Nimh or Lithium ion powered

[JHudson]

Looking for recommendations on a good lithium-ion or nimh powered RTR 4x4 monster truck basher. Not looking for a discussion on LiPo I know they are the best power density, just don’t want to live with the fire/smoke hazard. I saw a Traxxas E max that comes with Nimh but it is expensive. I would like brushless and something that is decent driving through grass, thinking at least a 1/10 size. Any low cost thoughts, I would like to stay close to $300.00 but would consider going up to $500.00 if it includes a charger and battery. One of the main purpose is an RC car/truck for the dogs to chase. I also have a number of 18650 and 21700 Li-ion batteries and saw a Arma Voltage that takes those batteries but it is just 2WD and the reviews aren’t very good. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[9x19]

Welcome to RCT

Most all of the brushless Traxxas models will run NiMh batteries, as their ESC's low-voltage cutoff can be disabled with the push of a button.

The only brushed 1/10 4x4s they offer are crawlers (TRX4)

 

[luke66]

If you’re careful with a LiPo they won’t start on fire. If you want a RC worth driving I’d recommend getting some LiPos to drive one.

If you want to keep going with NIMH tho, you can look for a used TRX Stampede 4X4 brushed

 

[ZaneC]

Here ya go: https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/stampede-4x4-brushless

 

[luke66]

^ that’s a perfect rig if you decide to run LiPos. If not you’ll need to find a used Brushed model.

 

[jojobeans]

^ that’s a perfect rig if you decide to run LiPos. If not you’ll need to find a used Brushed model.

You can run 7-cell NiMh with brushless combos. They’ll have a similar top speed as a 2s LiPo, although voltage will drop off pretty quick.

People ran NiMh batteries in way more powerful setups in much heavier cars in the past. OP will be fine running NiMh in a car like that.

 

[luke66]

You can run 7-cell NiMh with brushless combos. They’ll have a similar top speed as a 2s LiPo, although voltage will drop off pretty quick.

People ran NiMh batteries in way more powerful setups in much heavier cars in the past. OP will be fine running NiMh in a car like that.

From what I’ve seen you may not be able to run the BL-2s on NIMH.

 

[jojobeans]

From what I’ve seen you may not be able to run the BL-2s on NIMH.

According to Traxxas’ documentation, it’s able to run NiMh batteries as well. OP will just have to dig through the manual to find out how to shut off the LVC.

 

[WickedFog]

You're not going to have much fun running any brushless setup on NiMH packs. NiMH batteries cannot deliver the amperage needed to supply a brushless motor. Things could heat up very quickly. I would not recommend getting anything brushless and use NiMH batteries on it except maybe a crawler, no matter what Traxxas says. They just LOVE selling you stuff that will fail so you can buy more stuff.

 

[TeknoJ]

Lithium is Lithium whether it's Li-ion or Li-Po. You just need a charger that monitors Internal Resistance of each cell. I have this 4s zeee that is starting to puff up pretty bad and it's also a hard case. Hasn't caught fire yet but Its officially retired, it is about 4 or 5 years old.

 

[WickedFog]

Lithium is Lithium whether it's Li-ion or Li-Po. You just need a charger that monitors Internal Resistance of each cell. I have this 4s zeee that is starting to puff up pretty bad and it's also a hard case. Hasn't caught fire yet but Its officially retired, it is about 4 or 5 years old.

If you're seeing a hard case puff, get that thing out of your home if it's still in there. It's well beyond time to get rid of it. Time for some target practice

 

[TeknoJ]

If you're seeing a hard case puff, get that thing out of your home if it's still in there. It's well beyond time to get rid of it. Time for some target practice

It's been like that for a while now, I used it last weekend briefly and I swear it grew before my eyes! I discharged it down to less than 3v per cell and it is just sitting in a spot where it can't catch anything else ablaze.

 

[WickedFog]

It's been like that for a while now, I used it last weekend briefly and I swear it grew before my eyes! I discharged it down to less than 3v per cell and it is just sitting in a spot where it can't catch anything else ablaze.

Drain it down with a lightemup bulb or something.

 

[jojobeans]

You're not going to have much fun running any brushless setup on NiMH packs. NiMH batteries cannot deliver the amperage needed to supply a brushless motor. Things could heat up very quickly. I would not recommend getting anything brushless and use NiMH batteries on it except maybe a crawler, no matter what Traxxas says. They just LOVE selling you stuff that will fail so you can buy more stuff.

folks used to use NiMh batteries in full on 1/8 castle 1515 castle setups before LiPo became popular. Brushless motors haven’t changed that much, if at all in that time frame. Castles literature for their MM2 still states that NiMh use is okay for instance.
It wasn’t ideal and left a lot to be desired though. LiPo is definitely the better choice…

NiMh use is not just limited to brushed setups or crawler. A 1/10 mild brushless system like the bl-2s won’t put that much strain on a good quality NiMh. OP has already stated he’s not interested in LiPo usage and I can respect that. He’ll come around eventually though just like we all have

To address OP’s concerns… LiPo’s are perfectly safe if stored and charged correctly. We like to exaggerate the dangers of them so people take those dangers seriously, but like with most things in life… there’s risk involved. The cell phone/laptop/tablet you used to write this post has a lithium battery in it. They won’t just spontaneously combust. Take that information and do what you want with it, I’m not going to push you to do something you don’t want to do. NiMH will work fine for what you want to do, just don’t expect it to perform as well as you want it to. Education is key to LiPo safety. Good chargers, good quality packs and commons sense will reduce the risks to almost zero. The old timers in here can tell you how nasty it is when a NiMh cell pops, so even those batteries have their risks.

 

[TeknoJ]

Do the pictures do any justice??

 

[WickedFog]

Do the pictures do any justice??

View attachment 215858

View attachment 215859

Geez man. What are the IR's reading?

 

[Tr1f3ctaEch0]

That’s got to be like 20-25 mΩ

 

[TeknoJ]

Geez man. What are the IR's reading?

That’s got to be like 20-25 mΩ

Try 46 milli ohms on cell #4. The other 3 are 5,7, and 14 milli ohms.

 

[Tr1f3ctaEch0]

Try 46 milli ohms on cell #4.

 

[TeknoJ]

Yea it’s retired I just haven’t clipped the ends and put a light bulb on it