I am trying to maximize my dollar spent by buying the battery that gives me the most bang for my buck. It would help if some of you 'old timers' would post what brand of battery you use and why. Any information you could provide on battery's would be appreciated.

Batteries for the most part are like a Mac or a PC. What do you want to do? What are your requirements? Some swear by a certain vendor, and some swear at that vendor. The same can be said for the the large range of suppliers. I've not found a single vendor who does NOT stand behind their batteries.

remember that cheaper lipo's typically have lower "discharge" ratings (the "C" rating), which means they can't handle higher amp draw uses.

You need to first know how much amps your system with draw both "steady" and "short bursts". Then buy a battery that will safely provide that many amps, (or more).

For example, a 2200mah, 15C lipo will provide about 33 amps (2200/1000*15). A 2200mah 20C lipo will provide about 44 amps (2200/1000*20).

The mah rating tells you how much capacity your battery will hold (how much "water" is in the battery). Your "C" rating tells you how fast it will drain (how fast the "water" will safely let out).

If you use a low "C" rated battery in a way that draws too much amperage, you will ruin, if not explode and burn up your battery ( and everything around it). In the example above, the 15C battery used in an model that pulls 40 amps will most likely cause harm to the battery, if not immediately, than over time. It is not a safe, proper battery to use. The 20C battery would be fine.

When you have identified the minimum requirements for your battery capacity and discharge rate you can then shop around.

Depends as others have stated..

Someone turned me on to Geforce batteries from ValueHobby.com in IL.

So far it has proven to be a stellar battery, and because its in the US shipping is fast and not ridiculously priced if you just want one or two.

So far I've bought all of my LiPo's from Heads-Up-RC and they have performed just as well as the "name brands" like Tower-Pro, but at a fraction of the price. Most of the flyers at my field have switched to the really cheap LiPos from HobbyCity, and have found them to be just as good as the name-brands as well. If you buy from them, make sure that there is a positive quantity listed. A negative quantity means that they are on backorder and you may have to wait a month or more to get your batteries.

Depends on the type of plane you will be flying

Ultralight F3A planes....2cell 400-800mah
Standard foamies....3cell 800-1320mah
Small balsa planes, and some foamies...3cell 2100-2500mah

I think the most common lipo for most electric pilots is the 3cell 2100mah lipo...we all have em, and we all use them. And most of us use them in multiple different airplanes.

ZIPPY-H 2200 3S1P 20-30C Lipoly Packs from HobbyCity are all the rage on foreign RC threads. HobbyCity recently got 1000 in and in no time they are now on back order. I managed to get three before the drought. They sell for $27.99.