Hey

Just wondering how you guys do the dual battery setup?

do you just custom make a connector that is a Y kind of cable with the standard battery plugs on it or do you have to do soemthing "special" to avoid melting things?

As long as the batteries are in parallel and not in a series it would be fine.

well what i was thinking of is lik http://www.heliproz.com/images/158354.JPG that but with the standard tamiya connectors instead

Yep, that's parallel. You can make those easily or get them from Tamiya or anyone who sells their products.

i'll just pop into maplins (electronics store) the have the connectors i need, need to go into town tommorow anyway


Edit went through my bits box and found 2 of the connectors i needed, nabbed the other off some old charger i had

http://www.wowurl.net/tank/080926_224859.jpg yay dual battery Y cable :P

Also be sure that both batteries are rated at the same mAh. Preferably from the same brand.

Is there any advantage in using 2 batteries in paralell. Does it increase your amperage output? Give better motor response or just add run time? My Tamiya Panther G doesn't have the space for a second battery so I just use a 4200 Mah nimn.

No increase in any output but you do get longer run times.

4200 is great, especially with stock motors!

Yes 4200 mAh battery will last long enough to get bored. I did double up on batteries on my first tiger, but I ended up going back to one. If you get over 1 hr, chances are that will keep you happy. Especially if you have more then one tank to play with!!!!!

I run dual 4200s in all my tanks including my Tamiya Panther. You just have to move things around a little. The real advantage is the longer run time. I can go all day on a single charge which makes it great when it comes to battling..

i found when i have both batteries in the tiger the extra weight seems to make it respond better.....well.....not better just a bit more sluggish as if it really is a 60ton tank.

Also makes the suspension "work more" when i go over bumps

When using twin 1700's in my Abrams it gave it a lot more punch, both were equally charged etc, and boy did it make a difference in extended pulling power (as in nothing could stop it)

I have two batteries rated at the same mAh and from the same company, but they take different charges (slightly...+/- 200 mA). How do you account for this when you're charging them in parallel? Or does it even matter?

http://www.wowurl.net/tank/080927_141751.jpg
http://www.wowurl.net/tank/080927_141742.jpg
http://www.wowurl.net/tank/080927_141803.jpg

All done!

and philipat i got no idea as i charge my batteries seperately

So, then the y-cable is just for running? Then you're taking the batteries out to charge them separately?

I was thinking that the y-cable was to allow you to install the batteries with a charging port so that you didn't have to take the batteries out to charge them.

mine is just so i can have 2 batteries hooked up at once to the tank, in theory you could charge both batteries at once by just plugging it into the charger but i have no idea how well it'd work

Got it.

Just wanna share my experience of dual battery setup...
Recently my HL Panther Tank got some problems with it's original battery pack so in country like Singapore it's hard to find a replacement set rom my local shop, therefore I decided to DIY build a battery pack.
Original was 1700 MAh and now it's a whopping 3200 MAh capacity battery pack was born. As for my new battery pack I actually connected it in "parallel" (1600 MAh x 2 = 3200 MAh). BUT do take note that if you connect the batteries in series connection instead of parallel, then your precious control board in your RC tank may fried / burnt...

Now my tank panther can last more than 1 hour...
Nevertheless since with dual battery setup can extend your running with the tank, but do take note that you will also have to charge it longer unless u have a Smart Quick Charger that is compatible with your new battery setup.

Unless you are charging the each of the dual batteries with a seperated charger, otherwise
as thumb of rule, try to AVOID mixing 2 different capacity in the dual battery setup (etc. 1600 MAh + 2100 MAh), because during charging the lower capacity battery could be over-charged or the higher capacity battery could be under-charged.
So technically ===> "Longer Running Time = Longer Charging Time"

in theory running a dual 1700mah setup is just like running one 3400mah. but the extra weight seems to help the tanks grip so :P

I use dual 3600mAh batteries in parallel when running, use a switch to switch between batteries when charging.
Works like charm
I use a better quality charger, so I don't have to charge for 9 hours, but I charge both my batteries in 2 hours.

I'm running long can 400's (480) motors. the single 4200's run plenty long by them selves. Haven't reall noticed any real decrease in run time with the big motors. Boy these things really pull especially with my 88:1 gearing boxes.

I tried daul batterys but found it alot better with one 5000 mah pack keeps the weight off .all tanks I own are all metal tracked and heavy enough as it is

88:1 gearboxes...are those Willy's gearboxes?

Thats all I expected - longer runtimes - but I got better performance, you could literally hear the difference, it didnt moan and groan it just pulled and pulled... I'll compare some of my videos, I think I got a few showing the performance difference

Of course there will be performance enhancement issues. If you hooked up another car battery to yours and started the car, the starter will work much more efficient even though the voltage remains the same, there's just more reserve amperage available. This could also be telling that there's issues with your electrical system.