motorhead91

which batteries have better performance, ibs or duratrax??
thanks

alloutcustom

2 eggs and 3 slices of bacon

i would go with 4200 dtx becase there just as good but cheaper

CadillacDTS2001

IB's
they discharge at a greater amps and sustain a great voltage.
But will not last all that long. If you wan a good life out of your batteries then go with some GP3700's

Orange Crush

My "built" IB4200's are 3-4 mph faster than my DTX3800's and I get around a minute more of run time. Do you already have a charger? If you have to gear up from the "get go" you mine as well consider Lipo packs/charger.

CadillacDTS2001

not if your inexperienced
i can't stress this enough.
A 7.4 volt pack that will serve your purpose will be around 120 dollars. unless you cheap out

Orange Crush

Everyone's got to start somewhere Taylor. Give some credit. Let the guy do his research, ask questions, and make a decision based on his findings. I wish I had gone Lipo from the beginning. Sure, I didn't know anything about them, but I would have asked alot of questions just like motorhead is doing now about his boat and boating gear. He's obviously intent on learning. That's where guys like yourself come in.

CadillacDTS2001

its just knowing your setup it critical and trusting the "sticker" amp rating is very risky.
if you pull 50 amps make sure the sticker say good 100amps.
Its not as much as handling it like charging and caring for them, Its you boat setup and exactly how you are going to do this.
I am buying batteries for this years races . and i have opted to go all NIMH. with a couple acceptions. I am buying a couple lipos on my smaller boats but for the larger stuff I'm staying with NIMH.
Its also the cost.
Just to put it in to perspective ( not barging )
If i were to rig my race boats with 2 sets of batteries each ( most do 3 or more ) and then get a balancer and charger to go along. I would be looking at close to 1100 dollars + all for 1 or 1.5 race season(s).
Sure the initial investment is there like the balancer and charge that can do 10 cell setups. . But buying quality and buying stuff to "just get by " is 2 different things. and you don't want to be doing that.

My battery's for this year consists of around 60 IB4200's. two 7.4volts POLY RC 4000 MAH lipo battery's capable of doing more amps then I'm going to pull on my little N2 boats.
The rest is the IB's

Blackjack52

Just my 2 cents: lipos are the rave right now because they're "new" so to speak with the boating world. Wait until the Li-ion catch up like A123s and then everybody will be going crazy over those (probably another year-maybe shorter if Wazool likes them). Then everyone that dumped 1K into the lipos will be wishing otherwise.
Now my 3 cents: the rules have adjusted to make room for lipos this year at the cost of pushing NiMh out the door. Usually, the new kid on the block (lipos) has to bend for the ones that have been on the block. I know I'm looking at this in a different perspective, but the course length will be extended to push out NiMh, or you'll have to put so many cells, you'll look like a battleship sitting in the water.
I'm done with that.........I haven't done a soap box here yet. Just venting. Haven't been on the water. 60 deg end of next week. Maybe I should start using my boat packs to power my power chair. That way they'll be ready when the wx warms up.

Just a recommendation.......if your new with rc period, maybe go with NiMh (just a few packs and a charger that can handle lipos and li-ion too). Get the hang of the boat with the NiMh, because lipos will add 5-10mph on top of a good setup. With the "SV27.5" on lipos, she'll be zinging at 45+. Wrong setup and you'll need SONAR. You'll still be able to compete if you want with the NimH this year. If you want to upgrade to lipo, then you have the experience of running with others (learn from them too on what you need to do with lipos) and how to setup, and can gauge how sick you are with the FE disease.

We're already pushing the control envelope with NiMh on this hull anywho. OC has 42ish on chop with a 3-banger and I'm a knockin' with mid37 on dead water with a 2-banger. Ohhhhhh...... "I feel the need......the need for....."

CadillacDTS2001

Yes M1 cells are the new rave now. But there is still to little about them. I am going to experiment with them.

Blackjack52

Ooops sorry. I got caught in the moment.

I think there's no more than $10 difference/pack if you go with the IBs. Well worth it. They have a lower internal resistance and not that bad of weight increase from the DTX. I think the key is the cell chemistry and OC found it. I might be treading into MBP (Master Battery Putz) territory, but what the hect. My next packs if needed will be the IB4200s. But don't waist money on the balanced packs since we were already educated on balanced packs losing their ooompf. We re-balance anywho.

CadillacDTS2001

oh how so.
you may think after a couple runs they become unbalanced. this is true if you don't know how to treat them
If you do they will serve for many runs.
i am buying matched and zapped Ib4200's
i always buy matched and they work great

motorhead91

well, im just lookin for good batteries to get started with on the sv, just to get the feel for it, but then again, once i do, and i want to go faster, i dont want slow pack sitting and collecting dust, and then having to spend more money on packs for more speed not to long after i get the first packs

motorhead91

the other thing is, i dont know how many cells to use if i went lipo, because i really dont understand them....keep in mind i am just getting started and i have nothing to work with at all

Orange Crush

My work here is done...for the moment. This discussion has introduced to hyou more than one way to look at it. Motorhead, you now at least have something "more" to consider. Thank BJ for the analytical info and Taylor for guiding you down the avenue of kowledge. Wanna know what I run in my SV? I have two sets of batteries. One pair of DTXw3800's and one pair of IB4200's. IN the future, I will be buying Lipos...until something "better" comes along.

Beej, better check the gearing in that chair before you cook your packs!

Blackjack52

Same here. I just run NiMh (DTX3800s and ELITE 4500s) and plan on staying with those until forced to use diff chemistry. I'm quite happy w/ performance and speed.......NOT......always need more.

Another recommendation: if you're new with lipo; to be safe, purchase a fire proof sack (Lipo Sack-$30) to charge in and an ammo can to transport/store in with the lipo sack. Every ounce of safety with lipos is well worth it. Check w/ your parents too, to make sure they'll allow it after briefing them on hazards. Do a search on-line by yourself and formulate your own opinion.

Some people are getting 40-45 mph using lipo. OC broke the sound barrier with 42mph using NiMh, and some of us are getting real close to that. You could always go with aluminum props too to go faster (many of us just haven't tested them yet).
Just some more info to consider. That's why I recommended just buying 2 or 3 sets of NiMh and a charger capable of charging NiMh and lipo, and using them for a full season. If you really want and need the lipos next year, then do it.

OC.......trying to beef the chair up for some racing too. RC boating has really messed me up with SD (Speed Disease). Trying to figure out how to mount a prop spinner on the back of the chair.

motorhead91

how many lipo cells will the stock sv handle?

Blackjack52

Try this link.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5427098

Also, here's some more reading for you.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_52...tm.htm#5203307

alloutcustom

lipo's are 3.7v for each cell, the supervee can handle 18v i believe so u could do 4 cell but 5 cell would really be pushing it. i dont know a whole lot about lipo tho.

motorhead91

same hear, dont know much and my luck i would fry everything......you know anything about li-ions?

CadillacDTS2001

Li-ION's do not have the same give as lipo.
M1 cells are li-ion And are very good cells. One person at our club has these cells fitted to every one of his boats.
He should be good for racing this year . seems like a pretty trick setup

motorhead91

do you know where i could check these out?

CadillacDTS2001

www.A123racing.com

motorhead91

thanks

Blackjack52

You might want to hold off on buying the li-ion batts right now until more testing is done with our setup (SV27s). I have read that they are pretty good for SAWS type racing (straights or drag racing) because of the amount of amp dump. Maybe not a good power source for racing like the SV is designed for. I think they need some higher voltages and the Turbo Boost refinement. The research I've done is what's holding me back on these type of cells. Just do some of your own research and form your own decision before forking over the cash.

dirtysouth31

blackjack how are those 4500 elites doing for you??saw them and was wondering if there better than ib4200??also 6 0r 7 cell??