So I'm thinking SV27 brushless for my first RC boat. Is this combo from Tower any good [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0161p?&I=LZ1309**]SuperVee 27 Brushless RTR Ultimate Combo[/link]? Specifically the batteries and charger. I know there is a battery thread, but it's 50+ pages long and has some really advanced discussion. I just want to get something good/basic that I will be happy with. Are there better intro setups (packs and chargers) that are around the same cost or less? Can I get away with 2000's? If so I'm thinking about this combo [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSLB3&P=V]Hobbico Batt/Chgr Combo w/7.2V Batt (2)[/link] or should I stick with the 3800's?

Thanks for the help!

Best stick with the 3800's. Boats can draw a lot of amps. You wouldn't get much ooomph or run time with 2000 Mah bats.
Those Duratrax were the first bats I had in my SV27. They are durable and good to start out with. I would recomend getting a charger that will charge Lipo's as well in case you want to make the switch.
The SV27 is a blast.
Have fun.
Joe

Thanks for the info Joe!

For whatever reason I just noticed the DTX4200's from Tower are a couple bucks cheaper. Any reason not to go with 4200's?

No. for nimh they have a pretty good rep. But I second the Lipo thing. I don't blame you for sticker shock but you need to get a charger that will charge lipo. You will go there eventually. And if this charger won't do it, you'll end up spending more $ in the long run.

any idea of how much the charger will cost? thinking of up grading.
zee

Good call on the Lipo charger. I know I need to get on board with Lipo.

So I'm thinking Super Brain 977 and the DTX4200's. Should make a pretty good combo for the SV27. Any other thoughts?

I have the SuperBrian 977 and three boats: SV27, new UL-1, and a Blast. I have always ran NiMh on the SV27. The charger is great for those. I would recommend another charger for Lipos. I have read too many bad reports with the 977. I have a Hyperion EOS0606i for my Lipos. I have not had a chance to run the SV27 on lipos yet, been too busy with the UL-1. I use the Lipos mainly for my truck racing hobby (Traxxas Slash). Have fun, that is what I tell people this hobby is all about. I will quit when is it not.

Bummer on the 977. Any other chargers out there that can do NiMh and Lipo that I should look at?

I would go with the Hyperion EOS0606i AC/DC. It can do both NiHM and Lipo. Has a built in balancer and runs on both AC or DC power. Its my fourth charger and wish it had been my first.

unless you already have nihm cells i personally wouldn't spend any money on nihm cells or a charger( i made this mistake when i got my sv) after a little while you just want to keep going faster, at least that's what happened to me, the cost of lipo really isn't that much greater than the cost of nihm, once you get over the whole what if my lipo cells blow up they are pretty much just like using a nihm cell, the charger takes care of proper charging, a balacer requires no thinking, lipo run cooloer and charge cooler, not to mention supply power in a different way than nihm that provides more punch and longer run times, the biggest cost of lipo that isn't associated with nihm is the balancer( 30 bucks) and a lipo protect if you esc doesnt have one, which unless mine was hiding somewhere my stock sc esc does not have a lipo protect, you can get one for 20 bucks and they are really easy to install, remove esc plug from reciever, plug in esc to lipo protect, plug lipo protect into reciever, and solder a + and - lead to the battery connectors, takes like two min, so for 50 more bucks you are going to have a product that you will continue to use with reliability and you will be on the cutting edge of battery technology.

to make a long story short, skip nihm and just get lipo

ps. i dont have the charger riverrat mentions so that's why i got a seperate balancer. this charger sounds amazing, ac/dc is always a nice feature not to mention the balancer is built in, i paid 55 for my charger and 30 for the balancer, 1-4 cell lipo, ac\dc compatable,i dont know how much that charger is or what it is capable of but it does sound awesome

Great info here. I'm still on the fence about getting one. It's mainly a $$$ thing, but I think I'm too deep already, hehe (anyone that's been around RC knows what I mean) . I think I will just go Li-Po from the get go since I'm somewhat of an upgrade freak anyhow.

What I'm wondering is about the Hyperion charger. They make a dual charge model that costs a lot more. Do I REALLY need it or can I get by with the one that is around $130?

Does the stock ESC not have LiPo protect built in?

If you are on a budget then buy quality so you only need to spend your money once. Youll be happier in the long run.
Any of the Hyperion stuff is top shelf. The HP-EOS5i is another great unit and only costs $80. It charges and balances perfectly.
As for lipos I would go with the any of the Poly-rc or PolyQuest line. They last for years.
The Sv does not have a low voltage cutoff (LVC) for lipos. KintecRacing.com has them for $20. Ask them about lipos or chargers, bet they give you good prices.

If you are not worried about going super fast then try the Traxxas Villian
I am not trying to cause probelms with this thread its just a sugestion.
You can buy the NiMh bats and a duratrax twin peak and have a ton of fun.
Its just the Villian is not nearly as fast.
I have to agree that at first this is very expensive.
I run 2 ICE chargers and have 2 twin peaks for charging the NiMh's.
I have not jumped ship to all Lipo but we are both thinking about it.
Once again the sticker shock thing with prices of Lipo's.
Remember you get what you pay for in this hobby!

Not to hijack the thread but what exactly is wrong with the SuperBrain 977 for charging Lipo's?? I run my SV27 on the DTX3800 NiMh's and have the 977 charger, i'm very happy with the performance of both. I also just bought a set of DTX4600's which i plan on using with another boat i'm building, but i will try them in the SV27 just to see the difference. Eventually i want to go the Lipo way, but if my SuperBrain 977 charger isn't adiquite for charging Lipo's than i may not cuz i don't want to have to spend more money on another charger.

This might be a dumb question, but if you decide to use LiPo's in the SV, do you run 1 or 2 packs?

i run 2 2s packs and im prettyr sure that is what everyone else is doing, you could get 1 4s pack but that will prolly be bad for cog or something

i just baught the super v and 7 cell nim 3600 batteries. i think the run time is a lil short . maybe 5 to 6 min?
if i wanna run lipo will i need to change anything?
can i use 11.1v 2100mia? its what i use on my helos...thnx

i got this charger [link]http://www.multiplexusa.com/electric_flight_accessories/chargers/ln-5014_field_charger.php[/link]

i would also go right to lipos, i have been doing nimhs my whole life, and still am. You can buy (2) 2s zippy 20c 5000mah lipos for 60 bucks. And you could buy a hobbycity lipo charger for 50 bucks.. thats 110 bucks. Two nimh 5000mah batts will cost you 120 bucks.. if made from cheappacks.com or use venom ones, which i reccomend dont buy venom

why not venom?

I got about 2 mins out of Venom packs before they both puffed like a hot dog. They are ok for trucks but not boats.

i have 2 3200mah venom packs for my sv27 and i get 10 minutes on a full charge.