESC. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what lipo's to get for this set up. I'm currently looking at getting a couple of SPC LiPo Power, Lithium Polymer (LiPo) Battery Pack; 5000mAh, 40C, 2S, 7.4V Hard-Case or SPC LiPo Power, Lithium Polymer (LiPo) Battery Pack; 5000mAh, 50C, 2S, 7.4V Hard-Case. I don't have any idea what kind of charger to get. I would like one that could balance charge and dishcharge 2 or more of either of those batteries safely and efficiently. Can someone point me in the right direction and tell me if those batteries are any good or not and what charger I should be looking at?
Thanks in advance.

I would suggest 50C packs and you do not need a dual charger if you will be running them in 4S. You would just need a special charge adapter and a beefy charger.

Charger; http://www.atomikrc.com/collections/...attery-charger
Battery charge leads (i know it says to only use with Traxxas chargers, but thats just marketing crap.); http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBYFP

Batteries; http://www.atomikrc.com/collections/...-plug-x2-packs

Thanks for for the suggestion collector 1231 I should have mentioned I'm on a budget and as sweet as that setup looks it would take me several month to purchase. I'm not gonna be racing my erevo just mostly bashing and hopefully getting my son into the hobby.

Ah. Well in that case, the charger and charge leads with the SMC batteries should be well. If thats still too much, just tell me. I've got other suggestions.

I will check into that it looks like the charge leads are out of stock at tower. Have you tried any of the nano tech batteries from hobbywing?

I wouldn't suggest them. Stick with the SMC if you can't afford Venom stuff. Here it is in stock.

https://www.ckrccrawlers.com/product...LiPo+Batteries

What at about those SPC packs I was telling you about. Do you know anything about them?

Sorry, SPC. Those are okay batteries, but not as good as Venom.

Get the SPC packs. You won't be sorry. $150 for those Venom batteries???? Is that for TWO? (It BETTER be for that price!) Still, that's $75 each. Phweew!
I would also suggest looking at SMC Lipos. I've got two of them, and they ROCK. Same price as Gens Ace, but they kick Gen's butt. AND I can get them with Traxxas connectors already installed.

Collector: About that Dual-Charging adapter, I would assume that it HALVES the charge current to the packs, right? Nice that it says it allows "full balancing capability" (not sure how it would do that, unless you're telling the charger it is charging a 4S pack) but you're not going to be able to charge the packs anywhere near the usual 1C rate, unless you have a REALLY beefy charger, at least 10 Amps. And for that money, wouldn't the OP be better off buying TWO separate chargers? That's the way I see it, anyway.

yeah I hear good things about venom packs but I just can't afford it right now.

So what kind of charger would you prefer to accomplish balance charging or discharging 2 lipos at same time.

Just get two separate chargers. This way is most likely cheaper than getting a dual charger and you will be able to cahrge your batteries at the correct speed, just like extrob said.

This stuff is so confusing.

Is it because you are new to lipos? if you are (but i dont thnik you are as you didnt mention it) browse around the internet and understand EVRYTHING about lipos. There is a lot of info about them.

if you dont get why 2 charges is better than a dual one lets put it simple:
-2 chargers(1 battery for each charger) will cost alot less than a dual charger will charge your batterries at the same speed as you will need to get a really expensive with atleast an 80watt output(i think)
For example 2 of these chargers (just exmaple) http://www.ebay.com/itm/iMAX-B6-AC-B...-/131082526447 working at the same time, each one charging a different battery will take the same amount of time as this charger (example only again) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duratrax-Ony...-/191075570790 So getting 2 chargers is better than a dual one for your money. Also, if your dual charger breaks, its done, you have to buy a new charger, but if one of your normal chargers braeaks you still have a backup one.

I am not the best at explaining (especially in english) but remember we are all here to help you.

NacoRTR I am new to lipo's and it seems the more research I do the more I get confused. So much contradicting information or maybe I'm just looking in all the wrong places. How long would a set of the batteries I was looking at SPC 2s 5000mah 40c last as far as runtime? And how long would it take to charge? I have a 2200kv Nue castle motor and a hobbywing 150 amp Ezrun max8 esc. 65 tooth spur and haven't gotten the pinion gear yet.

Kinda hard to say what you'd get in the way of runtime, but in general, a 5000mah pack will give you 20-25min. 25min max and if it's brand new. If you're looking at the SMC packs, get a 7200mah pack. That will definitely get you 25min easy.

kuntry, I understand your frustration. RC has a steep learning curve. You'll get the hang of it. Just keep asking questions, no such thing as a stupid one.

As for chargers, and trying to go cheap, there are a number of good chargers to be had for $50-60. Single Port chargers. Dual port chargers will run you at least $120. You're getting a car that requires 4s, or two 2S Lipos. You gotta have at least one charger! With one charger, you'll have to charge TWO Lipos . That'll take about two hours. If you have two chargers or a dual port, cut that time in half, almost. Most inexpensive dual port chargers like Traxxas or Onyx max out at 4 Amps per port. Which isn't bad. If you had two independent chargers, you'd be able to charge each battery at 5 or 6 Amps, reaching full charge a few minutes early. Make sense to you?

This is just one of several chargers to be had in the $40-60 range. I have this one.

As for how to charge Lipos, there are a few posts here in the forum on that, but basically, a 5000mah 2S pack you would charge at 5 Amps, which is refered to as "1C". If you had a 7200mah pack, you'd charge it at 7.2Amps for a 1C charge rate. See how that works? (BTW, that charger I linked can only do 6Amps. Not that it's going to hurt the battery charging it at less than 1C) Once you get a charger, we'll help you set it up if you can't figure out the English-as-second-language instructions.

Thanks a bunch. At least what I'm hearing and seeing on this site is pretty consistent.

Yeah, there really isn't much to worry about with Lipos these days. When they were "the new tech on the block", there were reports of lipo fires. I don't know for sure, but I suspect the majority of those were caused by people using them incorrectly. Mainly, charging a Lipo on a NON-LIPO charger, and/or, not setting up the charger correctly. I've been in this hobby since 2010, and have NEVER had ANY issues with my Lipo packs.

There was a guy here recently who purchased a couple Lipos and an iMax B6 clone charger from Turnigy that burst into flames in his garage the first time he used it. Naturally, it freaked him right out. Never did get to the bottom of it, but again, he was a noob, and his description of how he set it up was sketchy. IF you set these things up and use them PROPERLY, you won't have any issues.

That Thunder AC680 charger I linked charges at up to 6 Amps at 80 Watts. I have seen 100W single port chargers that can do up to 10 Amps. One like that would allow you to use that dual-battery charge adapter. But that charger will run you at least $100. I still think having two separate chargers is more cost-effective.