What is your favorite LiPo battery?

[DavidB1126]

For my B74 I run CNHL racing 5200mah 120C shorties. They do well for me. A bit higher on the IR around 3 and 4 per cell but works for me.

For my slash I just got new CNHL 6600 120C stick packs and those are also great. Previously ran discontinued SMC 7200 90C packs which were old and puffed up.

For my rustler I use Zeee 5200 80C packs with a XT60. Works well. I do noticed a huge voltage drop when at full throttle for more than atleast 5 seconds, I disabled my LVC in the esc to combat that. I do run a low voltage meter/alarm in the truck just in case.

In my Mini B I run Amazon cheapo Urgenex 1100 35C packs. For 20 bucks for 2, is a steal. Currently sitting at I think 14 to 18 on the IRs per cell, I charge them at 3.5A so that's why I got them so low.

All are 2S packs. And all of my packs besides my Mini B batteries, I charge at 10A regardless. Currently using a skyrc T200. I have tested it and I can max it out at 11.5A on balance charge when charging both sides at the same time, but can successfully charge 12A when only charging 1 battery.

I do have plans on upgrading my charger in the future to either a gensacearespammers d300 or hota d6 pro. And keeping my t200 has my basher charger when out bashing or spare charger. Been running it for almost 3 years now. Still works great, although the fan is loud at times.

My uncle with his XB4 uses discontinued SMC 4900 or 4600 packs, can't remember, but they are puffy and have cracked cases. Might get him new packs for Xmas. Either being CNHL 4900 shorties or the new SMC LiHV packs. He runs a iCharger 308 Duo and that is a insane charging setup. Expensive too. Although he only charges his packs at 10A and the charger does perfectly fine. Not even pushing it to the max lol.

 

[White_Crow_G]

It's been a long time since last update.
Need a suggestion.
Currently looking for new 4s pack for my SSTE
So. what LiPo's are up to date in 2025?
I've used HOOVO 4s 120c packs before. dont think i want to use it again. pbly it worth moving from cheap Chinese solutions

Saw very few comments about CNHL
found one CNHL Racing Series 8000mAh 14.8V 4S 120C
is it worth its money? or should i find something....more expensive and reliable?

 

[DavidB1126]

It's been a long time since last update.
Need a suggestion.
Currently looking for new 4s pack for my SSTE
So. what LiPo's are up to date in 2025?
I've used HOOVO 4s 120c packs before. dont think i want to use it again. pbly it worth moving from cheap Chinese solutions

Saw very few comments about CNHL
found one CNHL Racing Series 8000mAh 14.8V 4S 120C
is it worth its money? or should i find something....more expensive and reliable?

The link doesn't work for me for some odd reason but CNHL in general is REALLY great batteries for the price. I run them in my race buggies and trucks for about 2 years now and they're still going strong. Pretty good IRs, and they stay balanced and they aren't puffy like at all. Just got a pair of the G+ 4s packs for my Typhon and they are best for the price. If they specs / dimensions match up with your battery compartment/tray area I highly recommend the G+ packs but if not any regular CNHL should be great for you.

@Greywolf74 recently tested some CNHL packs and the results surprised me but my opinion on them isn't changing. 2 G+ 4s packs can cost ya around 85 bucks, try to price match that with some other brand it will cost over 120 bucks easily. The racing line is also pretty good although I never had the 4s versions I had tons of 2s packs and they are all pretty good. The only thing I would suggest is ALWAYS make sure the pack is balanced, and don't pull on the balance plug hard. As balance plug wires ripping out is common, and the cells being imbalanced is also common, although this is across for any lipo of any kind, not just CNHL.

 

[White_Crow_G]

The link doesn't work for me for some odd reason but CNHL in general is REALLY great batteries for the price. I run them in my race buggies and trucks for about 2 years now and they're still going strong. Pretty good IRs, and they stay balanced and they aren't puffy like at all. Just got a pair of the G+ 4s packs for my Typhon and they are best for the price. If they specs / dimensions match up with your battery compartment/tray area I highly recommend the G+ packs but if not any regular CNHL should be great for you.

@Greywolf74 recently tested some CNHL packs and the results surprised me but my opinion on them isn't changing. 2 G+ 4s packs can cost ya around 85 bucks, try to price match that with some other brand it will cost over 120 bucks easily. The racing line is also pretty good although I never had the 4s versions I had tons of 2s packs and they are all pretty good. The only thing I would suggest is ALWAYS make sure the pack is balanced, and don't pull on the balance plug hard. As balance plug wires ripping out is common, and the cells being imbalanced is also common, although this is across for any lipo of any kind, not just CNHL.

Thank you.
I did adjust a link, so should work now.

@DavidB1126 balance...should i balance battery before or after charging?

 

[DavidB1126]

@DavidB1126 balance...should i balance battery before or after charging?

Me personally, but it depends on what charger you have and what it does but on both my SkyRC T200 and GA D300 charger I both use the Balance / Balance Charge options so it will charge up to full but it will still balance the batteries at the near end of the cycle so it's balanced plus charged. Same with storage charge, if its a modern charger, storage will always bring the voltage up, or down depending on the actual voltage but at the near end of the cycle it will balance the cells the best the charger can before ending the cycle, so its all balanced and safe to store, or to run.

 

[White_Crow_G]

Me personally, but it depends on what charger you have and what it does but on both my SkyRC T200 and GA D300 charger I both use the Balance / Balance Charge options so it will charge up to full but it will still balance the batteries at the near end of the cycle so it's balanced plus charged. Same with storage charge, if its a modern charger, storage will always bring the voltage up, or down depending on the actual voltage but at the near end of the cycle it will balance the cells the best the charger can before ending the cycle, so its all balanced and safe to store, or to run.

need to check this with my hota d6 pro.
i usually charge it, then balance, then charge....not sure if it's the right way

 

[TeknoJ]

I used to run the zeeee brand but don't have too many anymore, they all puffed up, so they are retired. For 4s I use a CHNL 4s HV in one of my teknos. It's decent so far. Liperior is a good one for me. I recently got some SMCs for my boat, and they seem good. I have used some other amazon cheapies in the past like ovonic for my LC Racing car which has been good. The Gens stuff is alright but not as good as what it is priced out as.
All in all, I have a bunch of batteries because I have a bunch of cars. I would like to add more batteries per car of these better brands. Liperior from rcbattery.com, CHNL, SMC, you can't go wrong. Stay away from zeeee but, that is just my personal experience.

 

[DavidB1126]

need to check this with my hota d6 pro.
i usually charge it, then balance, then charge....not sure if it's the right way

Well, it could be the right way, but imo its far more easier to do a straight "Balance" charge from the beginning. Just make sure you set the cell/end/target voltage setting to 4.20 volts.

I used to run the zeeee brand but don't have too many anymore, they all puffed up, so they are retired. For 4s I use a CHNL 4s HV in one of my teknos. It's decent so far. Liperior is a good one for me. I recently got some SMCs for my boat, and they seem good. I have used some other amazon cheapies in the past like ovonic for my LC Racing car which has been good. The Gens stuff is alright but not as good as what it is priced out as.
All in all, I have a bunch of batteries because I have a bunch of cars. I would like to add more batteries per car of these better brands. Liperior from rcbattery.com, CHNL, SMC, you can't go wrong. Stay away from zeeee but, that is just my personal experience.

Agreed. I still have 2 of my Zeees (same battery just 2 of them). I had ok experience with them, they are just literally rebranded/re stickered Hoovo packs, lets just face it. Me, cells stay balanced, IRs are "ok", a bit high for my liking but I just can't get them any lower than 4.2 per cell most of the time during charge cycles. Puffyness, for me these packs arent that old and they're still great, my only complaint is that Zeees have terrible load issues, they cannot sustain the voltage under load. even on a moderate-heavy duty 2s brushless system they still can't hold the voltage. Ill quote my OG reply here and its still my same issue, i just had to disable my LVC and be extra careful on running those packs.:

For my rustler I use Zeee 5200 80C packs with a XT60. Works well. I do noticed a huge voltage drop when at full throttle for more than atleast 5 seconds, I disabled my LVC in the esc to combat that. I do run a low voltage meter/alarm in the truck just in case.

[Placeholder]

For my B74 I run CNHL racing 5200mah 120C shorties. They do well for me. A bit higher on the IR around 3 and 4 per cell but works for me.

For my slash I just got new CNHL 6600 120C stick packs and those are also great. Previously ran discontinued SMC 7200 90C packs which were old and puffed up.

For my rustler I use Zeee 5200 80C packs with a XT60. Works well. I do noticed a huge voltage drop when at full throttle for more than atleast 5 seconds, I disabled my LVC in the esc to combat that. I do run a low voltage meter/alarm in the truck just in case.

In my Mini B I run Amazon cheapo Urgenex 1100 35C packs. For 20 bucks for 2, is a steal. Currently sitting at I think 14 to 18 on the IRs per cell, I charge them at 3.5A so that's why I got them so low.

All are 2S packs. And all of my packs besides my Mini B batteries, I charge at 10A regardless. Currently using a skyrc T200. I have tested it and I can max it out at 11.5A on balance charge when charging both sides at the same time, but can successfully charge 12A when only charging 1 battery.

I do have plans on upgrading my charger in the future to either a gensacearespammers d300 or hota d6 pro. And keeping my t200 has my basher charger when out bashing or spare charger. Been running it for almost 3 years now. Still works great, although the fan is loud at times.

My uncle with his XB4 uses discontinued SMC 4900 or 4600 packs, can't remember, but they are puffy and have cracked cases. Might get him new packs for Xmas. Either being CNHL 4900 shorties or the new SMC LiHV packs. He runs a iCharger 308 Duo and that is a insane charging setup. Expensive too. Although he only charges his packs at 10A and the charger does perfectly fine. Not even pushing it to the max lol.

Been a while since I updated it. I did get a new charger, GA D300 and I love it. Still have my T200 as spare though.
Still running those CNHL shorties in my race buggies, one of my packs are becoming slightly unbalanced but every charge cycle it comes back to balanced to thats good. I mean 2 years on these packs with hardcore 13.5 and 17.5 racing, can't complain.
I'm running mostly all the same batteries, but new addition is CNHL G+ 4s packs for my typhon, best budget packs for the price, for the IRs too. They are under 2 per cell which I am surprised by for 40 bucks a pop.

 

[TeknoJ]

I never know if it is CHNL or CNHL

 

[WickedFog]

i usually charge it, then balance, then charge....not sure if it's the right way

The Charge function of the Hota charger balances the batteries at the end of the cycle. No need to do all that extra stuff.

 

[DavidB1126]

The Charge function of the Hota charger balances the batteries at the end of the cycle. No need to do all that extra stuff.

That's what i was looking for.

Not sure if it auto balanced or not.

My D300 is practically the same hardware/software so I just learned something new.

 

[uncletom]

I ran SMC's the first couple of years which were all 2S2P, then started using others when I went to 3S and now go with 3S1P or 4S1P.

So far, the liperior 45C 5000mah 3S packs are working really well for me in my 6S trucks. I get good punch out of them and decent run times. For their size/weight/performance, if they last me 1.5-2 years, I'll keep buying those for everything 3S and similar version for my 4S trucks.

My weakest packs are HRB 5000mah 50C packs. I typically ran those only in my ERBEv2 as they were the lightest/thinnest packs I had. I still use them, but they are taking longer to charge and the punch fades pretty good once they hit 50% empty or so.

The heartiest packs I've had were hobbystar 50C 6200mah 3S packs. They had great punch, decent run times, but were thick/heavy. I'm phasing those out in favor of the liperior 45C's.

I have a set of CNHL 65C Black 5000mah 3S. They are kind of heavy and barely fit in the ERBEv2 with the battery clips in it.

My first liperior purchase was a pair of their 65C 5000mah 3S. They are too thick for the ERBEv2 and are heavy. I'll only run them in my outcast, but when they die, I won't buy them again. I like running the same thing as much as possible in all my trucks. Avoids confusion and keeping track of what does what.

I'll feel better and the end of next year suggesting the liperior's to others. I figure if I get 1.5-2 years out of a pack, then that's a good life. I tend to run to LVC every time and I charge at 1.5C usually.

Size comparisons:

quite a stash you've got there, should keep you warm through winter.

My Lipos are mostly the no-names that came with RTRs bought at Banggood, "cheap chinese".. or what to call them. I'm surprised that you mention a life span of 2 years. Even under good care? I'd like mine to last me surely at least 5 or more years. Then again I'm always too optimistic. I've been generally using NIMH sticks in my 10-scales, them I can revive by cycling them occasionally.

 

[RustyUs]

quite a stash you've got there, should keep you warm through winter.

My Lipos are mostly the no-names that came with RTRs bought at Banggood, "cheap chinese".. or what to call them. I'm surprised that you mention a life span of 2 years. Even under good care? I'd like mine to last me surely at least 5 or more years. Then again I'm always too optimistic. I've been generally using NIMH sticks in my 10-scales, them I can revive by cycling them occasionally.

Welcome to the forum. Let's get you checked in and maybe learn more about you and your cabin ... Introduce yourself

I still have/use my Winmax LiPo packs from 2010. Some Hunger packs from 2014-ish(?) as well. If Winmax were still around, I'd be buying more of their packs. Maybe they were bought out by another company. I don't know. CNHL is the latest brand that I'm choosing to deal with. I just treat them all with respect and don't push them too hard. 2C maximum charge rate most days.