Changing from Lipo to Ninh battery

[eatkins245]

I have a ZD racing 1/10 Rocket 4WD DBX 10 with 80a brushless ESC and a 3660 brushless 2300 KV motor. The battery is 3s 11.1 v 3200 mah 35c. I want to use a 4200 Mah Nimh 6c 7.2v Traxxas battery. Can this be done? The truck was a gift and I do not use Lipo batteries.

Thanks is advance for your help.

Ralph

 

[Ramp addict]

Running a lower voltage battery won't hurt anything it'll just make your truck slower. You'll need a Traxxas to whatever plug adapter, and you'll need to turn off the lipo low voltage protection on your ESC.

 

[eatkins245]

Unfortunately the manual does not tell you how to turn off Lipo low voltage protection.

 

[WickedFog]

Running an Nimh battery in place of a LiPo on a brushless system will have some issues. Nimh batteries cannot deliver the amperage like a LiPo can, and you'll quickly heat that Nimh battery up, as well as experience low voltage cuttofs due to the severe voltage drops. I wouldn't do it.

There is nothing wrong with using LiPo batteries as long as you educate yourself. To keep from damaging them, don't drain them below 3v/cell, and that is easy to do if you set your LVC to 3.6v/cell in your ESC. Storing them long term - nearly all LiPo chargers will have a storage mode to charge them somewhere around 3.7v/cell or so. They are perfectly safe to store.

Usually the only time you see any problems with LiPo batteries is by overcharging or charging/uding a LiPo battery that is old or damaged, and they get hot and vent during charging or discharging in the RC.

Unless there are other reasons you don't want to use them?

 

[Greywolf74]

Unfortunately the manual does not tell you how to turn off Lipo low voltage protection.

Personally I wouldnt want to run a NiMH in it as the performance and run time will be crappy in comparison. That being said, I tried finding a user manual for the ESC thats in that kit and I can't find one. You'll likely have to contact the manufacturer and ask them for instructions. I did find their email address. [email protected]

 

[eatkins245]

Running an Nimh battery in place of a LiPo on a brushless system will have some issues. Nimh batteries cannot deliver the amperage like a LiPo can, and you'll quickly heat that Nimh battery up, as well as experience low voltage cuttofs due to the severe voltage drops. I wouldn't do it.

There is nothing wrong with using LiPo batteries as long as you educate yourself. To keep from damaging them, don't drain them below 3v/cell, and that is easy to do if you set your LVC to 3.6v/cell in your ESC. Storing them long term - nearly all LiPo chargers will have a storage mode to charge them somewhere around 3.7v/cell or so. They are perfectly safe to store.

Usually the only time you see any problems with LiPo batteries is by overcharging or charging/uding a LiPo battery that is old or damaged, and they get hot and vent during charging or discharging in the RC.

Unless there are other reasons you don't want to use them?

Thanks for the info, I have used LiPo batteries before and know how to handle them. Guess cause I am older just don't want the potential problems. Besides all my other vehicles are Nimh Traxxas.

Personally I wouldnt want to run a NiMH in it as the performance and run time will be crappy in comparison. That being said, I tried finding a user manual for the ESC thats in that kit and I can't find one. You'll likely have to contact the manufacturer and ask them for instructions. I did find their email address. [email protected]

Thanks for the info Guess I will sell the truck, also thanks for looking up the info too.

 

[Greywolf74]

Thanks for the info, I have used LiPo batteries before and know how to handle them. Guess cause I am older just don't want the potential problems. Besides all my other vehicles are Nimh Traxxas.

Thanks for the info Guess I will sell the truck, also thanks for looking up the info too.

Unfortunately those cheaper Chinesium RCs dont typically have much support at all which is just one reason I typically advise people to buy something from a quality brand. I hate that you didnt have a good experience with it.

 

[STONER RC]

Thanks for the info, I have used LiPo batteries before and know how to handle them. Guess cause I am older just don't want the potential problems. Besides all my other vehicles are Nimh Traxxas.

Thanks for the info Guess I will sell the truck, also thanks for looking up the info too.

Welcome to RCT bud. The guys above are correct. Running Nimh batteries in a brushless set up isn't ideal in many aspects.

There's really nothing to be worried about when it comes to lipos. They just need to be treated with care. And the problems are usually with over charging or abuse.

You said you have other traxxas RC's that run Nimh. You could always change the esc and motor to a brushed system. And still use that RC. If that's what your more comfortable with.

 

[eatkins245]

Unfortunately those cheaper Chinesium RCs dont typically have much support at all which is just one reason I typically advise people to buy something from a quality brand. I hate that you didnt have a good experience with it.

Yep the wife ordered that one for me for Christmas. I have a Traxxas Raptor coming in this Wednesday. Traxxas was the only brand I bought back when I was into RC years ago.

 

[AlanDewey]

I keep my LiPo's in a metal 'ammo box' on the concrete floor in the garage away from everything flammable. I do not have to worry about them at all.

I have no insurance on my house, so I am fairly paranoid about fire (and hurricanes, tornados, sinkholes, meteorites.)

 

[STONER RC]

Yep the wife ordered that one for me for Christmas. I have a Traxxas Raptor coming in this Wednesday. Traxxas was the only brand I bought back when I was into RC years ago.

Just heads up that traxxas Raptor is a VXL esc 3s. So it will run on lipos. So you might have to make the jump over to the lipo side....

 

[bigbristv]

I was in your shoes a couple of months ago. Your paranoia re lipos is well founded and will make you a VERY responsible lipo user.

I took the leap and am so happy I did for several reasons. All but 1 of my nimh batts are shipping out with my older rigs.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

Lipo batteries are becoming pretty mainstream now. Phones, computers, kids toys. Just need a little education on use and care. There's really nothing to worry about. Just respect them.

 

[STONER RC]

Yep the wife ordered that one for me for Christmas. I have a Traxxas Raptor coming in this Wednesday. Traxxas was the only brand I bought back when I was into RC years ago.

Here a good article about lipo batteries and safety. Give it a read you might feel a little more confident.

https://www.rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide

They are very good batteries just need to respect them for sure.

All the fires you hear or read about are usually from cheap lipos being over charged. That's where the problems start. Over charging..