Does anyone still use non LiPo/LiFe?

[bish]

As per the title really, i'm trying to get back into the sport but reckon i'll struggle to last 5mins! are there any non LiPo/Fe options? (i still have my retro tekin charger!)

cheers

[sosidge]

NiMHs always lasted 5 minutes for me... I don't think that much has changed.

There is no reason not to use NiMH's. Unfortunately good cells are hard to find (no market for them), and it has become a dead technology, so there is no value in the cells once purchased.

Oh, and weight limits in some classes have changed so you might be well overweight with NiMHs.

[bish]

HAHA, no i still have NiCds! 2400. like i said-it's been a while!

[AlisdairO]

Quite a few club racers still use NiMH batteries, which will easily last you 5 (or even 10) minutes if you get some with a decent capacity. People use LiPos because they deliver more power and are a bit more convenient, not especially for the extra capacity.

If you have a brushless setup (I hear LiPos are quite hard on brushed setups), LiPos are really worth a bit of extra cash if you have it. Finally, check your charger supports NiMH batteries. A NiCd charger that doesn't mention NiMH support is not suitable for NiMHs.

Edit: if you still have NiCds, they may well have gone bad due to being stored for a long time. Check whether they still work by cycling them a few times.

[Big G]

I think there's 2 guys that still use them at club, but we can't run 8 minute finals when they're racing for obvious reasons.

[bish]

mmm, thanks for the info, i'll keep an eye out for some NiMh then (for now!)

[bigred5765]

bish you only need one lipo and theres some great lipo's out there dirt cheap, forget nimh or nicads,one lipo can be used and topped up all day

[bodgit]

As above lipo would be the better and cheapest option even after buying a new charger. Im guessing if you last used nicads your charger would be quite slow re max charging amps and maybe not suitable for nihm,s. Plus you sound like your giveing lipo some thought so why not just go straight in. If it doesnt work out you can resell lipo easily, nihm would be hard to sell and storage is a pain.
Nihm should really be discharged on a balancer tray after every use to get the best out of them and prolong their life. They dont usually recomend charging more than 2 times in 24 hours. One set would not be enough.
As bigred says a single lipo pack can be used and topped up all day.
And you wont have the boring waste of time spent discharging 3-4 packs of nihm batteries before recharging. Plus you will get a real differance in the power from lipo.

[bish]

i know this will sound lazy, but any ideas for LiPo saddles (rather than me just googling it!)

[AlisdairO]

intellect is an excellent brand - you can get them off ebay from Hong Kong for less than 50 quid. If you're using an old speed controller, you will also need to get a 2s lipo cutoff to prevent your lipo running too low and breaking.

[Jnunu1]

Originally Posted by bish

i know this will sound lazy, but any ideas for LiPo saddles (rather than me just googling it!)

Vampires from DMS

http://www.dms-racing.com/fruzat/qax...SQL/search.asp

[bish]

ok, starting to look now :-) actually, anyone know a good way to convert a saddle chassis to lipo saddles? (CAT 3000)