haole

Im about to buy a stampede xl-5 and I was looking at these batteries...

[link=http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1766]Tenergy 7.2 3500mah[/link]

[link=http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1767]Tenergy 8.4v 3500mah[/link]

I plan on keeping the pede stock (for now). Will these 8.4v batteries get too hot? And are these batteries worth buying? ive read mixed reviews on them.

...I also need a charger and was looking at this one...

[link=http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=DYN4056]Prophet sport AC/DC peak charger[/link]

Thanks

Always Dreamin

obviously the 8 cell will be faster, but it will also cause more wear. with 6 cell your motor will last longer. if your planning on going brushless after your titan dies i would get the 7 cell and have fun until it dies. then after thats done just get a bl system.

haole

Ya, thats what i was afraid of... faster but more wear.

What about these batteries and charger? But if that chargers no good ill prob get a Duritrax Piranha

thanks

scheibler

I had an xl-5 and ran it on 6-cells. The motor didn't wear out as soon as others have described, but I'm sure it would have it I ran it more. However, the xl-5 esc didn't last long and was a dissapointment to me. Personally I would go with something different then the xl-5 rustler or stampede if I was to do it all over unless you get the vxl model

DARKWAV

I would take a pass on that Prophet AC/DC charger. My friend has it and has had difficulties getting a good charge on a new Venom 3600 stick pack at 4 Amps off a car battery. Max push on AC is only 2 Amps, and he gets a better charge that way. Interesting note, my friend and we both have new HPI E-Firestorms so we ran that Venom 3600 charged at 2 Amps against my cheap $25 ProMax 3000 batteries charged at 2.5 A (small Propeak Delta Base AC .5/1.0/2.5 A charger) and there was no discernable difference in puch or longevity.

If you don't think you'll need to charge off of DC then the AC-only ProPeak Fast Charger 2.0/3.5/5.0 A is a good buy at $30.00. Really if you're just bashing at home just get this and a couple inexpensive bang for the buck 3000 mAH stick packs and be done with it!

If you really need the most basic AC/DC charger then Digital Pirahna looks pretty good if you will be charging out in the field a lot on DC power. Too bad AC only charges at 3A max.

If you don't see yourself upgrading to Lipo any time soon I think you would do better with a Duratrax Intellipeak Deluxe for $25.00 more so you can the capability for higher charging current on both AC and DC. 10 A discharge too. Problem is it is pretty hard to ignore LiPo these days. Why invest it all the NiMH support equipment and best batteries when that investment can take a big chunk out of the cost of entry to LiPo? I would most likey have this charger if things didn't seem to be moving so rapidly towards LiPo.

The Watt-Age Charge-It-All looks good on paper with LiPo capability but Ive heard of one instance of the charger going bad (and ruining a LiPo) after a year of regular use... and the one I actually took home for one day turned out to have something rattling inside it. May just have been a production issue but that was enough to make me loose confidence in that, return it, and spend the bucks on an ICE and a Power Supply and not look back. Means I'll have to put off the purchase of a Brushless system for a little while longer, but I think this was a good investment. Still busted my intended budget for getting into the hobby and racing by getting the ICE and Power Supply but I could still afford it.

haole

what charger/brand is this? ... "AC-only ProPeak Fast Charger 2.0/3.5/5.0"

d16z6

google shows it's something natively from the UK distributors and also on eBay.

I'd rather just go with MRC's budget Superbrain 820 (if you don't need the fancy extras). Charges at 4A too from the built in AC inverter.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXRPP7&P=ML

Comparison chart http://www.modelrectifier.com/resour...ures_03_07.pdf (6mb)

j.m.

the 820 is a splendid charger despite it's price. It does the guess work for you, so it is especially great for those new to the hobby.

DARKWAV

Hobby People sells the ProPeak chargers.

Looking at the choices from MRC though, as noted by d16z6 and j.m., has changed my opinion.

MRC Superbrain 860 is great and inexpensive if you know you'll be doing 1/10 scale only.

However for just $18 more the MRC Superbrain 960 is the most versatile. It will be able to charge batteries for 1/18 scale which use lower capacity batteries. You'll have the choice of charging your batteries at the 1C rate to maximize run time and battery life/longevity or at a higher value up to 4.5A when you want to maximize torque (at the expense of run time and life). Also if you have a quirky situation where your battery is false peaking (charger shuts off because it determines the battery is full when it actually isn't) you can adjust peak sensitivity to remedy that problem. I'm certain that flase peak is what was happening when my friend was trying to charge his rc battery with the Prophet charger off his passenger car battery.

traxxas4ever

GO FOR THE 8.4. i have those batteries and they do reach a higher spped. I do not see much wear on my rusty. They rock. Pass on the prophet. Go with Horizon Hobby: Twin Peak AC/DC Dual Peak Charger by Dynamite (DYN4033). i have one. it never breaks and is heavy duty. It gets the job done fast and has REALLY good peaking technology. It is the best charger i have ever used and i have gone through a lot. Even the duratrax intrlli peak duel charger. This was the best by far.

Always Dreamin

You cant see wear really. The wear is in your driveline. Plus, you cant look into your motor to see that it's cutting it's life short everytime that 8.4 volt pack goes through it.

haole

Just to update this thread. . . I ended up getting two of the 7cell 8.4v tenergy packs and they are awsome so far. I dont even use my 3000mah 7.4v team orions unless both my tenergy's are dead.

But now im lost as to how these 8.4v tenergy packs compare to some better IB 7.4v packs? Cuz i need more than just two packs now since i dont want to use my old 7.4's after getting these 8.4 tenergys

therockstar

haole,

How much difference in power did you notice with the 8.4v? I just got my rusty xl-5 and have only ran the venom 4200 7.2v and was wondering if its worth it to get some 8.4's?

Jeckler

My Feedback: (2)

1 extra cell makes a pretty significant difference. I have 2 6-cell RC2400 packs and 2 7-cell rc2400 packs, and use the 7 cell packs on my XL5 all the time.

hemiblas

A good quality 7 cell pack will ring circles around the tenergy 3500s. I have them and they are a great back for bashing. I would get the propel 7 cell packs for 40 bucks or some ib4200s. They will will hold their voltage better and you will be getting much better speeds. At least 5mph difference.

I have been doing a bunch of testing lately with my wattmeter and most cells dont hold their voltage because we are pulling too many amps with these setups. To give you an idea the 3500s are at 6.7 volts under load on an 8.4v pack. A good set of batts will only drop .4 volts so you will be getting 8 volts. 1.3v difference is like 15 percent extra speed difference.

haole

The difference in power is rediculous with the 8.4's compared to my 7.2's. The only thing that sucks about them is that you wont want to use your old venom 7.2v 4200 batteries anymore!


Hemiblas, how do the tenergy 8.4v packs compare to a IB 7.2v and 8.4v pack? I'm not sure if i want to buy more tenergy's or try something more expensive?

hemiblas

I havent run the new tenergy packs yet so I dont know. If you want a proven solid performer get a 7 cell ib4200 pack thats zapped and you will notice an even bigger difference then what you have now. my 7.2V ib4200 packs outperform my 7 cell packs especially when I gear for speed and there is a bigger load on the motor.

haole

Dang! so the ib's sound like they are worth the extra cost. I was looking at these...

[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXRSH1&P=0]smc IB 3600[/link]

[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLZK6&P=0]smc ib4200[/link]