Life, Lipo, Nimh, Nicad...which?

[hugh hargett]

grim, what's the issue with nimh? i'm using them without issues, if there's something i need to learn, PLEASE share the info. hate learning the "hard" way .

One thing I learned a few years ago from Greg Hahn (AMA National Tech Director) is that nimh packs need to be "trained". He recommended 5 but at least a minimum of 3 charge/discharge cycles before you use them. I have not had ANY problems with nimh RX packs when following this one recommendation.

Don Im trying your charge discharge method. Im dumb so Is it fine when the charger says "DRY" ? or does that indicate a problem with the nimh's?

 

[HOTWATER]

I use LiFE Rx packs...love them...it only takes a few minutes to charge one when the packs are down to 40% or so...also lightweight....

 

[hugh hargett]

No ones mentioned it but if youre like me you have 5 old cell phones in your night stand. The batteries, 2 of them in series make great reciever packs, You may have to compliment them with a 6 volt voltage regulator or some resistors.

Hugh

 

[HOTWATER]

No ones mentioned it but if youre like me you have 5 old cell phones in your night stand. The batteries, 2 of them in series make great reciever packs, You may have to compliment them with a 6 volt voltage regulator or some resistors.

Hugh

You are probably right! Yes...volt reg. with that...nice!

-Kent

 

[Glenn 787]

I use LiFe for my receiver packs and Lipos for the transmitters. It's gotten to be joke around here that people only charge their transmitters out of guilt.

 

[bmazor]

No ones mentioned it but if youre like me you have 5 old cell phones in your night stand. The batteries, 2 of them in series make great reciever packs, You may have to compliment them with a 6 volt voltage regulator or some resistors.

Hugh

Please never ever use resistor to drop down voltage for receiver and servo!!!!!!! Boris

 

[RobertWurster]

hey what size life packs mah do you guys use for the rx .is 700 mah good enough for the rx and 2 servos and how long you thinck it will last ?

 

[RodneyPierce]

Im going to use the 1100 mah packs.

 

[Christopher Moore]

Here is my take on this. I use lipos for anything not in water, it takes very little resistance to drain or unbalance cells. A unbalanced cell or over run pack is usually what cause the lipos to puff or light off. Nimh or LiFe in receivers is what I use. Nicad just has to many issues with memory. Lipos are great for high drain application. Also Castle Creations makes an awesome programmable BEC for $20 (another $20 for the PC programmer) that I use on anything over 6 volts for receivers. I know this has all been said in the previous posts but wanted to add my 2 cents to make the dollar complete. lol

Chris

 

[Yves Laberge]

For me its ni-cad, why? you can forget it for a while, and then recharge them with no problems.... you can still use your old charger!

 

[Hydro Junkie]

You do realize that the previous post was 8.5 years ago, don't you?

 

[Daniel's Racing]

He is the last lone Nicader.

The NiCads were few even 10 years ago, NiMh had already been the go to for a while.


LiFe is worlds ahead of NiCad/NiMh. Yea you need the proper charger and you can't let them sit unattended to for years. Lol.

 

[Grimracer]

So how have we fair'ed over the last 8.5 years.. Has my opinion changed.. Not much

LiFe is still tops in the game when it comes to RX power. I am somewhat torn between LiPo and NiCad as a second choice. If I can easily get to the battery then LiPo is fine. if Its burred in a plane or what not.. then NiCad.

I still hate Nimph cells. LOL..

Grim

 

[LohringMiller]

Lipos need careful charging and discharging but are unmatched for performance. Life batteries are great for receivers and probably transmitters. I've only used them in receivers. All my electric boats run lipos in effect for receivers with BEC circuits. I don't deliberately expose any electrical or electronic equipment to water, but I've never had a problem with lipo batteries getting damp. Receivers are much more sensitive. I've run and abused high capacity lipos for years without problems. I wish that could be said about my motors and speed controllers.

Lohring Miller

 

[Grimracer]

still.. to date.. the best Nicads i have used. (yes.. it seems odd saying this)
https://futabausa.com/product/fnr-4j/

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Funny you should say that, Mike. Those are the same packs I use for my receivers in my boats and have never had an issue using them

 

[SayMikey]

I run life batteries in everything Protek 500 in all my nitro boats. I do moniter discharge levels each day of racing until I get a grasp on how much im putting back in the battery

 

[Duke Mordja]

I am still running a nicad in my Futaba 3PM. Radio and battery are now 10 years old and no end in sight.
Simple tower hobbies charger-also 10 years old. plug it in, when light flashes-its fully charged and in trickle charge mode. Same setup has run every lap on every one of my boats for 10 years.

The nicad has earned its keep.

It is time to look into the 7PXR


Life cells are my favorite choice for receivers now.
Just make sure they are unplugged at the end of the day.