junglewarrior Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Hi all, Just bought my first 'proper' (in my humble opinion...) RC and I'm loving it! Its a Helion Invictus 1/10 MS. For the price it seems a lot of car for the money I paid. Can somebody recommend a Lipo battery and charger please? I'm not up to speed on the terminology just yet but what I'd like is something that ticks these boxes; 4500 MaH upwards 25C 2S The standards battery is an 8-cell so I'd need something to fit that tray. I also need a charger that doesn't take 8 hours like the trickle charger I have for the Helion NiMH(?) battery. In terms of budget, I'm not trying to pay pennies, is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Batteries: Try here: http://www.smc-racing.net/ Or here: http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=86&LiPoConfig=2&sortlist=H&CatSortOrder=desc 25C's a bit low. Go for 40C or higher. Chargers - there are loads on the market. WELCOME to MSUK. Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Hi thanks Atom, I've read that for the Invictus its better to keep it around 25c, I don't think its as capable as some of the high end stuff. I found a Turnigy 6000mah 25C-35C battery on hobbyking that I think looks a good deal. Its the charger situation I'm battling with. Theres too much variety! I'll keep digging... Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimus Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Hi thanks Atom, I've read that for the Invictus its better to keep it around 25c, I don't think its as capable as some of the high end stuff. I found a Turnigy 6000mah 25C-35C battery on hobbyking that I think looks a good deal. Its the charger situation I'm battling with. Theres too much variety! I'll keep digging... Thanks The higher "c" ratings are fine, it's the number of cells you need to watch out for. IIRC the esc on the Invictus is 40a. They say its 3 cell (3s or 11v) capable but 40a is quite low so I'd stick with a 2 cell (2s or 7v) battery. That battery that you have found should be fine as it will be able to cope with an esc that is rated up to around 120a. Just double check how many cells are in that battery. As I said, you could do 3s but I think 2s will be better with the standard esc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Thanks Optimus, some of the vids I've watched for the 3s seem to render the car undrivable. Any idea's for a charger? Most don't come with a power pack. Is this just a normal laptop/TV style lead with a black box in the middle? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 I'm looking at this one... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/iMAX-B6-Digital-LCD-RC-Lipo-NiMh-Battery-Balance-Charger-UK-Shipping-/190818527250?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item2c6daba812 What kind of power pack would I need anybody? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimus Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) I have this: http://www.totemhobbies.co.uk/product/sigma-eq-eco-charger-acdc-50w#.VCGiJNm9LCQ It seems to be the same as this:http://www.wirelessmadness.com/rc-accessories/batteries-chargers/chargers/overlander-rc6-vsp-80w-7a-output-ac-dc-lipo-li-ion-life-nimh-and-pb-charger-ol2604?language=en¤cy=GBP&gclid=CMKl8dLj98ACFSuWtAodOSEATQ Although they look the same it seems mine charges up to 6a according to the specs (the overlander is up to 7a which is what I thought mine charges up to but I stand corrected). I bought mine second hand off here. If you are going for new I'd say get the overlander as it is a bit more powerful. Both chargers have built in power supplies so no need for bulky black boxes. Just an edit to add that I haven't got a clue about chargers that use power supplies. Hopefully someone else can help you in this regard. Cheers. Edited September 23, 2014 by optimus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitroholic Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Battery wise, you can't really go wrong with the 40C Turnigy softpacks. Stick with 2S .... as anything more will make the car less reliable and probably end badly Dirt cheap from Hobbyking ...just make sure you are on the UK warehouse! Higher C ratings just mean the battery is able to deliver more power should the ESC demand it. Having more is always better in this respect as your motor/ESC combo will not be stressing the battery. The higher the MAh rating of a battery, the longer it will run for. Check the size of the battery on the Hobbyking website, and measure your battery tray. That way you will be sure it fits. Again...more is better. The current the battery can supply is the Ah rating ( MAh x 1000 ) x C rating .... and make sure that value is higher than the max amps the ESC can handle continuous ( ignore 'burst' values for this ) Lots of E-Bay sellers selling power supplies for the IMax B6. They are all basically 12V 5A output laptop type power supplies. You can also buy a version of hte B6 with a built in power supply. Search ImaxB6 AC ... and watch out for dodgy foreign ones with no UK type power lead.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan_bench10 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I max b6 chargers you can't really go wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Great stuff, I went with the iMax B6 in the end. Should be here friday/monday. Last question - for now at least - how do I find the low voltage cutoff point so I can set the ESC? Does this vary lipo to lipo or is it a one size fits all approach? Thanks for the help so far guys, really appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Just to confirm to any noobs like me, so far I've bought a Turnigy 5000mah (for good runtime) 2c 7.4v 20c (so as not to strain the cars components) LIPO battery. I also bought the iMax B6 charger as everyone seems to rate them and they'll charge up to 5A. (How long will it take to chargemy battery?) All I need to know now is what LVC to go for on the ESC so I don't FUBAR the battery by running it too low... All good so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suicideneil Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Given the chargers 50watt rating, it'll happily charge your 5000mah ( 1amp = 1000mah ) battery in 1 hour, at 5amps charge current ( 5amps x 8.4v fully charged = 44watts ).Set the LVC to match your battery set up- either 2s lipo, or simply 3.4v per cell if the esc auto-detects the number of cells ( read the manual, it should tell you ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 3.4v it is then! Thanks SuicideNeil. I imagine my NiMh batteries will still work on that ESC setting as well won't they? They are 9.6v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suicideneil Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 You should turn off the LVC/lipo mode when using nimhs, otherwise it'll probably keep cutting out/cut out early as the voltage begins to dip under acceleration. It's a pain I know, but something to bear in mind when using different battery types. The sooner you can flog your nimhs and go totally lipo the better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglewarrior Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Hi I received the 2S lipo and the iMax B6 charger, changed the LVC on the ESC to Lipo mode and off I went... First thing that happened was I gave it 2/3 throttle as per usual and it flipped onto its back The power difference is immense, the slightest blip of throttle and it's away. Theres a steep dirt hill where I tried to climb on the Nimh but now it just flies up there. I've stiffened up the rear suspension so the back end doesn't drop so much under load and that's helped a lot. Couldn't be happier with the set-up I've got, I can only imagine how amazing these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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