Is Maxamps any better now?
 

Not had much luck with Maxamps packs in the past, but I was wondering if their new line of 30C and 35C packs are accurately rated? Anyone tried these higher C packs yet?

I have no experience with Maxamps but based on other choices of batteries out there such as PQ, TP, Zippy, Neu, just to name a few, I would just play it safe and buy one of these brands. I'm using PQ and Neu batteries and they have never let me down.

Without having any experience with these batteries its impossible to say how they fair, especially if we do not know who the manufacturer of the cells are.

The prices of these packs seem pretty comparable to most other lipo's so I'd say, for those prices, they'd better perform up to par.

Give those Maxamps a try and post your findings here.

http://www.nitrokillers.com/showthread.php?t=1527 Here is there own graph of there 35c 4200.It's still weaker then they are claiming.It's rated at 147amps for 4200.It took 120 amps for 3500.Thats just a single cell,with cooling.In pack form it's probably a 4000mah 25c .Way better then the old ones,but still not accurately rated.

I'd bet they still have the puffing issues the older ones did.

It was holding 3.1 volts for about 25% of the discharge cycle?

A 35C rating? This graph isn't even a 30C discharge.

This graph shows an overworked cell trying to keep up IMO.

Companies that over-rate their cells say, "OK here's what it will do" falsely. Then the consumer believing it will perform as stated, puts the pack in the high discharge device and runs it as such.

Then puffing occurs.

There should be a standard for the "C" rating for a given pack. Controlled conditions and a rule that says "For a given C rating the pack must hold at least "X" volts per cell for 75% of the discharge cycle and come out no hotter than "X"


I'm looking at a different brand discharge graph here for a 3500mah rated at 30C.

At a 33C load (115.5 amps), it maintains a cell voltage of 3.3 volts for 75% of the discharge cycle. It still dumps 90% of its capacity before hitting 3.0 volts per cell.

A little under rating can be a good thing.

I TOTALLY agree! There was a thread about this very subject a while back. There is no standard so makers are free to say whatever they want as long as they can justify it later on in some fine print.

And, to lend credibility to any claims, all testing/rating should be done by a thrid party.

Maybe someone on here knows.How did the c ratings come to be used as the standard?Why do they not just use amps?I think it would make our lives so much easier if they said ,100amps constant for 5000mah,before hitting a 3.2volt cutoff.

I have run thier packs before and I will never give them a second chance, I buy either FPs or Zippys. I am interested in the new EON line that FP has, they are supposed to have twice the power and come in a lighter package.....we'll see how that turns out

Ive owned a couple maxamps packs when I was a newb to lipo. I used two 5000mah 2s from them. I have to say they worked pretty good. No offense to what you guys have said against them but my one issue with them is prices. For the price of maxamps just go with the trusted names such as thunderpower, flightpower, neu energy, True RC, enerland, polyquest etc...

I believe this is because they want us to understand a couple of things.

Amperage output is affected by capacity for a given "class" or C rating.

A 20C 4000mah pack will put out 80 amps continous where as a 10C pack will put out half of that. You can play with the numbers but the formula remains the same.

To obtain a higher C rating, manufacturers use a greater anode/cathode material to Electrolyte ratio. This is why the higher the c rating, the more they weigh for the same capacity.

It's the use of more Anode/Cathode material in the higher C cells that increases the cost.

I believe most manufacturers don't falsely rate their cells. This is their reputation. But............then the product gets passed to the retailer. It then gets "labeled".

I can just imagine some thoughts like:

Most users won't push these that hard anyway.

The RC Electric setups on the market can't handle more than these put out.

If we charge more, the added profits will cover warranty claims for those that do push them. It's only gonna be a small percentage, plus we can blame it on their setup and suggest larger more expensive packs that we carry. More Sales! It's a win-win.

In the beginning of the "transition" from Nimh to Lipo in the RC Industry, I believe this was pretty easy to get away with.

It's getting tougher, as the market competition increases. The average prices are dropping and the cells are getting better. :yes:

You have to wonder what kind of backroom deals were made for that to happen, maybe only MA employees were polled, I have a picture in my head much like the ROAR-Novak bedfellow situation. Maybe it was the flames on the label that wooed em... people just love image don't ya know.

2 or 3s in a 2wd stadium truck such as a Rustler and MA should be fine. In a MT/Truggy 4s will not do! I had 2x 6000mah 2s packs that I ran in series in my E-Revo. They didn't puff but they went WAY out of balance. I had the warranty on them and after finally getting put in touch with the right person I was taken care of better than I hoped. I expected 2 replacement packs whick I would have immedietlly sold. Instead I was offered what I wanted. I wound up with a 2s and a 3s 5000mah pack so I can run them as 5s in my E-REVO with a 1515 2.5d. So far they have done well. I don't have many runs on them but the performance seems to be pretty close to my Neus and the temps where right on par with the Neus. When the weather gets better I will thouroughly abuse these cells and report my findings. One thing that no one can argue about with MA is at least there packs fit a standard tray! That is part of what has made them so succesful.

Thats true.They are also a well built pack.I think there turd polishing works on most.

They do fit most std trays, but most newer electric vehicles are setup to run 7 cell packs, or have a longer tray to allow the 6 cell packs to be shifted for weight distibution

As far as assembly of the cells they are no better than most other packs. They do not use double sided tape to hold the cells together, and they only have one layer of shrink on the narrow sides. Tabs are crimp/welded together. The lack of matched cells is a definate assembly issue to me.

As far as customer satisfaction goes, if you have nothing to compare MA packs to except cheap stick packs you will be blow away by the performance. It is hard to say that they are the best when you have no comparision (I had to quit going to nitrokillers cause everyone there was Ma biased with no basis for their claims)

Maxamp with Tekno neu ?
 

Hey I've been reading post over many rc site trying to find the good setup for me. I need to be pretty sure of what I'm buying before doing so because I can't afford to make a mistake and waste 200$+ on battery or any other part I update on my e-revo. Brushless update cost so much!

I finally decided to order the tekno neu 1515 1y squared I'm gonna use with the MMM I got some months ago (wish it will hold down it's V1) and never used.

Now I'm looking for the right lipo to go with my kit. I've seen many and am pretty lost with all the post read. Here's the pack I am wondering about:

MA (yeah I know) 3s 5250Mah 30c x2 for 22.2v - about 350 they told me I could get 15% discount

Neu energy 3s 4900mah 25c x2 for 22.2v about the same price

A123 cell 4s 2300mah x2 in 4s2p setup with a 3rd pack of 3s2p for a total of 7s2p 23.1v 4600mah 30c. About 400$

I've been using home made a123 5s1p in my e-revo for some time and they miss a little punch, but that might be my soldering being pretty bad! ;) I heard well made pack have a lot of power.

Any of you have comments on my ideas, or other pack to recommend. Is the MA good even if they don't stand their claimed C rating or should I go with something else ? I don't want to hijack the trade but u seems to know what u're talking about in here!

Thanks for your help!

you could get Zippy lipos which perform better than MAs for half the price, my suggestion is to run a 1515/2.5d or 1.5y with either 6s lipo or 7s A123 and gear it for 40-45 mph

Get the Neu packs. I've had good luck with teh True RC 8k packs if you want a cheaper alternative. They are pretty heavy though.

5s1p is far from ideal for an MT, you need a 2p setup if you want that 'punch' factor, plus Castle state you have to run a 2p setup with their MMM escs otherwise the ripple currents from the cells dropping their voltage under load may cause damage- warrenty wont be honored.

Given the nature of the thread, I wouldnt even concider MA lipos with a 50% discount on price- go for the NeuEnergy, Zippies, Mikes new lipos in the RCM store, or the Elite 35c cells that have had good reviews.

Ok, the 1515 1y on 6s lipo is a bit much, you may have issues getting the gearing right. I would suggest 5s lipo, around 5000mah and at least 25c rating. Neuenergy, flightpower, and polyquest all offer packs like that. You could try the elite cells, but I have no experience with them. The 1515 1y will need a good lipo to perform, but you should be able to get the right pack for less than 350.

This is what I would run: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s..._5S_25C_Lipoly

Or the similar pack from neuenergy or flightpower.

Wow!!!
 

WOW guys nice disccussion going on here about the Lipos. There are plenty of good competitive batteries on the market now, and it seems that there is not a lot of love here for MA Lipo packs. Experiences seem to vary, but they are still selling them anyway. I personally think we should all boycot Lipo sales until they drop the prices for us. When you think about exactly what is put into these cells, and how much it really costs them to make them, we are truly getting ripped off. The Lipo technology is no longer all the rave and the prices should have dropped way down by now. It looks like they are compensating for the poor economy by keeping the prices sky high. It seems the more we feed them, the more they take from us. The only company that really seems to be continuing its research and improvements is A123 since they are constantly working on the LIon technology for 1/1 cars. I have some Maxamps packs that are OK, but have held off on purchasing any others waiting for things to calm down somewhat in the price ranges. These companies are getting rich leaching off of us. Just my thoughts on the matter.

I've spent too much money on Maxamps to care about their new cells. I puffed a 2s 6k pack in my Rustler with a MM 5700 (and it wasn't overgeared). My 3s pack is soft after use, but still works OK after ~100 cycles. Before I knew better than to buy Maxamps, I bought 2 2s 8k packs at ~$190/ea. for my larger RCs. They still work and seem to be holding up well under my 80mm MedUsa and have somewhere between 100 and 200 cycles. When I found Zippy 5k packs for nearly half the price and experienced how much better they were I really kicked myself for wasting nearly $400 on MA packs.

CORRECTION: I paid OVER $200 per pack because I got the 3 year warranty and the "hard case" option. Warranty was a good choice, but their case is terrible, just a little plastic thing that only covers the top, bottom, and the smaller front sides. I thought it would completely enclose the pack, but the sides of mine have been chewed up a little and there is obviously no protection on the sides.

While we are at it lets boycott clothes aswell. You know hoe cheap those are to make. . .

Shopping???
 

I guess when you think about it, it is all about the shopping choices you make. If you want good clothes then you shop at the top end stores and you pay more for what you get. If you want cheap, then you shop at Wal-Mart and you get what you pay for.

The problem I have is that if you buy the Maxamp packs you are paying top dollar, but what are you getting for your money?? It seems to me that there are better more reliable choices out there for your money and you can save on the initial sale price as well. So shop wisely.

Nah just boycott resellers, who have unreasonable mark ups. Why buy $90 Sketcher shoes at foot locker when you can get them at famous footwear for $35. Same as chinese lipos $150 from max amps or $50 from hobby city. ....I say buy the Neus, never had a puff, or problem. My maxamps puff every run, still use them in my crappy cars/projects to laugh

Hmmm, If you decide to boycott clothes please do not take any pics or vids that have you in the frame... Thanks!

Imagine how long a small bottle of tide lasts in a nudist colony...food for thought there. And they can have much larger bedrooms as the closet space can be next to nothing, more living area for the buck! But cold days have to suck, and so do gnats.

With all the money they saved not buying clothes, they can afford to crank the heating up. Outside however, they might have to invest in lots of patio heaters...

What would the gnats be sucking exactly?

All this talk about nudist got me thinking,thanks.When I was younger I had a buddy who lived on Maui.I went out there to visit and ended up going to a family birthday party on the beach,actually it's called Makena little beach,with some people he knew.Who just happened to be nudist.So to make a long story short it took me years to get the picture of 2 grown men running around naked ,smearing cake on each other,in front of there kids,wives and parents,out of my mind.Those memorys have now resurfaced. Thanks,thanks alot :(

never go to a "Club Med" then, In Turkey I think that was a sport game for "booze beads"

Get to the root of the problem.
 

So I guess the question still has not been answered. Does anyone with experience know if the new packs are any good, or still the same crapp as the 20C packs????? ANYONE???

Im no math genious but I'd say these packs are 33% better than before :tongue:

I would not risk my money just to try these batteries when I know I have good luck with Neus and Polyquests.

I have a 2s 6500 30c hard case and a 6000 3s. Haven't had a problem with them at all. But I won't say they are better than any other brand or any worse. I'm happy with mine.

Lol! That is the most pathetic excuse.

"Sorry, but at this time we don't want the competition to see what we have."

Paraphrased:
"Sorry, but I know this cell doesn't perform up to scratch and don't want to show a discharge graph in case people realise how poor the cell really is, and buy better packs from the competition."

At least, that's my take on it...:no:

I aggree!

It is this type of talk that makes what is going on "behind the scenes" pretty obvious!

Refer to the link in post #5 of this thread. It shows a discharge graph of a "35C" cell. In reality, it isn't even a 25C cell. What does that tell you about what they are hiding from the "competition" concerning the 30C cell?

I'm planning on getting back into Ebay soon to sell off some of my RC stuff that's I've collected. With the funds from that, I think I will invest in some discharge, data collecting equipment.

If you guys want an unbiased 3rd party to do discharge testing and reporting, I think I will volunteer.

There has to be a way to come up with a standardized method of testing. A "yard stick" if you will.

I believe a Continous C rating should be one that doesn't harm the Lipo AND doesn't drastically reduce the cycle life of the battery.

This would mean that it holds 3.3 - 3.4 volts per cell under that load for 75% of it's discharge cycle without heating up to a critical level.

This could even be 3.5 volts per cell. Volts per cell under a load should be whatever is aggreed upon. (I smell a heated controversy just coming to a decision on that one. LOL)

Testing is to be done under controlled conditions. Same airflow around the cell during discharge and conducted at the same ambient temperature.

What are some of the options for discharge equipment? I need some help answering this. Please feel free to post or pm me with more information on this.

The big issue with 10c lipos is that they can burst 12 to 15c before falling flat. IF you never even hit the continuous rated current you are fine, but there isn't much overhead room.

I would rather run a 20c 4000 than a 10c 8000. If 4000mah wasn't enough runtime I could just keep a pack ready to swap out :D

I'm the opposite.Reason being is that even though they are both rated the same amps,If you only had to drain the 8000 for 4000mah it should be capable of probably 100 amps constant and hold better voltage.I know my 8000mah 12c SPC has pushed my E-revo to 52 mph,on 4s.They have to be able to hold voltage under some serious load to that.Even after 20 minutes they will still hit 50.

My reasoning is the burst, and partially the weight. Most 20c packs will take 35 to 40c before falling flat. Most 10c packs will take 12 to 15c. Dont get me wrong, I have my fair share of 10c and 12c packs that still get used plenty. They do have a place for bashing and lower amp draw use.


On my ebike I have 12s2p 4.4ah 25c packs. 110a continuous available, the packs never see more than 35 or 40a. This way they should last a very long time.