Whats so good about lipos? ----> Noob
 

Hi guys,

yes "another noob" who doesent know about lipos. Im asking because I have some "Muchmore" racing saddle pack NIMH 7.2v batteries that are 4500 mah and I've seen the lipos and for example the Trak power lipo saddle pack is only 3800 mah so is the battery i have now better or have i missed something?

sorry, i know questions like these have been asked before

they give more power out, the voltage drops less and you can charge and store, and not have to do anything to them befor eputting in the car.

Also, they are lighter and they last longer (more charges), have less internal resistance (don't get as hot, and longer runtime compared to NiMH of the same capacity).

But you are right in that the saddle lipos aren't as high capacity as the long brick lipos.

Frankly, saddle pack chassis configurations are designed around heavy (NiMH) batteries and assume that the heaviest(most massive, to be precise) component is the battery pack. They aren't as lipo-friendly as the 6-cell inline chassis in some ways.

A more simple answer would be to the question 'What is bad about going lipo?'

You have to get a new charger.:bored:

If you severly damage them they can not only rupture (like nickle batteries) but also catch fire.:o

You will feel like a fool going, "Why the hell did I wait so long for before buying lipos?":confused:


Now if you treat them with respect and love they will pay you back in spades.:thumbsup:

If you over-charge a NiMH cell they can go bang in a pretty cool way, I for one don't like to be near them when it happens tho. While were on the subject, if you stab yourself with a kitchen knife that can be pretty painful :thumbsup:

Any thing can be dangerous if not used correctly, follow the instructions and you will be fine :D

That is incorrect A trakpower lipo is good for 100 cycles

I think a better way to put it would be it does not loose performance though its lifespan.

A

Where have you got the 100 cycles from? Just curious as I was thinking of getting some too.

I'm not quite sure on that Ash, I know the Trakpower I had 'lent' to me was one of the original one's which had well over 100 cycle was still plenty quick enough, and had no noticeable difference to a new one.

I've also known touring car boys to say NiMH cells go off after 5 runs max :o

Thats true, possibly less now they run 5 cell ;)

I was informed by neil oliver oswestry regional battery exspert that the cells where onl good for 100 cycles im sure neil will come explain as he confused me.

A

Don't know about you, but after 100 cycles, all my NiMH are toasted!

if not 50...

from the trakpower site:

100+ race-worthy cycles, 200+ for practice.

but even still, not having to faff about with discharging or any of the other voodoo we've gotten used to with conventional sub c cells outweighs the 'shorter' lifespan. I'm hoping for more than that, as I'm only charging at 1c (3.2 amps on my 3200s).

100 cycles doesn't sound like much to me, im confident that is an understatement. Perhaps in a lab' with continous charge/discharge this is true. Has anybody really found the true lifespan of Lipo? I don't mean killing it by wrongly charging, but cell deterioration through regular normal useage - anybody found that limit?

The bonus of Lipo, is you only need 1 pack per car, charge straight after each run and use again and again and again. Holds charge and performance over time, and power from them is more than cells (which is not required, this just means can run slower motors and the whole car is under less strain)

I'm not saying you, Neil or Trakpower are wrong Ash, just that in my experience the Trakpower cells I have used still performed as good as new cells after 100+ cycles :thumbsup:

You are really then, aren`t you :woot:

I found that on either modeltech or trakpowers own website, but it also says good for 200 cycles practicing, so I guess it just means there's a chance of performance loss after 100 cycles?

Never got that much out of my nimh anyway!

The Lipo's I've used up to now have been way powerful anyway. Even if there is a slight deterioration after 100 cycles it would still easily be quick enough for anyone but people who can actually put down the additional power.
If the cells go from tartan speed down to warp speed i'd be happy :)

As long as they are still safe to use that is, but from what one hears the newer Lipo's don't go up in flames anymore either...

just pasted this from the trakpower site. basically you get 100 top race performances the 200 practice (club night ) either way once you,ve felt the differance in your car you wont go back. I got the muchmore silent ac/dc charger from dinball £77 inc postage and a must have charging bag £9.99 local model shop. Make sure you have a updated esc that has a voltage cut off of 6.25v built in as if lipo,s dip under 6v they are goosed. if you have older esc then use a novak smart stop this will save your lipo,s



http://www.trakpower.com/ check out the other batteries

• World’s highest performance 10th scale hard-case LiPo battery.
• Trakpower specific cell type developed purely for racing.
• 100% factory matched cells for IR, Capacity and Voltage
• Meets and exceeds ROAR Sanctioning requirements.
• TrakPower-exclusive embedded gold terminals.
• Wide area ultrasonic tab-welding.
• Lowest IR ever recorded in a finished racing pack.
• 4.4mOhm typical at the terminals!
• Terminals mate with Sermos, Corally, or standard 4mm Gold-Bullet connectors.
• 48% higher mass energy density than the very best NiMH/NiCd.
• 100+ race-worthy cycles with simple maintenance
• Massive run-times, up to 23 minutes recorded on carpet.
• Maintains 7.4V+ flat-line under typical racing loads, for consistent power and precise control.
• No memory-effect, can be part-charged at the track as required without need for deep discharge cycling.
• 2C fast charging (with V-Balance recommended)
• 100+ race-worthy cycles, 200+ for practice.
• Typically 25%-35% of capacity used for each race, charge times are short even with 1C charging.
• Extremely slow self-discharge, can be charged days or weeks ahead of use.
• Easy to charge and maintain in peak condition with a simple LiPo charger/balancer combination
• Eliminates complex charging routines.
• TrakPower comes from the same stable as FlightPower, technical and market leaders in LiPo for RC Flight market.
• Slot-in replacement for the vast majority of chassis designed for 6-cell Sub-C NiCd / NiMH
• TrakPower V-Balance system available for plug and play maintenance, performance-optimization and charge-safety.
• TrakPower Pit Pro 550 Li charger, fully compliant low-cost high quality 5Amp charger available for a painless transition to the new power-source for RC Motorsport.

What do we do different between practice vs race? Personally, I don't change any methods. Perhaps the cells think "Oh, its a race, thats 1 of 100 charges" and when practicing "Oh, its not a race, we'll let him off 50% of the lifespan" LOL. I think not. :D

Manufacturers have to cover there behinds, so to say 100 charges does that. But in reality, they'll be good for plenty more than that.