Taking the LIPO plunge, would appreciate some opinions.

[suicideneil]

Well, I've done enough reading and seen all the good setups and tips people have shared, so decided I know enough to finally do this. First off, I am limited as to my choice of batteries and chargers/balancers due to the UK being so expensive, and importing (even via some nice person who can under state the value on the package) is still too expensive- I would have to have insurance on the items and that kills any potential savings. So, I did alot of digging and turned up some very nice Lipo chargers in the Uk, which arent unreasonable in terms of price and specs:

Ansmann racing xbase deluxe Opinions?

I will need a balancer too ofcourse, and an LVC; I would prefer something with a horn or light, so that the truck doesnt switch off when its on the other side of a field, or in the middle of a road....

Anyway, as for actual batteries, I located somewhere selling some 4000mah 4s packs, but the snag is they are only 12c. I was thinking buy 2, and wire them in parallel, to give me me upto 96amps continuous current- I think the Hvmaxx will be more than happy being fed that much, do you reckon? Weight isnt so bad- the packs are just under 390g each, so that is still much lighter than my twin 7 cell nimh, and they are slightly smaller in dimentions too.

As for a UBec ( I think I will need one since I will do the short circuit mod to the Hvmaxx esc input leads ), I like the CC item, but you need to buy the programming lead to change the output voltage from the factory set 5v- that is very sneaky from CC to do that. Therefore I will probably go with the DimensionEngineering item- anyone use that? Like it?

Anyway, I am selling off my old chargers, and once I am happy with the new Lipo setup, and it performs well hopefully, I will sell off my 7 cell packs too, and that should cover a large part of the expense.

Tell me Im doing the right thing battery wise, since good cells are just too expensive, but cheaper cells can be ran in parallel which makes up for it....

[squeeforever]

Personally, I would go with a Bantam E-Station charger. I believe there based in the UK, so you shouldn't have a problem there.

[lincpimp]

Go for it Neil, I think your 12c batts are a good idea. I have some 12c 3600 that I have made a pair of 4s packs with and they work well. If you need anything shipped over there let me know, I can always say it is a tshirt or some sort of BS like that.

[suicideneil]

That is a very nice charger actually, the built in balancer is handy, but its $200. Bantam make several models though, some without the built in balancer so you can buy a seperate unit from them to use in conjunction. I will take a closer look at their range I think.

[suicideneil]

Thanks linc, I will keep that in mind!

[squeeforever]

I have the 701 and love it. It alone was something like $225 before my discount, but it was well worth it. Keep in mind, on most, if not all of there newer chargers, you can monitor each individual cell voltage on it.

[BL_RV0]

...and then wire them in series..... just a thought.... g'buy novak, hello lehner! lol

[Serum]

Neil; that charger you mentioned is only 50W, that's up to no good IMO..

For lipo's i would check out Dan's (truerc.com) he has got a good pack for an awesome price. Shipping is fair to (~17.5 usd for 12 4000mAh cells IIRC)

if you use his packs in 4S2P with the novak 6.5 you have got serious runtime. (and a fair light weight too)

[Arct1k]

I'd go for the EOS6i and ther a123 dewalt batteries and some nice brit (like me) who lives in US and has family that live in UK and often go to devon!

[Serum]

I've send you an email Neil.

[suicideneil]

Okay Squee, you twisted my arm. I just ordered the Bantam BC6 Charger and a suitable balancing harness wire thingy- you know what I mean - for the balancing tap type I will have on my batteries. Batteries are ordered too, and the UBEC, so I just need to track down an LVC with a horn or light on it.

EDIT: Wow, I was only gone 10 minutes! I will try my cheap lipos first, but if they are a bit pants, or blow up, I will look into the others people mentioned.

[suicideneil]

Thankyou everyone for your help, I have now bought everything I need. I went with a cool little UBEC I found on ebay- a few people on RCM use them and report good things about them, so I went that route:



6v/3amp switching bec- I will remove the red connector and solder it my esc battery leads.

I also found a cool little lvc type device, which has an LED to warn of low voltage on your batteries- for 4s use it detects if the voltage drops below 12v (3v per cell) and the led comes on. I will add a little buzzer I have to the led leads so I have an audible warning too:



All I have to do now is sit back and wait for the goods to arrive- 10-14 days for everything to turn up.

[BP-Revo]

Neil, do you have links to the LVC and BEC?

[suicideneil]

I do indeed:

UBEC

LVC

The lvc is from a UK website, but they do ship overseas if you email them first, or some nice kind UK based RC enthusiast could help you if required
They also sell a 6v/5a ubec similar to the ebay item I bought.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I also bought a Lipo sack from BRC Hobbies, the medium sized item (knowing my luck & all....).

[Patrick]

Isn't flightpower in the U.K?