Another battery question...

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h8z2luze

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Just purchased a Traxxas Slash. I have been out of the game for a number of years. When I got out LiPo was just getting popular. There used to be some cheaper brand LiPo's that were still great batteries. Is there still anything like that around?
 
Hobbyking.com still has the Turnigy's. 3s 5000 is perfect.
 
Not heard of them. Lipo brands though are plentiful these days, many many many cheap brands that are likely just relabeled from the last guy. Just charge it safely and you should be good.
 
Ok so what about the discharge rate. The one I have now is 30C I see some on hobby king that are 65c Would it be safe to use those?
 
The higher the better.
 
Didnt know if would mess up the esc or not?
 
I've been out of it for a while too but if I remember right, the C rating is just the amount of discharge the pack can safely discharge. I dont think a pack with higher discharge capability could actually hurt anything since all it is really is just able to give the motor/esc the extra if it needs it. I might be wrong though.
 
SPC and SMC both make great LiPo batteries that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
 
Just make sure to use a good quality balance-charger and balance them while charge them at least every-other time. Also always charge in a LiPo charging bag.
 
SMC has worked great for me, they're the only lipos I own. I do balance charges pretty frequently and always storage charge, if they won't be used again the next day.
 
So will the higher c rating make the battery go dead faster than one with a lesser c rating? I have a good lipo charger as far as I know. Has all kinds of options. Including storage charge. The battery I bought says to always balance charge. So I do. I haven't tried storage charging. What's the difference?
 
So will the higher c rating make the battery go dead faster than one with a lesser c rating? I have a good lipo charger as far as I know. Has all kinds of options. Including storage charge. The battery I bought says to always balance charge. So I do. I haven't tried storage charging. What's the difference?
The higher C rating won't cause it to run out faster than a lower one. The only negative I've heard from C ratings is that some ESC, especially the high powered ones, may have issues if the battery/batteries can't keep up. It can also cause more heat in the battery if the C rating is too low. If you're sticking with a normal 1/10 scale setup for your Slash, you should be fine with anything above 35. If you're going to go extreme and shove a 1/8 scale or powerful 1/10 scale, I wouldn't go below 50.

It's better to store LiPos partially charged, I've read multiple amounts but (if I remember correctly) they were around 3.8v per cell.
 
The c rating is the value of how fast the battery can safely discharge. For an exaggerated example: If you have a MONSTER motor and a low c battery, it's like trying to run a welder with speaker wire. The amperage can't flow properly and you most certainly can damage wires, esc, and the motor. You can actually do the math to work out your minimum based on your motor, esc and radio electronics draw.

So I'm essence what I'm getting at is that I got the 2 ratings confused... The mah is still the mah. The c rating is how much draw the battery can handle to power the electronics.
 
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The storage charge is a when your charger cycles thru a discharge or recharge and evens each cell for safely storing your battery. This is for when you won't be using the batteries for a little while. Lithium batteries do not like to be stored at full charge. (I BELIEVE that they are also a lot less stable when fully charged where as in storage charge, they are less likely to have any problems... But that is my thoughts, not written in stone as far as I know) whatever you do, ALWAYS use the battery bags and NEVER walk away from a charging battery!!! This is no joke! There is a guy on an rc10 forum who lost his house and a LOT of nice kits etc because he left his charger and went upstairs. He actually heard it blow up but by the time he got back down, it was too late. The area was fully involved with fire. I have heard ppl who will keep a metal 'fire bucket' on hand (for oil soaked rags etc) with sand in it in case of emergency as well as fire extinguisher. I am not sure an extinguisher can put out a lithium fire tho... Just keep the surroundings from lighting with it.
Sorry for,writing a book here. Just feel like there's a lot you need to know and I would feel like an ass if I heard something bad happened because I didn't say it!
 
I had a lipo swell on me once. I appreciate all the comments. Sounds like they are a pain in the ass lol. The battery I have now is 30c seems to do fine though. My buddy has a 25c and 30c both seem to work well. So idk what to do here Haha.
 
I DEF recommend staying with lipos! The weight loss and more solid, consistent performance as well as taking a charge that you can run out of the Lipo is worth the extra lil effort for sure!
 
I wouldn't switch away from them that's for sure. Maybe I'll charge them outside lol.
 
Lol! Just as long as you're watching them, you should be ok. The bucket of sand is already sitting on my porch. Sand for the winter ice.
 

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