Nicad packs

[mattsdragons]

Need another 3000ah pack for Bulldog and im just having a check these are correct

http://www.batteryspace.com/Custom-N...pen-wires.aspx

I know Nicads are a little old tech but I have all the chargers etc and already run x2 3000ah packs

[typhoon_driver]

They are crap. The cells have a typical discharge rate of 3A which is further backed up by the 16awg wire (I use bigger in my feathers).

They are designed for low power applications. Chuck the nicads and get some lipo or A123 in there.

[maddox10]

NiCd ain't allowed in the EU anymore. Only old stocks are allowed to be sold and used.

Also, a comparable and decent LiPo pack has better capacity, lighter weight, and is cheaper to boot.

[mattsdragons]

I know that with the current battery tech at the level it is I could go for lipo or A123 cheaper but when getting into the chargers etc is when the cost mounts up

[maddox10]

A usable charger that goes up to 6S ain't that expensive. I gather you already have a powersupply for your chargers. If not. That is a tad more expensive.

Team RCC has several of these powersupplies. One of those is mated to this quad charger
And one of 100A monsters from mr Cooper is reciding in the Workshop of Chaos for multi-purpose applications. Firing Burkert and Churkert Valves for example.

[typhoon_driver]

Pretty sure you can find chargers that will balance lipo packs for under £30 if you look in the right places

[maddox10]

The battery I gave as example is £20.5.
The charger with build in powersupply costs £26.65

Add £5 P&P. = £52.15

The NiCd pack you gave as starter is £45, but that's with a very favorable $ to £ exchange rate and without P&P or possible customs nagging.

I know what I would do.

[Anttazz]

I have some from TJr that ain't used anymore?

[Max]

Also, a comparable and decent LiPo pack has better capacity, lighter weight, and is cheaper to boot.

But about 50% of the reviews of turnigy packs say they had to send them back or they blew up or wouldn't charge/balance.
I am not sure if it would be sensible to run a hw on these cheap packs due to the risk of them not supplying the current stated.
I'm not sure as I don't run a hw or own turnigy lipos but I would hate to be the muppet that went for cheap lipos then got them banned after an incident.

[maddox10]

Thanks for calling me a muppet Max.

[Ellis]

His argument is fair enough, they aren't flashy LiPos, but then again people have had quite a lot of success with those. We use them in Tormenta 2, we bought 3 second hand 5s 5Ah versions of those on Ebay for 12 quid each, expecting them to be fairly wasted, and they're perfect. Treat them right and they should last. Even if they're not up to HW standards, Matt, they'll do very nicely for pretty much any feather that isn't top-end ballistic.

Also you'll benefit a lot from getting a LiPo charger anyway, with the cost to performance ratio of LiPos exceeding the other technologies so hugely it's crazy not to get up to speed. You'd be running them fairly hard but I'd have thought two of those LiPos in parallel should get a heavy running nicely.

As has been said, you'll struggle to find the right NiCds now as they're no longer sold new.

[typhoon_driver]

For a standard heavy drive they should do fine as you will have around 10ah of lipo at least. I can't see a heavy needing more than around 15c on the drive which those packs can provide. I wasn't a fan of them as I'm drawing large currents in a feather and using a smaller pack

[psychostorm]

Turnigy is mid range not cheap. If you're just replacing SLAs or Nimh, they're alright. It's what for & how often you use it that'll determine what you can get away with.

[maddox10]

@Max.

I selected the battery on capacity-about the same as the 20 cell NiCd , 3000mAh, promised 20C and for this case, local availability. And after reading the UK reviews, you have 1 negative review, and 2 positive ones, and the packs have a good rating overall. So were is the 50% bad review rate?

As I'm happy with the Turnegy and Zippy LiPo's an LiFePo4's in our machines. Up to now they do exactly as promised.
And yes, I expect a dull pack everytime we buy a new one. But that's why we try to buy packs in the local warehouse, makes the warranty easier to claim.
Here's a cheaper one in the same range.
If you follow the rules as the FRA gives them, and take good care of the packs, there shouldn't be any problem. Of course, packs still will fail if the shocks are heavy enough, or when an axe or disk goes trough them. But that's the same for every battery.

If you're really concerned about safety, buy the LiFepo4 packs, a tad heavier, a tad more expensive than LiPo, but still lighter than any NiCd or NiMH pack, probably even cheaper per mAh.