Life / Lifepo4 battery size options
04-19-2012, 04:49 AM
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Life / Lifepo4 battery size options
Hi Guys....I posted this already at tamiyaclub, but thought I might get more replies here...
I'm looking to get a new charger and a battery pack or two. I've decided that I'm going to go from nimh to life/lifepo4 batteries. I have no interest whatsoever in lipo due to the potential dangers. I do not race, only "bash" and lipo is simply not an option for my purposes.
The main cars I run are: grasshopper, boomerang, vintage rc10 and an rc10 b4.1. I understand that I need the 6.6v versions of the life packs, but can't find clear options of which packs are available that will *fit* into the space that the nimh 7.2v packs occupy.
Can an expert please post some links to packs that will fit into these cars without much modification? The boomerang and the grasshopper have pretty size specific battery compartments. The vintage rc10 is probably the most flexible in that area, though. I just want to get a pack or 2 that will fit in all the cars I mention above. Thanks for any help!
I'm looking to get a new charger and a battery pack or two. I've decided that I'm going to go from nimh to life/lifepo4 batteries. I have no interest whatsoever in lipo due to the potential dangers. I do not race, only "bash" and lipo is simply not an option for my purposes.
The main cars I run are: grasshopper, boomerang, vintage rc10 and an rc10 b4.1. I understand that I need the 6.6v versions of the life packs, but can't find clear options of which packs are available that will *fit* into the space that the nimh 7.2v packs occupy.
Can an expert please post some links to packs that will fit into these cars without much modification? The boomerang and the grasshopper have pretty size specific battery compartments. The vintage rc10 is probably the most flexible in that area, though. I just want to get a pack or 2 that will fit in all the cars I mention above. Thanks for any help!
04-19-2012, 04:57 AM
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RE: Life / Lifepo4 battery size options
What are these dangers to which you refer? If you mean lipo fires, the danger is GREATLY exaggerated. Lets not forget blackberry phones and loads of other consumer electronics use lipo. With a properly specified and maintained charger and battery, there is no risk whatsoever. The voltage drop from LiFe will cause a little extra strain on your ESC (less volts means more amps for a given wattage) and affect the top end performance of your motor compared to lipo (lower max rpm).
As for sizing, the main places to buy batts, maxamps/hobbyking/hobbypartz will state clearly the dimensions of a battery. Find out what your limitations are, filter the products to the type of battery you want and start looking at the sizes.
As for sizing, the main places to buy batts, maxamps/hobbyking/hobbypartz will state clearly the dimensions of a battery. Find out what your limitations are, filter the products to the type of battery you want and start looking at the sizes.
04-19-2012, 05:18 AM
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RE: Life / Lifepo4 battery size options
Dangers are vids I've seen on youtube from crashes under heavy jumping/bashing. It's basically all I do since I don't know anyone else that is into rc (so no racing...no local tracks or anything like that). I also don't want to deal with the issues of having to be around the charger all the time "in case" one might start on fire. To me, If I have to put the battery in a fire proof bag while charging, there's something inherently wrong there.
I understand the dangers are greatly exaggerated, but I also understand that *for me* considering how I run my cars, lipo would be more dangerous and just not worth the risk (however small). I've also read that life batteries have about 4x the amount of charge cycles vs lipo, so that's a big plus in my opinion.
You're right about the measurements....problem is that the batteries are currently at my dad's place and I can't get one to measure until next weekend or so. I had my rc stuff packed up for winter since I moved last year. Thanks for the reply!
I understand the dangers are greatly exaggerated, but I also understand that *for me* considering how I run my cars, lipo would be more dangerous and just not worth the risk (however small). I've also read that life batteries have about 4x the amount of charge cycles vs lipo, so that's a big plus in my opinion.
You're right about the measurements....problem is that the batteries are currently at my dad's place and I can't get one to measure until next weekend or so. I had my rc stuff packed up for winter since I moved last year. Thanks for the reply!
04-19-2012, 06:06 AM
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RE: Life / Lifepo4 battery size options
You're welcome.
Meh, I don't use lipo bags or any kind of special storage for my lipos. This lipo fire thing is from several years ago when the technology was alittle, um, young. It really is SO rare these days, battery tech has moved on quite a bit, you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than have a perfectly healthy well treated battery catch fire in a crash or at any other time. You'd have to do something REALLY stupid with it, like plug it directly into the mains. Fearmongers love to keep using this subject to scare the bejesus out of newbies. I once dismantled a heavily damaged battery (almost folded in half by impact with a lamppost after leaving a high speed RC) by hand using an Awl and brute force to pull the cells apart, lol. Lots of sparks, but disappointingly, still no fire.
(It was a big battery too, a 5000mah 40C 3s). I honestly believe its easier to accidentally let the magic smoke out of a NimH than it is to do it to a lipo.
The size of your current batts is not really all that relevant. I realise you would like to know because you know they fit, but it is more useful to find out the precise dimensions of the battery tray on the vehicle (Tamiya forums maybe?) to find out what you are hard-limited to, then shop away.
Meh, I don't use lipo bags or any kind of special storage for my lipos. This lipo fire thing is from several years ago when the technology was alittle, um, young. It really is SO rare these days, battery tech has moved on quite a bit, you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than have a perfectly healthy well treated battery catch fire in a crash or at any other time. You'd have to do something REALLY stupid with it, like plug it directly into the mains. Fearmongers love to keep using this subject to scare the bejesus out of newbies. I once dismantled a heavily damaged battery (almost folded in half by impact with a lamppost after leaving a high speed RC) by hand using an Awl and brute force to pull the cells apart, lol. Lots of sparks, but disappointingly, still no fire.
(It was a big battery too, a 5000mah 40C 3s). I honestly believe its easier to accidentally let the magic smoke out of a NimH than it is to do it to a lipo.The size of your current batts is not really all that relevant. I realise you would like to know because you know they fit, but it is more useful to find out the precise dimensions of the battery tray on the vehicle (Tamiya forums maybe?) to find out what you are hard-limited to, then shop away.
