ElectricGuy007

Yeah you heard that right. I killed one of my batteries today. Ran my 501x outside and one of my 5000 saddles bit the dust.
Probably due to the fact I have not used them in so long...the pack got so HOT it melted the shrinkwrap, exposing the cells.
Im going to try charging/discharging the pack and see if it's offically dead, but it's only taking 1100MAH of the 5000mah RIGHT NOW.

Im so lucky my car didnt get damaged, yeah something this expensive...I would be so angry....[:@]

savagecommander

that pack is toast. with the prices that LIPOs are these days and the power density, theres no reason to still run NIMH.

acexxxoasis

My Feedback: (4)

I just got my turnigy battery in i asked for a 5600 2s2p 65C-130C pack I got a 6000 mah 2s2p 65-130C $53 shipped

SyCo_VeNoM

I still have a few uses for NiMh actually
RC tanks (the hardware in them does not fair well with lipo's total voltage)
And nephew using my DF-02 (he complains its too fast on a 27t brushed motor with the 5000mah NiMh pack I got lol)
outside that don't touch it really

phmaximus

im interested to know more about the problems with r/c tanks????

ElectricGuy007

I thought the pack was toast, but it took a full charge today and peaked at 4700mah. Took a couple cycles, but it's still holding a charge....lol
It's one of those 5000 Elite packs from www.cheapbatterypacks.com. Darn these things are powerful packs to survive a complete meltdown and still peak at a decent mah.......never had this happen before......LMAO

I still wanna go Lipo because I ran one in one of my Cars it completely WOKE UP, you really do feel the difference in power.
Even if it's only a 4000 30c Lipo. It's still a noticable difference in power.

SyCo_VeNoM

well the one I have honestly I doubt has a voltage regulator (older cheapo heng long)
the board gets hot with a not fully charged NiMh I'd hate to see it with a 8.4V source that doesn't have a voltage drop when a load is applied. Yes I know NiMh packs peak around 8V but once a load is applied it drops down to 7.4-7.6ish generally where lipo stay around 8.4V for awhile (which is why ppl say 2s are about as fast as a 7 cell NiMh )
that and fitting a lipo in the battery compartment is a royal PITA well at least with out some major mods.

But hell on my 5000mah NiMh I get well over 40 mins driving on the tank. I actually get bored of the tank while waiting for it to run down out

phmaximus

Ahhh cool makes sence... The I'm tempted to try it, I've got 2 HL tanks and one other brand one. One of the HL is 9v so 2s might be ok.
But I'm tempted to try a 2s on mine now... Might be a good excuse to upgrade to the 3 step esc

lee172

There are plenty of reasons to still run NIMH.. I still use an FM radio also!

As with most things, it depends on application and budget..

acexxxoasis

My Feedback: (4)

whats wrong with FM and lipo? 2.4 is just getting popular, for a while FM was what to use for everything (I feel old now lol)

ElectricGuy007

I pretty much have an idea on what Lipo's to try first. People on Rctech really like the Venom Hardcase Lipo's.
I also have a charger in mind, the Venom Pro charger, which it also charges and balances the pack.
If these are good Lipo's I'll probably buy some more of them later on.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXYKT1&P=ML
The 5000 30c Hardcase Lipo's im thinking about trying.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUAB8&P=ML
The Venom Pro Charger

savagecommander

FM radio, sure. i had an old JR that was priceless. but as far as cost and power are concerned, with lipo's being $15 for 2 cell, and a 6-7 cell NIMH pack being $50 and having half the punch, it was a no brainer for me.

narwalrus

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah, same here, and I don't want to worry anout lipo fires, discharging, etc. NiMh works fine for me, and I prefer it.

nitrosportsandrunner

I see nothing wrong with people chosing to run nimh....
but when they die, or get weak....I see no reason to buy a new nimh pack. its time then to upgrade to lipo, since the cost is now the same and the power is greater.

the only times now I use nimh packs is when I buy a used model and it comes with a nimh. Ill use it to test the model, and if I sell the model ill include the nimh pack.

otherwise, its 2s lipos all the way.

phmaximus

+1 I agree 100% I run cheap lipos, my last was a 5500mah 7.4v 35c.... for only........ $25 including postage...

Seriously has any one ever had a lipo catch fire????? people are to scared of them.

Foxy

You shoulda seen what I did to a powerful 3S battery in an attempt to make it catch fire (short of plugging it into the mains or shorting it out). I tore that thing to pieces and got lots of sparks, but no fire. You really have to mess up royally to get them to catch fire. Those stories of fires after crashes on the track are a thing of the distant past, I even wonder how many of them are true.

phmaximus

True story Ive posted it before, I disposed of a 3s with a nearly dead flat cell by smashing it with a wood saw.
no flames just heaps of smoke. Im tempted to buy a cheep one just to upload a video.... wife wasent happy with me that day

LaTuFu

My Feedback: (1)

There are plenty of other brand names out there with better quality for the same (or less) price than the Venoms.

I've seen way too many Venom puffed LiPo complaints in threads on here and numerous other sites. You will find complaints about any brand, don't get me wrong. But Venom pops up a lot. Maybe its due to market share, who knows. But SPC, Turnigy, GensAce, Hyperion (pricy but worth it) make excellent batteries for the money, and don't have nearly the number of complaints.

phmaximus

To advoid puffing, check the mah rating times the c rating.... but rember to calculate the efficency and incorprate that into ur mAh rating and make sure that matched the amps ur setup is pulling... The biggest thing to look for aswell is the cheaper packs suffer from excessive voltage sag more than the more expensive cells

LaTuFu

My Feedback: (1)

That is not true in all cases. There are several "cheaper" packs that bench test very well against "more expensive" cells. Check out some of the LiPo shootouts on BigSquidRC.

Suffice to say, for the every day weekend basher, there are a handful of "budget" LiPos that will give great performance and reliability for a decent price.

Someone looking for race packs may want to be more selective, but the data suggests that might not be necessary, either.

phmaximus

Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. I use cheaper packs.

But a hand full of cheaper packs that preform well is not really safe to say all will.

are u refering to there efficency? or there stated vs real ratings?

LaTuFu

My Feedback: (1)

Agree with you 100%. That's why I never make generalized statements that "all" will perform reliably. "You get what you pay for"is just as applicable to LiPo batteries as any other product out there.

As far as your last question, the "cheap" packs that I prefer are the ones with good IR ratings, and "real world" performance that closely matches their published numbers. So far, (Irealize my list is not complete)GensAce, SPCRacing, and Turnigy meet those criteria. I just recently purchased a Sky Lipo, we'll see if it winds up on the list, too.

FahrtAutoRC

We had an old 2s and set it out back, fully charged, and shot it several times with a .22 and NOTHING. A little smoke but that was it!

cloudancer03

My Feedback: (22)

I love using LiFe batteries.quick charging no chance of fire lightweight.

silvermansteve

My Feedback: (2)

the stuff i read when i started the hobby made me think lipos were like dynamite or maybe nitro glycerine. i got them anyway; now i have lots of hem, and have had some puffing, but no other problems.