Lithium Batteries.

by **Sepultura779** Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:03 pm

Most of you guys have heard about em - LiPo batteries. Same size as a mini 8.4v, higher discharge rate, lighter, last longer and are way cheaper than conventional batteries. Usually voltages are 7.4v and 11.1v, anything higher or lower is too much or too little for our purposes. Nathan uses an 11.1v in his KWA's and they rip. That's a little much for the rest of us on this team, so a 7.4v is what I'm after. 7.4v gives a rate of fire equal to a 9.6v Ni-MH. I plan to purchase a LiPo sometime in the near future. These are my current plans:

7.4v 2200mAH LiPo:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6540
2S/3S Turnigy Charger:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8247
Pack 'o Deans plugs:
*Placeholder, Hobby King's Deans plugs page is currently down. Picture for reference.

You will need Deans connectors unless you buy the packs with Tamiya's pre wired, which you can get from, say Airsoft GI, for about $100 for one LiPo...I can solder the connectors and have the materials and tools to do so. You'll need a male on your gun and a female on the battery. Plugs have positive and negative markings on them. I've got one pair of Deans plugs right now, haven't soldered yet because I still need one more plug for my charger but it's pretty difficult to unplug them once connected. Plus, it's $3 for 10 pairs (20 connectors) and that should last a while...I'll solder them for you guys for $2 a head for materials cost (solder is expensive!). The only problem I've found is that Hobby King ships from overseas. Therefore, shipping would be about $10 (ten) for all that and would take between two and four weeks to get to us. They are, however, a reputable dealer and very well known. If someone else finds a better deal from a similarly reputable dealer, I am all for that as well. My thinking is that it would be great if our whole team could switch to LiPos - and why not? Volatility is not a concern since we are now in the third or fourth generation of lithium packs and the combustion and explosion issues are negligible. Ask Chemical Fire, he has been running LiPo's for a while now and his house hasn't burned down! What are your thoughts on this?