Quick Question..
 

hey, first poster here.
i just have a quick questing regarding the choice of battery. For a beginner to the electric scene what would be the better choice opf battery, minh or li-po
these batteries would be used in an brushless system :M:
thnx

Quick answer-NiMh

nimh! 7min reply! is that quick enough? welcome ot forums!

However, if you have nothing IE....charger, packs etc.... you might be better off financialy going lipo right away. Yes there is a learning curve. However the leaning apllies to Nimh as well. If you are in this for a while eventually you will want to go lipo. For a first lipo system theFMA Scorpion Lipo system is a relatively painless integrated system. The initial outlay of cash will be about the same. Charger about $85plus one pack 1p2s at about $135. Three quality matched side by side packs will set you back about the same.

Wow you guys are quick..i was thinking of going lipo but would their be a difference in the kind of blushless system i would need or could i use the lipo in beginner system?
for lipos and a charger if you don't mind could you give me a link please?
thanks for the help..:)

Check my edit. I put in the link.

Welcome to the forums.:cool: You have found the place for all your RC needs. If there is something that you want that you do not see in the RC-MONSTER store do not heitate to ask Mike. He runs this place. There is alot of good info here. Do not be afraid to ask any question. Take some time and search through some of the threads alot of answers out there.


What is a beginner system? Do you have something in mind?
What vehicle? What are your intentions? RAce, BAsh...? The more info you give these guys the better input you will receive. NO such thing as a stupi question NBCAZN.....will vouch for that.:L:

i was thinking of something like a stampede with a novak, i will mostly be bashing and i will do this over a longer period of time...i haven't actually got the charger/truck i'm just brainstorming.

I personally no very little of the Stampede, so I'll defer to others.... in that area. The NOVAK is a plug and play system. Not to much technical stuff in getting that up and running. You should be aware that there are other sytems that may be more suitable for your application. Have no fear in using LIPO with the NOVAK.

I think lipo is a waste on novak. there isnt much of a neccessity with it. With high power systems, you NEED it becasue you will get little to no run time.

systems such as?

Feigao motors and a controller. This is a cheap, but powerful alternative to the Novak systems. There is also the GTB system (from Novak), which is an awesome system from what I have heard. The 5.5 motor can keep up with the Feigao 380C 6t (similar to Hacker C40 6t) on the same batteries. This motor would be too much, though. The 6.5 or 8.5 would be much better suited to a Stampede.

I searched Stampede. Check out this thread.

@ NBC the best thing you can do for any system is feed it with good cells.

the 5.5 was the one that i was going to get, since you recommended i'll have one more reason to get it..but does the 6.5 and 5.5 have that much of a difference?

thanks for the help

The 6.5 would be slower, and would be better suited for a Stampede, which uses larger tires. The 6.5 will still be very fast, and on 6 cells would push a 'Pede to 38mph or so.

depending upon your gearing of course!

ok then well.. thnx for the help everyone, i really appreciate it.

also you recommed the 3200 mah pack or the 6400 mah pack? cause i'm leaning towards the cheaper one. ;)

They will provide equal amounts of power. The difference will be in runtime. Twice as long with the 6400.

the 6400 would give like in the 30 min range for runtime?

It would probably give closer to 22-25mins. The 3200mah would give more like 10-13mins.

nice that still quite a bit, i was just wondering if the 8000 mah li-po pack from maxamps would be as good as the 6400 mah battery pack from fmadirect.
just wondering because the one from maxamps is cheaper :rolleyes:

The pack from max amps does not have built in cell balancing, or built in LVC. Nor, can you charge it to 90%in 20 minutes. Proper cell balancing and a lvc are critical for safety and the packs longevity.

If you fail to properly charge your lipo packs, charge them out of balance or run them below their recommended voltage there is indeed a safety risk and fire hazard.

The Scorpion packs all but elliminate those factors. Is that a risk that you are willing to take?

i think i'll go with the fma lipo , thnx for the info, you've been alot of help and i'd like to thank you for that..:p

The FMA packs are the only ones offered as a complete (expensive) system that will monitor and control everything. If you buy another brand of battery, and buy a charger, a balancer, and a LVC device, it will be compatible with other batteries as well (as long as they have the same balancing connector). The FMA packs and devices only work with each other, and the packs cost a lot. But since money was already initially spent with them, you might be unwilling to go with another (potentially) better battery.

For people like me that are looking for the most cost-effective system, and that already have a charger and LVC, stand-alone packs (or home-made ones) are much better. I would only reccommend the FMA packs to those just entering the LiPo scene that have no knowledge of it but desire the advantages.

The kokams still offer the best performance. Just so you know, I think the balance pro charger and the balance pro 2s pack are the same as the scorpions. Are they not? That will save you $30.

@ Metalman,

This is a little off topic, but how do you balance the cells with the duratrax ice (which I have)? Do you have to charge each cell individually or is there a balancer that can be hooked up to the charger that sends the correct voltage to each cell?

They are the same cells, minus the built in low voltage cutoff.

I personally balance the cells by first charging the pack up to ~4.15v/cell, and then take it off the charger. Then I charge each individual cell.
One could buy a balancer that would plug into a connector on the pack (that allows access to each individual cell) and balance the pack as it charges.

The extra $30 between the Scorpion packs and the BalancePro ones is that the Scorpions have a built-in LVC, whereas the the BalancePro don't.

I don't have one but, this unit looks pretty useful. It connects in between your charger and battery and keeps cells balanced.

That certainely is one of the balancer options out there.