Battery life

[gargreen7]

Few questions about the batteries for my mad rat

this is what im using





Pretty standard from what i gather but my questions are

1. Should i always fast charge the battery or slow charge, (does either effect life and charge holding?)

2.How long should i expect one full battery to run for, 20 mins 30mins ect?

3.are there better batteries out there that give you more power or do they just last longer.

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by gargreen7

1. Should i always fast charge the battery or slow charge, (does either effect life and charge holding?)

2.How long should i expect one full battery to run for, 20 mins 30mins ect?

3.are there better batteries out there that give you more power or do they just last longer.

1. No need to slow charge, they tend to perform better fresh from a fast charge.

2. Depends on motor and use. Bashing around with a mild motor will probably give 15-20 minutes. Racers only care about 5 minutes and an extra lap!

3. Almost certainly there are. But it's not so easy to find high-performance NiMH cells these days, and your charger doesn't look like it will charge LiPos.

[gargreen7]

great info, thank you, what setting should i be charging on ?

[JCJC]

I think you would enjoy a trip to a local club, I am sure there are tracks near you.

Most of us use Lipo batteries, much easier to look after (you would not believe the way nimh cells were sold/treated/assembled and looked after by serious racers a few years ago). Lipo's are lighter and have bigger outputs, currently we add weight (lead/brass/steel) in the car to help balance and as an aide to control (we like control). You don't need as many batteries as lipo's can be charged and used again, with nimh they needed a rest etc.

Do search on here & the web for lipo (and lipo info), you will need to find one that is the same size as your nimh pack (most are) some of the higher output packs are fatter and may not fit in the tray. You may want/need to change the battery connectors - the tamiya plug plastic melts after a bit, got a soldering iron?

They must be looked after, dedicated lipo charger, do not run untill flat (or anywhere near), do keep an eye on them. lots of advice on here, plus you may find good secondhand stuff in the oOple sale section. (do not charge lipo's on your existing charger, they may swell at the very least, explode, catch fire or whatever, you can guess)

[JCJC]

Originally Posted by gargreen7

Originally Posted by gargreen7

great info, thank you, what setting should i be charging on ?

3000 amp/hr charge at less than 3Amps (strangely takes an hour from flat), I say less than because its a plastic 'stick' pack.

We use a rule of 1C - if your battery is 2000 use 2amps 4000 4amps etc

[sosidge]

Originally Posted by gargreen7

great info, thank you, what setting should i be charging on ?

3A for that pack (it's what is called a 1C rate, the same rate as the capacity in Ah - 1000mAh=1Ah)