Varooom

Hello,

This is my first post. Although I am not new to RC, I am new to FE boats, especially brushless lipo boats. I recently purchased a Aquacraft Revolt 30 and ordered a 4s pak and a charger.

I have read everything on this site and others about lipo batterys and believe I understand them well. I understand the rates, how to charge, discharge, store and configure pack packages safely(thanks for all the good info out there).

The only thing that confuses me is pricing so....... here is my question.

My first lipo pack I purchased is a Sky lipo, 5000mah, 4s, 14.8volt, 40c, 1c charge rate. It cost me $64.99 and seems to work great.

I recently decided to get another battery pack but decided to look at other manufacturers, not because I had any problems with the Sky pack but just to try something different. I checked out the Grim Racer packs because my boat is Aquacraft.

Well the same rated pack, 5000, 40c, 4s, 1c is $149.99!?!!??.

So is the GrimRacer pack that much better than the Sky even though they have the same specs (the spec sheet of both packs is identicle)?

Or am I paying for the GrimRacer sticker on it?

Thanks for your time, sorry so long. I look forward to discussing and learning about FEs with you.

Doug (Varooom)

Goldenduff

I would say you are paying for the sticker- they might have slightly more cycles in them but not 2-3 times more.

Got RPM

You definitely get what you pay for with batteries, it is absolutely not just a different sticker. LiPos are no different than the nickel cell we used for many years - a limited number of cell manufacturers, but a WIDE range of quality from the sellers. The manufacturer rates all his cells and puts them in performance groups. The best performing cells are sold at a premium to pack builders who specialize in high-quality products - and they expect to be paid for the premium. Mid-level cells go to the mid-priced pack builders, and the low end are sold cheap to the "budget" pack builders. You will not get the same quality from the budget cells as you will from the premium packs, period.

But you may not want or need the premium packs. Boats with amp draws like the Revolt and other RTRs can get by fine with less costly packs. Just don't be surprised if you order a budget pack and find that one or more cells won't match or are puffed - that is the risk of budget packs. Also, the "C" rating of budget packs is suspect. I have seen too many budget packs get blazing hot in setups which are mild for premium packs - that means the labeled "C" rating was developed with a printer, not by actual testing. The budget pack builders know that the consumer can't actually test the pack for the rating, so they feel safe inflating it to fool the consumer and increase sales. HK is notorious for this, as were a lot of pack builders for nickel cells back in the day. Same scam, different decade.

You certainly don't have to do what I do, but I'll tell you. Because I race most of my boats, I buy premium packs from Hyperion or ThunderPower. Performance is record-setting, the packs almost never need balancing, and they last for multiple seasons of hard racing. If I damage a cell or want a new pack, I can return the used packs for ~40% credit on brand new packs even when out of warranty. Try that with a HobbyKing pack.

Remember, all of the power in an FE boat is in the cells. If all you are doing is bashing around then the budget packs are fine if you understand the risks. If you are racing, then the guy with the best packs has the best chance of winning given equally setup boats. It's you money, spend it wisely.





.

Goldenduff

I believe that even badly matched cells can be good for bashing or racing.

Got RPM

I'm afraid you don't know what you are talking about. The mAh is the same for each cell in a pack - a 3000 mAh 3S pack has three 3000 mAh cells in it, not three 1000 mAh cells. You also ignore the "C" rating which is so critical for high amp draw applications - they are often bogus on budget packs but are accurate on premium packs. You actually do get what you pay for - if you need it. You can rationalize your affinity for cheap packs all you want, thank goodness you're not a Glaswegian! As I said above, I recommend that boaters spend their money wisely.



.

Goldenduff

Okay I will try again this time in series not parallel.

Varooom

Thanks GotRPM,

Thats what I needed to know. Maby a couple of "budget packs" for "bashing around" and one or twopremimum packs for that extra burst of speed when needed.
The only problem is once I run the premimum pack, I wont want to run the budget packs anymore

I would like to get into racing, just buzzing around the lake is already getting a little boaring.

asupervee72

the wave blasters are a good sized rc boating club out in florida. would be a bit of a drive but not too bad hopefully. Plenty of places to rc boat in florida. Convince your buddy to get one and you guys can have grudge matches.