Just figured I'd pass along to those looking for a reasonable price on lipos the companies I've found. Check out Dymond Motorsports for good prices such as 2000ma 3 cell 10C packs (Great packs for the Tower Pro ultra cheap BP21 brushless motor) for about $35 or so. Common Sense RC also has some good prices and their packs also feature air spacers and a balancing plug (Astro Blinky Balancer compatible). I've used packs from both these companies and couldn't be happier with them. RCHotDeals.com has about the best price on a 2000ma 20/28C 3 cell lipo at $55 (Great pack to run the Tower Pro ultra cheap "12T" brushless motor on). These packs also feature a balancing plug compatible with the Blinky balancer.

As for balancers I prefer a balancer that can be used before, while, or after charging and is seperate from the charger. The Astro Blinky Balancer ($25) is about the size of a credit card and works great. It's plug is becoming a standard for many lipo packs but can easily be adapted to non-compatible plugs.

As far as chargers go I'm using the Celectra 1 to 3 cell lipo charger ($45) and have been very happy with it. I stay away from chargers that balance a pack as they charge and use the seperate Blinky card for that. This way I don't have to have the pack plugged into the charger to balance it and if the charger or balancer goes I'll only have to replace one of them for a cheaper price than a charger that does it all.

Hope this helps anybody out there feeling a bit ripped off at some of the "brand name" lipo prices. Most lipo cells come from China anyway and have some name slapped on them. Some companies test more than others but I still don't think it justifies the prices they charge.

Thanks for all the great info critterhunter! I also have the Celectra charger and I'm looking for a good (but cheap) balancer. The Astro Blinky sounds like the way to go.

Thanks again for the great info!! - K01S [8D]

Just my two cents, No-name batteries are bigger per cell, weight more per cell and produce less power. I have done quite a bit of testing on batteries over the last two years and have found the brand names do cost a bit more but they also out preform in some cases by 100%. Just look at the batteries side by side and you can see that each cell on no names are huge compared to TP batteries. I have found this by buying many batteries from many dealers saying they compare to TP only to be disapointed in the results. Just today I did a demo to guys at the field. They always ask how big my batteries are in that plane when I tell them its the same as theres they don't believe me. So I took a Polyquest 1200 mah and a Thunder Power 1320mah and tested it on a watt meter on the same plane the results were PQ 75.4 watts and the TP was 154.3 watts both batteries were about the same age. Its the same a CA glue buy the cheap stuff and it takes forever to dry buy Zap and you finger are stuck! You really pay for what you get.
steve

Size and weight of "brand name" packs doesn't always mean they are smaller and lighter. However, Thunder Power packs do tend to be a bit smaller and lighter than most other packs. On the other hand, comparing a "cheap" 2000ma 3 cell lipo pack to a 7 cell 1000ma nimh pack they tend to be the exact same weight in the comparisons I've done. What this means is double the capacity and a higher voltage than a nimh without any gain in weight or size. This can be a good thing for planes that have sensitive centers of gravity or don't have the room for you to adjust the battery position to correct it. For the most part you can mount the lipo right where the nimh/nicad pack used to be and COG should be perfect or very close. Regardless of all that, Thunder Power packs are about double the price of a "cheap" pack with the same specs and I personaly don't think it's worth the price to save a bit of weight. The difference in performance and run time between a nimh/nicad pack and a lipo is such a great step up that I'm not going to worry about paying double to save a little more weight.

By the way, the instructions for the blink are weak and if you look on this forum you can find a thread I created on proper use of the Blinky.

Thanks again Critter. This website is such a good source of information! - K01S [8D]

Somebody on the Stryker forum just posted this link for the best price thus far I've seen on 2200ma 3 cell 20C (30 burst) lipos. $32.53! For that price I could have bought four packs instead of two of my Hi-Model packs. The Hi-Model packs (20C with 28 burst) are a tiny bit smaller and weigh a little less at 175 grams versus 183 grams for the Hextroniks, but for almost half the price ($32.53 versus $54.99) it's well worth it. A couple people said these Hextroniks packs are of great quality as well. Also features a balancing plug the same as the Hi-Model packs that is compatible with the Blinky Balancing card (like common sense rc, astro, and several other lipo makers do). This pack will safely power the 2409-12 motor (nick-named the 12T) (draws close to 30 amps on a APC 8x6E) and of course will easily handle the less powerful 2408-21 (nick-named BP21) (draws 12-16 amps on a 7x6 APC Slow Flyer).

https://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITED...idProduct=2045