turtlesforgovner

Hi all! I'm an engineering student building an RC boat from scratch for a project. I'm trying to figure out what kind of battery I need. Can anyone help me narrow it down? It's going to be a monohull boat that doesn't need to go fast but I would like it to be able to run for a few hours without needing to be charged. I'm just not sure where to start because there are so many different batteries.

birdo

If you want HOURS of runtime, you're going to need a large battery and a small motor or low rpms. Some of the Scale RC boats have larger Sealed Lead Acid batteries and they can run all day at low speeds.

Today's RC main battery tech is Li-Po. They have huge capacities for their weight. You can find 2s(2 cell 7.4 volts) 6000mah batteries for around $25 on Amazon.

cheapsub

This suggestion may be too late.
since it is a one of build, use power tool battery.
After the project you can still use the battery for power tool. No waste. And don't have to buy another battery charger. Need more run time add more or a bigger one.


Look in to " power wheels battery upgrade "

1QwkSport2.5r

The problem with power tool batteries is they may or may not have a low voltage cutoff. If they don’t, and the battery is discharged too low, the supplied charger will not charge it. No different than an RC LiPo pack. The OP will need a low voltage cut-off if using Lithium batteries.