maillemaker

My HL Panzer III has a wimpy 2-cell battery pack, even though it has a battery compartment as big as my HL Sherman with a great big battery pack. Predictably, the Tiger runs out of gas way before the Sherman.

Where can I get a replacement "big" pack for my HL P3?

Thanks,
Steve

ausf

You gotta be more specific.

When you say 2 cell, is it a lipo?

A 2 cell NiMH would produce 2.4 volts, a 2 cell lipo produces 7.4 volts.

Assuming it's a lipo, you go by the mAh rating (just like any battery), just because the cae is smaller doesn't mean it's less powerful. In general, lipos have a greater discharge rate that other batteries in small packages. You may just have a low capacity compared to the NiCad or NiMH.

All that said, if it really is a 2 cell lipo, you better familiarize yourself with them if you haven't already. They can lead to serious trouble if not handled properly. Handled with respect they are great, if not, well, just google lipo fires...theres a reason why they are restricted on planes, etc.

maillemaker

The battery is unmarked. The charger is 7.4V, just like the Sherman. The Sherman is 7.4V Lithium Ion.

The picture in the instruction manual says 7.2V NiCd but I don't know if that is generic or what. The one in the picture seems much bigger than the 2-cell pack that is in the tank.

Steve

Strato50

Yea I'm totally unsure about what you have there. I know that a new Panzer IV came with a Li-Ion pack in a black shell and I've never seen one like it before.

I prefer NiMH batteries. They're tough, recharge reliably and safely and last a long time, you can get 5000 mAh packs pretty easily.

Martellus

Is it a 2.4 pzIII?

I got one from the mato sale for christmas and was suprised to see it is Lipo, and a battery compartment not as deep as the other tanks.

maillemaker

No, it's an old 27 Mhz HL PIII with TX01 receiver.

Steve

maillemaker

Here are pictures of the HL PIII and HL Sherman batteries.

The battery compartment of the PIII has "7.4V" molded into it. Both chargers are identical and output 7.4V. I'm guessing the PIII is a cheap model as it has old electronics, no smoke, and no sound, so they put a smaller battery pack in it.

As you can see, there is no label on it, but it has the same connector as the Sherman.

I'm betting I can put the Sherman pack in the PIII. I just need to find a place to buy one.

http://imgur.com/a/8Itvh

Steve

Martellus

That looks the same as my pack, but I can't check until tommorow afternoon

ausf

Does the charger have a balancing plug (the battery does)?

maillemaker

I don't know what a balancing plug is. It's got a little plug on it that matches the little plug on the battery. The big plug on the battery plugs into the tank.

Steve

Martellus

Yeah the pz4 charger isn't the same as the regular HL chargers

CaptainB

What you have their is a Lithium Ion battery - not a LIPO battery. It has an 1800mah capacity which is quite low really and probably explains why your runtime is lower. Also, LI-Ion battery's are not as punchy as Lipo's so the voltage drop is quicker on them if you draw a high current. Best bet is to go for a high capacity Ni-mh battery - say 3 - 5000mah if you can get one to fit or go for Lipo's. I run all my new tanks on 2 cell 7.4v 2200mah Lipos and they are fine with whatever electronics is in my tanks and the run time is about 1/2hr depending on how I run it.

Be careful with LIPO's though if you are not familiar with them and take advice before using them if not.

Cheers & good luck

CaptB

maillemaker

Are you talking about the blue battery in the PIII or the black battery in the Sherman?

The black battery in the Sherman is marked as an 1800 mah battery and I'm not having a runtime issue with it.

It's the unmarked blue battery in the PIII that looks like it only has 2 cells.

I think I just need another Lion 1800 like is in the Sherman to plug into the Panzer.

Steve

Martellus

Just looked at mine again, its Lion (like yours), my mistake. To fit a normal size nimh battery into the pzIII compartment you would have to make it deeper

maillemaker

Yup, I tried putting the Sherman battery back in the PIII and like you said it's not deep enough.

Steve

philipat

almost looks like an A123 in the PzIII...never seen LiPos that are two round cells. Thought they were all square or rectangular cells. But, I thought A123s were 2.1V per cell, which would require 3 cells and still not hit the 7.2V mark...


So, NiMHs have a better power profile in terms of current provided than Li-Ions?