Gmanjo Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Hey guys, A few questions for you, hope you can help. I've noticed when running my car, (a tamiya keenhawk, Super TZ 23T motor ) that i get full speed for about 10mins max and after that the performace drops off quite steadily till the battery is dead. I currently have 2 2300mAh batteries with a 12hour trickle charger, nothing special just came with the kit when i bought it. I've read on here about the charging and discharging of batteries and also balancers for lipo. I was wondering is this applicable to 7.2v NiMH packs? Is it possible to get more performance for longer and have a shorter "slow" period ? If it is what charger would i need and approximatley how much are we talking ? There is a heck of alot of chargers out there! Cheers Gmanjo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 It is more the battery than the charger. For example, my EP 4600 pack drops off right near the end of the cycle. Not sure on the cost of the charger, but conditioning them does help them last longer. If I were you I would get better batteries, and a cheap fast charger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mr_V Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 What you've described is pretty normal battery behaviour - as the battery discharges it will get to the point where it pushes out less and less power until it can no longer power the motor. A fancy charger will not change that but will help you make sure the battery is properly charged before you start To increase the run time you will need a bigger capacity - they are available now in up to about 5000mah - something like This will do I would also get a cheap fast peak detect charger like This to make sure your batteries are properly charged before you start NiMH doesn't really suffer from memory effect like NiCd so discharging/recharging doesn't have such an effect on performance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmanjo Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 It is more the battery than the charger. For example, my EP 4600 pack drops off right near the end of the cycle. Not sure on the cost of the charger, but conditioning them does help them last longer. If I were you I would get better batteries, and a cheap fast charger. would this be classed as a good battery ? Obivously you can get higher capacity but i would like to keep to a good brand as well. http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=...mp;ItemID=29664 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mr_V Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 That would do the job nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobG Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 You will get more performance fast charging MiMH cells. When I got my first RC car I got a slow charger with the car - I noticed a difference when I fast charged the battery. I would say running a 23T motor that a decent NmHi battery will be good enough. I wouldn't worry about LIPO's unless you are running a high performance modiified motor or a a brushless motor. I would go for a battery with over 4000mah for respectable run times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonmeister Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 We got one of those packs for my brothers truck. They've got tons of power & last for ages. I got one of these for my first charger & they're good chargers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmanjo Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Thanks for advice guys Does that charger come with connectors to fit the batteries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonmeister Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) It comes with Tamiya connectors (the standard connectors on most batteries) but it'll be worth changing them if you get a powerful battery. Deans connectors (Modelsport - component-shop.co.uk (scroll down) ) are impossible to connect backwards and are easy to fit. However if you can't/don't want to solder, rckiller does a soldering service. clicky. Edited May 21, 2008 by Spoonmeister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley b4 123 Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 If you going to pay 28 pound for an orion stick pack why not pay alittle etra and get soem stormforce racing unmatched ones. www.stormforceracing.co.uk He builds them for you to. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmanjo Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) It comes with Tamiya connectors (the standard connectors on most batteries) but it'll be worth changing them if you get a powerful battery. Deans connectors (Modelsport - component-shop.co.uk (scroll down) ) are impossible to connect backwards and are easy to fit. However if you can't/don't want to solder, rckiller does a soldering service. clicky. cheers mate. I'm quite happy to solder so i'll se about getting some of those when they're back in stock If you going to pay 28 pound for an orion stick pack why not pay alittle etra and get soem stormforce racing unmatched ones. www.stormforceracing.co.uk He builds them for you to. A Dont mind even making my own actually. Did electronic's at uni so soldering some batteries together should easy enough. Just probably not that cost effective for me. Edited May 21, 2008 by Gmanjo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe of loath Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 cheers mate. I'm quite happy to solder so i'll se about getting some of those when they're back in stock Dont mind even making my own actually. Did electronic's at uni so soldering some batteries together should easy enough. Just probably not that cost effective for me. soldering batteries is easy. you just need a nice hot iron. and a dremel or sandpaper to take the non stick coating (zinc or something) off the outside of the cells. i make receiver packs and such all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haza Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 discharging fully with a 12v bulb until it fully goes out and recharging may help performance a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe of loath Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 discharging fully with a 12v bulb until it fully goes out and recharging may help performance a little discharging until it goes out might harm the batteries. i would recommend discharging until the light dims (you'll see it go orange suddenly). unless, of course, they're almost dead already, then it can't hurt to try. actually, i did this to one of my race packs (it was dying) and it revived it sufficiently that i can't tell the difference any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmanjo Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 discharging until it goes out might harm the batteries. i would recommend discharging until the light dims (you'll see it go orange suddenly). unless, of course, they're almost dead already, then it can't hurt to try. actually, i did this to one of my race packs (it was dying) and it revived it sufficiently that i can't tell the difference any more. I'll keep that in mind the next time i'm charging. got another question for you guys, not sure how much you know about the DF-03 Chassis, its a pretty tight on space to say the least. Basically the reciever battery pack i have is just the basic 4 AA brick. Is there anything smaller that you would recommend? I like my wiring to be neat and tidy at the moments its just not and it looks rotten!! casue it's all just jammed in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonmeister Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 If you have heatshrink then cut the wires down on the pack (+ switch?) and heatshrink the wires once soldered. Do 1 wire at a time, heatshrinking it when you've finished so you don't short the batteries Anyone else reading this: Don't do this unless you're confident with a soldering iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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