Castle looking ESC coming to hobbyking

Originally Posted by thzero

Name them, give us links, etc. I'm sure most people would be willing (especially those of us in the US) to give a shot to quality batteries that have some customer support, actually honor warranties, etc.

I've got some batteries, for crawlers, from cheapbatteries.com; they seem decent and were a good price for what they are. However one of the things is trying to find batteries (XS and XC) that meet dimensions, etc. that we need... if I'm looking for batteries for the Savage, the 3S batteries can't be wider than 30mm, so that makes it an issue.

I use venom batteries. Those were the ones I referred to when I had a warranty issue. I know of other people that have posted on the traxxas forums that they had issues with their venom batteries as well and I told em to give customer service a call and they got their batteries replaced and some even upgraded the battery mah or c rating because their lhs sold them to low a rated battery. This is what I'd call exceptional customer service. I upgraded the mah capacity one time to have both of my 3S batteries match so I could run them as a pair. I just had to pay the difference between the 2 batteries which was like 12 dollars at the time but worth it since I run them 2 as a series pair now. The rep I had was also very helpful on other transactions besides batteries as well.

I've seen spc has a limited warranty, smc does as well.

[TexasSP]

Here is what I Think of some of these peoples guarantees and warranties on their lipos:

Couldn't get youtube embed to work so here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj-T_O0l8YQ

Good luck on getting warranty service from the those guys with the flames......

[thzero]

Venom? All Venom sells is rebadged, and marked up, chinese batteries. They are not anything like say Thunderpower (or cheapbatteries, or even spc) where they buy the cells, test them, package, etc.

Originally Posted by dtnel

I use venom batteries. Those were the ones I referred to when I had a warranty issue.

FYI: For transparency sake I do have exactly one Venom and exactly one MaxAmps batteries floating around (both 2S, and quite old).

Originally Posted by TexasSP

Here is what I Think of some of these peoples guarantees and warranties on their lipos:

Couldn't get youtube embed to work so here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj-T_O0l8YQ

Good luck on getting warranty service from the those guys with the flames......

Your insinuating that a company that makes good batteries has no issues with batteries. So what do you do when you buy a lipo and 3 months down the road it either swells or stops working ? Some people will just buy another one because they did save money but soon they realize they just bought the same battery twice. There's nothing wrong with a company backing their product. They're just merely showing that they believe in their product and providing a service that some companies are to cheap to do, umm like foreign companies with no tech support and domestic companies to make a quick buck and then say umm were sorry you have no warranty therefore you're going to have to buy A battery again for the 3rd time but yes they have quality batteries but no customer service. I'll pay extra knowing that if or when I have a issue over the next couple years that their customer service will come through for me which there is a few companies out there left that back their products yet.

Originally Posted by thzero

Venom? All Venom sells is rebadged, and marked up, chinese batteries. They are not anything like say Thunderpower (or cheapbatteries, or even spc) where they buy the cells, test them, package, etc.



FYI: For transparency sake I do have exactly one Venom and exactly one MaxAmps batteries floating around (both 2S, and quite old).

Well since you want to slam on venom then show me some other companies that stand behind their products for any period of time. When did you work at venom since you apparently know so much about them. I'm sure not only venom buys Chinese cells but many other companies alike. The process for making the batteries is a little complex but with my transportation background I can say there are probably only a handful of companies making the cells and selling them to battery retailers who sell to us.


Wal Mart stores does the same thing. They sell blue bunny ice cream in all their stores but blue bunny also makes the wal mart brand ice cream. Schwans even makes some blue bunny ice cream and blue bunny makes some schwans ice cream as well. IT helps them keep cost down and it just goes in a different package. The only reason I know,was I hauled the stuff for 12.5 years. I was using the ice cream as an example for The effect that one company can have in The marketplace.

[thzero]

Since basically the only cells you can buy are either Chinese or Korean, just about everyone gets their cells from Chinese.

However, Venom has long be known to be a re-brander. They buy products from Chinese companies (its also called white boxing) and rebadge it as their own. Its not necessarily a 'bad practice', especially if they have stand behind their products with some sort of service and/or support. Now they've been doing that for quite some time, but they seem to also be starting to produce some of their own products from scratch too; i.e. the Gambler.

However, I do have a Venom battery, its held up as a bash battery for quite some time, but it was also bought when there weren't a lot of other options. I also had, when new to LiPo, a 'Venom charger'. This was a Chinese version of another, and really much better Chinese built charger, and it has ZERO DOCUMENTATION WITH IT. I sent Venom an email to their support asking for documentation and/or information about some of the features. They had not a clue either.

The practice of 'white boxing' has been going for 20+ years. There are only a handful of companies that make a lot of things (especially in electronics - such as lcd screens) because of the high level of specialization needed (its not like making ice cream); these usually get made at different price points and with different features depending on the end client. Their clients are the ones who 'consumerize' them for the mass market.

To circle this back around. CC makes a quality product, and a competitive price. Tekin, although usually a tad more expensive than CC, does so too. And Novak, well opinions differ, but still they for the most part do too.

Batteries seem to run to the extreme; you get the stuff direct from HongKong thats ultra-cheap, you get the stuff from say US or European based such as MaxAmps thats crap marked up really high, or you get high end product that is not cheap (but usually cheaper than maxcrap) such as Hyperion (out of HK mind you), ThunderPower (LV, NV), etc.

The biggest problem is that unlike with NiCd and NiMH batteries, no one is telling us exactly WHO the manufacturer of the cells are and what the exact specs of each cell is. So in reality, other than measuring and testing each cells, you really don't know that anyone isn't selling a crap lipo for a large markup.

Originally Posted by dtnel

Well since you want to slam on venom then show me some other companies that stand behind their products for any period of time. When did you work at venom since you apparently know so much about them. I'm sure not only venom buys Chinese cells but many other companies alike. The process for making the batteries is a little complex but with my transportation background I can say there are probably only a handful of companies making the cells and selling them to battery retailers who sell to us.

Originally Posted by thzero

Since basically the only cells you can buy are either Chinese or Korean, just about everyone gets their cells from Chinese.

However, Venom has long be known to be a re-brander. They buy products from Chinese companies (its also called white boxing) and rebadge it as their own. Its not necessarily a 'bad practice', especially if they have stand behind their products with some sort of service and/or support. Now they've been doing that for quite some time, but they seem to also be starting to produce some of their own products from scratch too; i.e. the Gambler.

However, I do have a Venom battery, its held up as a bash battery for quite some time, but it was also bought when there weren't a lot of other options. I also had, when new to LiPo, a 'Venom charger'. This was a Chinese version of another, and really much better Chinese built charger, and it has ZERO DOCUMENTATION WITH IT. I sent Venom an email to their support asking for documentation and/or information about some of the features. They had not a clue either.

The practice of 'white boxing' has been going for 20+ years. There are only a handful of companies that make a lot of things (especially in electronics - such as lcd screens) because of the high level of specialization needed (its not like making ice cream); these usually get made at different price points and with different features depending on the end client. Their clients are the ones who 'consumerize' them for the mass market.

To circle this back around. CC makes a quality product, and a competitive price. Tekin, although usually a tad more expensive than CC, does so too. And Novak, well opinions differ, but still they for the most part do too.

Batteries seem to run to the extreme; you get the stuff direct from HongKong thats ultra-cheap, you get the stuff from say US or European based such as MaxAmps thats crap marked up really high, or you get high end product that is not cheap (but usually cheaper than maxcrap) such as Hyperion (out of HK mind you), ThunderPower (LV, NV), etc.

The biggest problem is that unlike with NiCd and NiMH batteries, no one is telling us exactly WHO the manufacturer of the cells are and what the exact specs of each cell is. So in reality, other than measuring and testing each cells, you really don't know that anyone isn't selling a crap lipo for a large markup.

Oh I know what you're talking about. Wal mart does a lot of white boxing. They also do limited run stuff as well. A lot of people buy vizio tvs at wal mart and vizio has a somewhat good reputation. Just look how they came to be but wal mart has a speced vizio tv that a year or two down the road you can get parts for because for say they only made a limited run of that spec model per wal mart order. If a person learns the vizio brands,you can buy a same looking but better quality and more parts availability tv at wal mart also but hardly anyone knows that unless you start searching model numbers extensively. I was talking to A tv repair shop guy is how I found out. He flat out told me if I ever need a repair that I better hope I bought the right model.

I don't really see what testing a cell does except for matching 2 or more up. Other than that no one really knows the history behind the cells since obviously their a commodity anymore these days.


Check this video out on lipo batteries ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdv9I...e_gdata_player

I hope you find the video interesting as i did.

[TexasSP]

Originally Posted by dtnel

Your insinuating that a company that makes good batteries has no issues with batteries. So what do you do when you buy a lipo and 3 months down the road it either swells or stops working ? Some people will just buy another one because they did save money but soon they realize they just bought the same battery twice. There's nothing wrong with a company backing their product. They're just merely showing that they believe in their product and providing a service that some companies are to cheap to do, umm like foreign companies with no tech support and domestic companies to make a quick buck and then say umm were sorry you have no warranty therefore you're going to have to buy A battery again for the 3rd time but yes they have quality batteries but no customer service. I'll pay extra knowing that if or when I have a issue over the next couple years that their customer service will come through for me which there is a few companies out there left that back their products yet.

A warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind them. Like I said, many offer a warranty, but then wiggle every which way to avoid and actual claim.

Venom batteries are no better than the crap hobbyking sells, just higher priced. I have been using lipo since 2005 and tried a little bit of everything. I have a pretty good idea of who's are worth what.

Originally Posted by TexasSP

A warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind them. Like I said, many offer a warranty, but then wiggle every which way to avoid and actual claim.

Venom batteries are no better than the crap hobbyking sells, just higher priced. I have been using lipo since 2005 and tried a little bit of everything. I have a pretty good idea of who's are worth what.

Well venom stands behind the warranty. I have ran venom and smc over the last two years. I can honestly say I was treated more like a customer by venom when I had a issue vs smc who also sales lipo batteries through wholesale retailers.

My smc packs swelled after 4-6 charges/runs and they blamed me right away before they would even listen to what I had to say. If you don't listen to your customer then someone else will. I know for a fact that venom will stand behind each and every battery I have. I don't see much else out there that will. I know a lot of people locally that run them with no problems. You can have you opinion and ill have mine but at the end of the day ill take that warranty but that's why a lot of different companies are in business because you and I have different likes and dislikes.

[bruce750i]

Venom's come with a Traxxas to Deans conversion Plug and sell good. OTOH, Venom is the only 2s 5000 offered at my LHS.

[fastbaja5b]

I like my Enerland Batteries, the 2s Hardcased work Well and hold voltage awesome, if they made Hardcase 4s, I'd buy them, they don't so I use Ace and Turnigy ones. I tried Venom 4000mah 20C in a Summit w/Dewalt motor, they never got warm, and on a standing start the Truck was pulling 100-120 Amps (didn't know that when I bought the packs!) but they still stayed over 3v/cell under load.

[x-y]

I dont find this copys in hobbycity ...... ¿where is possible buy?

[mjosparky]

Originally Posted by hemiblas

Last I checked HK is selling fake Deans connectors again. They stopped for a while after Deans complained and threatened some type of legal action from what I had read, but they now have them on their site again. Other sites have also been selling them for a while now. I'm not sure how enforceable these patents are overseas, but good luck. I'm also a Castle supporter, and I dont know why they would try to copy them like this. They cant replicate the software (for now), which is what makes these controllers stand an extra notch above the rest, but I'm sure given enough time they can do anything.

Several US companies sell fake Deans. KD is just one.

http://204.186.93.64/Wire-Plugs.htm

[josh9mille]

Originally Posted by dtnel

Well venom stands behind the warranty. I have ran venom and smc over the last two years. I can honestly say I was treated more like a customer by venom when I had a issue vs smc who also sales lipo batteries through wholesale retailers.

My smc packs swelled after 4-6 charges/runs and they blamed me right away before they would even listen to what I had to say. If you don't listen to your customer then someone else will. I know for a fact that venom will stand behind each and every battery I have. I don't see much else out there that will. I know a lot of people locally that run them with no problems. You can have you opinion and ill have mine but at the end of the day ill take that warranty but that's why a lot of different companies are in business because you and I have different likes and dislikes.

Are you a Venom rep? You sure sound like one. And if you are then you work for a company that sells some pretty cruddy stuff. Venom stuff can be bought at Harbor Freight, what does that tell you about their products?

Originally Posted by josh9mille

Are you a Venom rep? You sure sound like one. And if you are then you work for a company that sells some pretty cruddy stuff. Venom stuff can be bought at Harbor Freight, what does that tell you about their products?

Well lets see I live in South Dakota so me working for Venom is out of the question. Honestly I haven't worked for over a year but to no fault of mine when there's Dr's doing shoddy work almost costing people their lives.

Now onto the venom batteries, Oh wait what kind are you running or are you to ashamed to say ?? Never saw you mention yours so maybe NIMH is just your flavor because your still stuck in the days of when Venom wasn't good on NIMH batteries but I'm not using NIMH so now that we've established that I can honestly say that Venom is one company out of 6-8 brands of batteries Ive looked at after I decided to get into lipo a few years ago. I've been happy with their batteries.

I tried smc but had no luck and dealt with someone via email to address a warranty claim. The guy I dealt with on the warranty is in Canada yes I said Canada because he overstayed his Visa in the united states so he's not allowed back in to run his company in the US. Well he decided after speaking with his shop guy that I was at fault and said "our batteries are the best and never swell" and told me I needed to adjust my esc. I informed him I was using these batteries on a slash 4x4 one at a time and the traxxas esc isn't adjustable and then he tells me in the next email that I still need to adjust it.

What I found intriguing about this conversation was the fact that after I told him I was running a traxxas esc and was non adjustable he still came back and told me to adjust the esc, HELLO ??? I look at things this way, if you don't know the equipment that your product is going in then what are you doing selling the stuff to begin with and it's just a traxxas esc which are set at 3.1 from the factory. I mean Traxxas is one of the largest rc mfrs out there and he didn't know this simple thing. If you don't know something then research it, I have looked into this and many other things that don't seem or look right in life. The batteries only had 4-6 cycles on them. They were less than 3 months old.


Just because a company has a good marketing strategy doesn't mean they have a bad battery. They probably reach more customers than the battery mfr you use and I know when I call in and leave a message through their customer service center that they'll call me back in generaly 24 if not 48 hrs max.

I mistakenly had a 3 cell lipo come loose out of the car and it was a 5400. The outer wrapper tore. I sent it in and 15.00 to upgrade it to a 6400 plus my shipping to them. Not a bad deal at all. They have superb customer service. Know of any other companies like his? If so put their name here and I'll look into doing business with them as well especially long term if they'll stand behind it.

I'm supporting guys working in a warehouse in the US even if the cells are imported like all are. There are only a handful of cell mfrs out there that make them. I've actually watched videos on how cells are made. It's a pretty interesting process.

If your boss sold product on harbor freight I bet you wouldn't say a thing at all especially if it could cost you a job. Harbor freight has been around a very long time. Another good example of a very successful company.