Team MedBots

[Max]

It's 800mm long, about 900mm wide- not sure how that compares. The good thing is only the front needs heavy armouring as all the expensive parts are there, just need to protect those bottles from axes.
Losing the buffer could save some space but not very much, and by having the ram, buffer and valve inline I should get a nice flow, even with just one Burkert.
If I went for SLA I'd buy a number of 6v 10ah batteries then change them each fight, that gives me flexibility to upgrade to 18v and means I don't have a ton of weight! I feel I'd need 2 of those 8Ah lipos to stay safe with discharging, then I'd need 2 chargers as I can't charge them in parallel. I may see if a mate has one I could borrow for events, he does rc planes so should have one.

[maddox10]

I would retain the buffer, such a 1.1 kg CO2 bottle is exact the size you want for that ram.

You can do the setup with 1 Burkert, use the same setup as most feathers use. The flow is enough to satisfy your ram.

[Max]

Should have thought of that about an hour ago before I ordered 2! I meant just one burkert as an inlet, second for an outlet.
The advantage of going lipo is I won't need a voltage boaster to operate my 12v burkert, does it need overvolting?

[maddox10]

A 12V burkert? You sure that's a 5404?
But even if it's a 5404 with 12V solenoid, you want 15V+ going to that. There is a small difference between every burkert, what makes that one will work reliably @ nominal voltage, and another will want overvolting, especialy when it is warm.

[Max]

I'm unsure if I am getting a 12v or 24v coil, I thought it only came with a 24v coil but apparently not

[Max]

For my featherweight I've bought 2 3s lipos, they will be run in series. Can I make up a connector to charge them in series as well? I'd also have to make up a connector to connect the balancing plugs, does anyone know what kind of thing I'd need for this?

[webby]

Do you mean parallel? You cant charge in series haha and 2 3s in series would give you 22v

[maddox10]

Do you mean parallel? You cant charge in series haha and 2 3s in series would give you 22v

Euh, an Imax B6 charger can charge 6S LiPo. And the S stands for Series. If you hook up 2 3S packs and wire the balance leads as a 6S setup, you can charge 2 3S batteries as if it's a 6S pack.
But, I don't see the advantage. Chargers are rated in watt , and except the time to switch the packs on the leads there is no advantage in time or ease of recharging.

[Max]

The advantage is that after a fight I can charge up both batteries for the same amount of time, so even if I don't have time to finish charging I know both packs have the same voltage so are safe to use together in series.
Although, I am not sure if a ballancr charger ballances the packs during the charge or at the end so I don't know if semi charging is dangerous.
I think there is a setting on my current charger that lets me change the voltage it takes the packs to, so I could reduce this so there is plenty of time between fights to charge both packs to this level.

[maddox10]

Chargers like the Imax b6 balance when the voltage reaches the set voltage. (4.2V for liPo), it takes compared to "fast charging" ages.

[Max]

What do people think of 2mm steel on top of 13mm marine ply as top armour for a heavyweight. Do people think that will stop most axe blows from getting through?

[Eventorizon]

I doubt it would take it. One hit maybe but after that the ply's layers would have separated and the steel would be only thing stopping it, and 2 mm steel isn't enough on its own.
Besides, the cost of buying both of those may mean its better to jump straight to 4mm Hardox.

[maddox10]

Weight of 1m² 13mm "durable plywood" is the same as 1m² 1.5mm steel.

Like Alex writes, better aim for 3.5 / 4mm wear resistant steel like hardox.

[Max]

I am unable to afford/use hardox, my options are steel, aluminium, wood or at a stretch hdpe. I'm not sure which material would be most puncture resistant for the same weight. I thought steel and wood would be good as I get lots of thickness from the wood but the hardness of the steel.

[Ellis]

The steel will tend to puncture and partially spread the load on the wood. The result will gradually obliterate the underside of the wood until, as Alex said, it might as well not be there, and you're protected by the thin steel.

Unless you go for much thicker steel (or much thicker wood, but I woodn't (heh) recommend it), HDPE might be your next bet. It will have to be fairly thick but it will absorb the impacts to an extent. 6mm HDPE just about holds out Little Hitter, to give you an idea on thickness.