to series or to parallel that is the question???

[lincpimp]

I generally prefer to run larger mah cells in series, than running smaller mah cells in parallel.

Another problem is charging. Say you want 6000mah 4s worth of lipo. You can run a pair of 2s 6000 packs in series for 4s, or 2 3000 4s packs in parallel.

Now, when it comes time to charge it is easy to make an adapter to charge the 2 2s packs in series and balance them at the same time, that way all 4 cells are balanced.

However with the 2 4s 3000 packs you really want to charge them in series as 8s and balance them at the same time to make sure all of the cell voltages are the same. That way when you parallel them together to run them you do not have one pack with less charge or different voltage to the other. Most chargers and balancers are only good to 6s, so you would have to charge the packs one at a time (doubling charge time) or run the risk and charge them in parallel (and you would still have to make an adapter to parallel the balancer wires).

Now you could get a 1210i hyperion charger and a pair of lba10 balancers and network them (or network a pair of 610i chargers) and you could do up to 12s lipo (up to 2 6s packs). But that is a bit more than most want to pay for a charger setup.

So larger mah cells and series wiring makes the most sense to me. At least for performance and pack longevity. And quick charging with less hassle.