NIMH vs. NICD
 

I drive my R/C car for fun. I race friends, but not competively, so I don't need the latest and greatest. In the past I have used tower hobbies 1800 mah NICD packs and rotate them on the timed charger; while I am using one, I have one charging, and have another already charged (I do this all afternoon). This allows me to run just about continuously. The car is an old Hornet that's stock, so it's not exactly high-tech in any way. I wouldn't mind getting a newer buggy, but I'll save that for another thread, lol.

My question is- Would I be better off getting a NIMH or NICD pack? NIMH's seem to offer more capacity at a cheaper price, but would they hold up to the constant use and re-charging that I do in my rotating cycle? I know NICd's can take the abuse of lots of use, just not sure how NIMH's would hold up.

The batteries I'm looking at are-

Team Orion 6-Cell 3000mAh Super Duty Plus NiMH (2)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCUH3&P=K

Tower Hobbies 6-Cell 7.2V 2000mAh Stick Standard NiMH
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=EB3020&P=DC

Venom 6-Cell 1800mAh NiCd Stick
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHUJ8&P=K

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

If you want to switch to ni-mh you will need a peak charger, that will cost you around 50 bucks.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Keep using the NiCds but ditch the time based charger. Get a good charger, you really won't be able to believe how big of a differance a great charger makes. Must charge to peak. not under or over charge like a time based will do.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

http://www.teambrood.com/catalog/ind...632abafe495bef

If you don't mind building your packs, or having somebnody else do it, I'd get those. They are DIRT cheap right now...I just ordered 2 7 cell packs worth right now.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

you can go here i have bought 2 battery packs from here

just make custom packs and get quote to see wut the price is

lots of choices

[link]http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com[/link]

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

I can't believe another post asking about this. There is no comparison, NiMh are way better than nicads, the difference is like night and day. Invest in a good peak charger and some good NiMh packs and you won't be sorry.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

NIMH's are sounding great. I just switched to NIMH's in my TX and going from a 600 mah NICD to a 2650 mah NIMH has been amazing. I ended up buying a Hobbico Accucycle Elite charger since I am primarily into R/C airplanes.

I figured NIMH's would we be better, but can they handle the repetitive use with charging, use, charging, use, etc. that an R/C car requires?

I just got my Accucycle Elite and haven't been able to fully read the instructions yet. Will this charger work for R/C car batteries???

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

You shouldn't use NiMH's more than two times each per day. After you use an NiMH, you should allow at least an hour to cool it off (that is if it gets hot obviously).

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Thank-you Almighty ODST, that's exactly what I wanted to know. I didn't think NIMH's could be used repetively like I wanted. Maybe I would be better off with NICD's.

If I were to get NIMH's, I couldn't use a pack more than twice a day, no matter how long I let it cool??

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

You CAN... but it may shorten the life of your packs. I say go for it! haha

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

...looks like I'll just load up on $10 1800 mah NICD packs then.

Thanks for the help with the batteries, now how about my charger; will it work with R/C car batteries?

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Found the instructions online and it WILL work.

Thanks again

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

NIMH is damaged by excessive heat (more than NiCAD). Likewise overcharging can damage your cells, so you need the peak charger with NIMH. If the cells don't heat up, you can run them just as often, but if they do heat up, it's best to wait for them to cool between runs.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

NIMH!!!! I was using 1900mAh NiCds, and switched to 3000mAh Venom packs ($20 from Tower). The Venoms are considered
a budget NiMh, but they run forever! I can't stand to use NiCds now: I'd have to change packs at least twice as often. Also, I
have a Piranha Digital peak charger, and the Piranha 1900 NiCds only take around 1400-1600mAh when charged. The Venoms
ALWAYS take the full 3000mAh which they are rated at. I couldn't be happier......well....I have some SMC IB4200 somewhere
in the mail system:D.

Venom says that their packs can be charged 3 times/day. My wife and I are pretty much done after using 3 Venom packs each, as
they provide at least 15 minutes of full out power per pack. My NiCds don't provide much power from the start, and begin fading
after 5 minutes of use. The NiMh packs will give you very good power throughout the charge.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Do you have any experience with Team Orion 6-Cell 3000mAh Super Duty Plus NiMH's? Would it be the same as the Venom pack you are using?

Now I'm leaning towards the NIMH's after those responses, lol. Hmmm....

My Accucycle Elite says that it can charge a 3000 mah Sub C NIMH battery at a standard charge of 1C @ 2A. The fast charge on the same battery is 1.5C @ 2A. Peak detection sensitivity is 3-10mv per cell.

For a 1800 mah NICD, it says that it has a standard charge rate of 1C @ 1.8A and a quick charge rate of 1.5C @ 2A. Peak detection sensitivity is 8-15mv per cell.

What does all of this mean exactly?

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

I have no experience with the Team Orion battery, but if you're going to spend that much buy one of these: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLZK6&P=C
They seem to rank high on these forums, and I should be getting a few in the mail tomorrow.

The peak detection sensitivity is the mechanism that tells the charger when to stop charging. MiMH usually use a slightly higher
peak (I use 8mv) than NiCds (6mv). I'm not familiar with your charger, but it seems like it's up to the task.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEYD4&P=7
If the above is what you're using for a charger, that's dandy!

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

The Team Orion 6-Cell 3000mAh Super Duty Plus NiMH's come in a two-pack for $35, so $17.50 a battery. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCUH3&P=K

I just can't see myself spending $39 per battery right now.


That is my charger. It's highly adjustable:D. I've only used it to charge my airplane Tx battery so far but it is really neat how many automatic features it has.

Thanks for helping me clear things up. Looks like I'll be getting the Team Orion two-pack right now unless I come into some extra $$$ by the time I place my order.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

OOOHHHHH....In that case, get the Venom 3000 packs. They've been really great for me since I bought six over a month ago. They've
seen a lot of use, and do the job.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Each type of pack has it's positives and negatives...

NiMH:
Usually have higher mah ratings, giving longer runtimes, but they take longer to charge. A "matched" NiMH will give a phenominal runtime. They are more susceptible to extreme temps and they weigh more than NiCd.

NiCd:
Cheap, light, durable and fast-charging. Short runtimes (lower mah ratings), most are not "matched".

You got the right idea, simultaneously charging and running. If you're having fun, that's all that matters...

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

Do the Venom 3000 NIMH packs have matched cells? It doesn't say anything about it on the Tower site.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

I don't think so. Venom sucks. Go boomboombatteries or SMC IB4200 or 3800.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

I'm sure that the IB4200 packs are great when compared to the Venom packs (I'm expecting some SMC IB4200 packs tomorrow), but
he said that he doesn't want spend that kind of money. I think that the Venom packs are fine for bashing, and the local shop
sells them by the dozen.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

FrankB2, you read my mind. Thanks for the help, I was really into R/C cars as a kid, but it's probably been 10 years since I was active in it. Things sure have changed A LOT. I can't believe the number of manufacturers making cars now days.

Raguvian, a SMC IB4200 is probably worth more than the car itself.

I'll check my local hobby shop for the Venom packs. They have an indoor track too, so that's always a lot of fun to watch as well.

RE: NIMH vs. NICD
 

I got this tower code to save 10.00 off. These IB packs are 38.99 and with this code they will only be 28.99. This would be a steal and its a great deal for great quility packs better than cheapo venom 3000mah packs.
[link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLZK6&P=C[/link]