RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi guys

I run the stock batteries in my tanks, but find I don't get much longer than 25 mins with the smoker, Is it worth upgrading to a lipo for a longer run. Can they damage the tank ?

Lipos are generally better than nimh batteries however they need allot more care when it comes to discharging them. I assume you're talking about HL electrics - i'm not sure how they'd deal with a 7.4v Lipo. I'm sure someone here has tried though. Alternatively you could buy a larger capacity 7.2v nimh battery. 4500 and 5000 capacity batteries are fairly cheap these days and give allot of running time.

Hi billpe

Yes HL and Taigen, I have got one tank with El mod electronics which I bought second hand but haven't used yet. I didn't know that the nimh went up to 5000.

Found some 4600 ni-mh on ebay and their quite cheap,

cheers

I run the 5000 in my Tamiya Leo2 with all metal upgrades....its heavy....and can get 30-40 min out of it. The same battery in my stock Sherman will run almost 1 1/2 hours. I don't have battle systems yet so I don't know if that has any effect.

Yer I have a very heavy Tiger,so to get 40 mins out of it would be a big improvement.

I've discussed this and advised on the subject many time... going to make it easy.... LIPOs are the best.... you cannot beat the power output or longevity ...7.4 will not hurt the electricals...just get a good charger ... good brand of battery...and a steel pan

ALPHA

Ah, the wonder of the Lipo....

You will need a good balance charger and a lipo balance bag, and charge at a rate of no more than 1c (eg 5.0a for a 5000mah pack, 4.2v for a 4200mah etc). Lipos should be storage charged between use (no longer than 24hours fully charged) at 60% capacity, and should never be allowed to drop below 3.0v per cell. Ideally, an lvc set at 3.4v is better, and you will need to fit an lvc unless the control module has one inbuilt.

Look after lipos and they will serve you well; I have plenty for the cars we run, never had any issues and all are stored indoors Intending to run my Taigen on 6600mah hardcase packs if I can squeeze one into the battery tray, should provide plenty of runtime, the existing battery wires will need an upgrade though, and tamiya style connectors are a no-no....trx or 4mm bullets for me!

Thanks for your input General_Dissarry, looks like lipo's are more favourable than the ni-mh!!!
changing wires ?

No need for Lipos, I run Tenergy 3000 and 5000. I get 3 to 4 hours on the 5000 depending how hard I run it. And that is in my big tanks with metal bigger motors, upgraded amp and speakers, smoker, lights, etc... That is battling for 20-25 mins and then shut off for 15 or so.

They are not that expensive. (I get them a little better than this)
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tenergy-7-2V-6S- ... 0445245918

Charge real nice and have had no issues with them. NO RISK at all with these as opposed to lipos. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with going the lipo route but I know at some point I would screw up and charge them wrong or figure out some other way to blow them up!