A123 Batts questions

[GorillaMaxx360]

OK guys as you know i am probably going to run a Neu motor and the 125B on a 14lbs truck. I was going to use lipo a123s but the price jumped on the package i was going to buy. SO i turned to the cell option because they where cheaper and i could get more power because 16cells is more power than 4 6.6 cells lipo. Then i Realized that on the ice charger, i can not charge 2 batteries at once so that will be almost 2 hours of charging for about 20 min of driving. SO i turned back to the A123s i will lose some speed but i wont have to wait for 1+ hour for them to charge. My questions for you are as follows.

1.) what are the voltage controllers for and how do you use them also do they need to be on the car.
2.) Is there anyway i could get around 40 mph on 4s A123 cells and some type of Neu motor. AN if so what way could be slight passable.
3.) i will be using the 400 dollar package that includes 2 turbo 4600 packs voltage controllers, and a charger. how good is this charger,
4.) can it charge 2 batts at once.
5.) Can i charge these on a ice charger and if so will it be the same 15 min charge time.
6.) anything more i need to know about these batteries and how good or bad they are.
(uses with 14lbs maxx, 125B, HB buggy diffs, single speed, some type of Neu, and 40 series tires with tire diameter of 5.8)
Thanks guys

[BrianG]

1) Those voltage controllers are simply voltage boosters to get higher voltage to your ESC. However, this added power is not free. These devices will pull more current from the cells to do so. Think of them at "power transfer devices". Plus, they have losses. It would be better to add an extra cell IMO. Why not pick up a Dewalt pack and make your own setup? They come as 10s, but you can set it up for 5s2p, which would be perfect for you.

2) You could, but the current will be quite high (runtime low). Either your motor will have to have a higher kv, or your gearing will have to be higher. Either case will pull more current. I'd stick with at least 5s2p A123s.

3) For the price of the charger, I would simply find a different charger that will do more. If you are into Lithium Ion/poly, then the Xtrema charger is quite nice. I like mine (does 10s at 8A with a 180w power limit and has programmable CC/CV threshold settings from 3.6 up to 4.2 in 0.05v increments).

4) You can charge up to whatever "s" count it is rated for. If you charge the packs in parallel (I would not recommend this), you could do it, but it would take longer.

5) Don't know about the ICE.

6) Zeropointbug seems to love these cells (almost too much if you get my meaning ;) (j/k ZPB)). If you want Lithium-based cells with safety and durability at the expense of weight, then these are the cells to use. If you want minimum weight at the expense of durability and safety, then Lipos are your best bet.

[ClodMaxx]

i'm prolly going to buy a dewalt pack and build my own m1 cell packs. you just can't beat the deal, at about $10 per cell. i have two Ice chargers, and will be getting lipodapters... but the Ice will only charge up to 4s and only @ 1C max. it uses cc/cv as well.

it'll be a learning process, but i know it can be done. :027:

[zeropointbug]

You pretty much said it all Brian. Yes, i agree, those DeWalt packs ore a good deal, too bad there weren't any when I bought mine. Plus the ones I bought are the thinner double tabbed, and a pain to make a pack.

What would be cool to make, would be a DeWalt pack SOCKET, and just use the Dewalt charger and pop her into the socket quickly. Although, the contacts they use might not be enough for the drain rates we put them through.

The A123's so far are a less user friendly in that trying to get a personalized setup, not very many options. They need prismatic cells too, these alum. cans simply add more weight, and are bulky.

PS. GM360, how come you didn't post this in my A123 thread I just made? :032: :005:

[ClodMaxx]

hmmm... just heard about this. after buying a lipodapter and balancer for my Ice, i may as well just buy one of these instead. doesn't have a nice window or controllable rates...but it does allow you to connect to a computer to get live stats. it'll charge and balance up to 6s a123 packs...

[GorillaMaxx360]

Originally Posted by zeropointbug

You pretty much said it all Brian. Yes, i agree, those DeWalt packs ore a good deal, too bad there weren't any when I bought mine. Plus the ones I bought are the thinner double tabbed, and a pain to make a pack.

What would be cool to make, would be a DeWalt pack SOCKET, and just use the Dewalt charger and pop her into the socket quickly. Although, the contacts they use might not be enough for the drain rates we put them through.

The A123's so far are a less user friendly in that trying to get a personalized setup, not very many options. They need prismatic cells too, these alum. cans simply add more weight, and are bulky.

PS. GM360, how come you didn't post this in my A123 thread I just made? :032: :005:

I did not realize you made it or i would have. thanks guys i think i could actually go with 5000 mah max amps and an ice charger this would get me more volts and allow me to get an ice charger. i still can not really decide but i do not have the cash now anyway so i will worry about it more in the future.