Can I use higher mah batteries
 

My question is: I have 4 rc, off road vehicles, that I just purchased to use with my grandson. They all use T connectors. The batteries that came with them are all 7.4 volt LiPo. One car has 1000 mah batteries, one truck has 1200 mah batteries and two trucks have 1300 mah batteries. Like I said they are all 7.4 volt LiPo batteries. First question is are these batteries interchangeable in the various vehicles? All the vehicles and batteries share the same type of T connections. Second question: Is it ok to purchase a higher mah, like 1500 mah or 2000 mah, or even higher? If I do will the battery last longer? Another words would there be a benefit? As long as the batteries I purchase are 7.4 volt, LiPo, what difference does the mah make? I don't have a good understanding of how the mah effects the cars motor. I have one 16889 rc car and two 16889A trucks and all three motors are 2435 brushless (kv3900). My fourth rc truck is a DeeRC 302e with a 2440 brushless motor. Am I safe to go with higher mah amounts in these vehicles without damaging the motors, servo or wiring? I'm new to all this and my 12 year old grandson is really excited. I don't want to mess everything up. Just want us to have a good time together. Please educate me so I buy the correct batteries. We don't have any good hobby stores around here, that specialize in rc vehicles. Thank you for your help, WaltMrc

The simple answer is, , , yes, of course you can use higher MAH batteries provided the voltage is the same (in your case 7.4 V), and if the larger batteries will fit in the battery compartment. Think of MAH as being akin to the size of your (real, full size) car's gas tank. For example, let's say your car has a 10 gallon tank and can go 250 miles before refueling. If you replace the 10 gallon tank with a 20 gallon tank now you can go 500 miles between refueling stops.

What he said. But watch the size and weight. Just as that extra 10 gallons doubles the size and weight of the gas tank, bigger mAh batteries increase the size and weight of the battery.

Thank you response
 

I really appreciate you both answering my question and educating me on the batteries. I'm new to the forum and new to remote control vehicles. I've had a couple of helicopters several years ago but have never bought extra batteries. Now with four vehicles I want to buy extra batteries and after looking at what was available on Amazon I was confused. Luckily all the vehicles use the same type "T" connector so the batteries will be interchangeable. I will keep in mind the size and weight of the batteries while I'm deciding what mAh I want to order. Thank you both so much. If there is any other information either of you or anyone else would like to school me on that you think might help me I would appreciate it. I see some of the batteries go all the way up to 5000 mAh and 6000 mAh but I would need to check the size and weight. I was really just wondering about getting some that are 1500 mAh or 2000 mAh to use. I was just really afraid I would be taking a chance on frying the engine of burning up the wiring. the batteries that came with the vehicles, 1000 mAh, 1200 mAh and 1300 mAh, only last from 15 to 20 minutes of running at high speeds. I'm just hoping to extend that time with the higher mAh batteries that I will purchase. So I'm not having to change and recharge batteries as often when my grandson and I are racing them. That's one of the main reasons I purchased four vehicles.

Your welcome, and to expand a bit on the fit /weight thing I'll say this;

As long as the batteries fit in the battery compartment, and are 7.4 volts, that will be your only consideration. Weight is absolutely irrelevant here since your running RC trucks, and not RC airplanes/helicopters. With your RC trucks, even doubling the battery weight won't affect one bit how the truck runs, VS RC aircraft where the flying weight IS all important critical in how the aircraft will perform. With RC aircraft, ANY added weight comes with a performance detriment and the all important "CG" (Center of Gravity) must be carefully minded so as to not end up with an unflyable RC aircraft.

Enjoy your RC trucks, and good on you for introducing your Grandson to the hobby :cool:

Another battery question
 

When I'm looking at RC batteries for my RC trucks I understand the volts and the mAh numbers and even the type of connectors now, but I have another question. In looking at all the different batteries and I notice that there is another number that represents something, but I'm not sure what it is and what effect it has on the RC vehicle. It's the numbers that are followed by a "C". The size batteries that I am looking at mostly, are anywhere from 1500 mAh to 2200 mAh. The numbers I am seeing are 25C, 30C, 50C and 60C mostly. The 1500 mAh batteries are for my two 1/18 scale and two 1/16 scale rc vehicles. The 2000 mAh and 2200 mAh I'm looking at for my 1/10 scale rc truck. I really appreciate the people in this forum helping to educate me about the batteries. My grandson and I are having so much fun with the RC trucks, when we go to empty parking lots and set up out mini safety cones, so we can race. We can't recharge our batteries there so that is why I want to buy extra batteries. They aren't cheap, so I don't want to waste my money or damage the rc vehicles wiring or motors. Thank you to anyone who can answer my question about these other numbers, what they refer to and the effect they have on the rc vehicles.

Hi WaltMrc, "C" rating is, to put it simply, how much current you can draw from (and charge) your batteries in a given amount of time. A 40C battery can deliver twice as much current (or charge twice as fast) in the same time frame that a 20C rated one can (provided all the other numbers are the same, in your example 7.4V 2000MAH) . In practice, you should buy batteries with at least the same C rating as the ones the manufacturer supplied with your trucks, although buying batteries with a higher C rating will not only not hurt your trucks, it'll make sure the batteries aren't quite as stressed while providing the normal current that the truck is drawing. A point to remember is that the truck is only going to draw the current it needs, so whether the battery is 20C or 40C it's not like having the extra ability to deliver more current in the same time is gonna burn out anything in normal usage (A short circuit, however, would cause the higher C rated battery to deliver more current, since it's capable of doing so) . Higher C ratings come at higher prices, so if for example the manufacturer of the truck shipped it with 20C batteries, and they are working well for you, I'd stick with 25 or 30 C rated ones for that extra little bit of "headroom" in the battery's current delivering ability in the instant you punch the throttle, with no real need to spend the extra $$$ on 40 C and above.

Thank you init4fun, I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly and taking the time to answer my questions. I wish I had a good RC hobby shop close to me that I could purchase from and ask questions of. The few that were left have closed or moved during the pandemic. The closest ones now are about 45 minutes away in San Jose, California. There are two that have been recommended to me. Nor-Cal Hobbies and Racetrack. They have an indoor carpeted race track and I'm going to visit there in the next few days. The other one is JJ Cusoms, LLC which carries lots of RC vehicles and parts. They both have "you tube" videos, especially Nor-Cal, who has lots of filmed races and even has training sessions for new people who are getting into it, like my grandson and I. That is why I bought the 1/10 scale truck. Is there any tracks or races for 1/18 scale or 1/16 scale vehicles or is everything just for 1/10 scale. I couldn't find any on the internet or youtube. Thanks again!

Hi WaltMrc, Your welcome for the help and I'm happy to have been able to help you thus far. Now, as to your question of tracks for the various sizes of RC trucks this is where my train of knowledge runs right off of the tracks, I am 100% through and through a model airplane guy and have no knowledge whatsoever about the specifics of RC trucks. I do wish you well with them and I'll bet the people who post in the "RC cars, Buggies,Trucks, Tanks and more" subforum here will know all about where the different sizes are run :cool: