Kraton A few questions about lipos?

[Barrister]

Hi everyone,

Just going to order some batteries tonight. I would like to start with 4s power. I was just looking some advice on the following please ;;

Difference between running say two 2s batteries vs one 4s?

Does all lipos require plugging in the balance lead?

What battery chargers would you recommend?

Thanks guys

 

[Glock21user]

Two 2s lipos help to distribute the weight better, if you only run one battery then you will need the jumper not with two.
As far as chargers go that's like asking what everyone's favorite beer is, 500 people 500 different responses.
I personally use and like a Lectron Pro Quad, I find it works very well for me.
It can also be run off of a 12 volt car battery.
Best of luck.

 

[arrmadillo]

I like running one battery in rigs like the 6s Kraton. I hate stacking batteries. Now with the Infraction for instance, I say go with 2 to balance the weight.

You should always charge lipos with the balance lead, some don't and that's a dumb move.

As far as chargers the sky's the limit. There's threads on here so search. One I believe is a sticky, Recommend me a battery charger.

Get a good one to start with. You want lots of power so you can grow into it. I have at least half dozen chargers so take this advice.

 

[Barrister]

I like running one battery in rigs like the 6s Kraton. I hate stacking batteries. Now with the Infraction for instance, I say go with 2 to balance the weight.

You should always charge lipos with the balance lead, some don't and that's a dumb move.

As far as chargers the sky's the limit. There's threads on here so search. One I believe is a sticky, Recommend me a battery charger.

Get a good one to start with. You want lots of power so you can grow into it. I have at least half dozen chargers so take this advice.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Could you recommend a good single 4s battery brand please?

Two 2s lipos help to distribute the weight better, if you only run one battery then you will need the jumper not with two.
As far as chargers go that's like asking what everyone's favorite beer is, 500 people 500 different responses.
I personally use and like a Lectron Pro Quad, I find it works very well for me.
It can also be run off of a 12 volt car battery.
Best of luck.

Thank you for the very helpful reply?

 

[StChalky]

What's your budget for charger? I'm using an Overlander VSR mini+ 100W 10A (approx. £35) which I got from Modelsport but, only goes up to 4S. It does my 4s brick for my Kraton fine but, when I go to 6S next week I'm forced to go with 2x3S. If you want to be able to do a 6S brick then I believe you'll want a charger capable of putting out around 125W to charge at 1C which either means shelling out a fair few quid for a powerful AC charger or, getting a DC charger which will do the job but you'll then need a power supply for it.

My 4S for the kraton is a turnigy panther 5000mah 75C which I got from Hobbyking's UK warehouse. Can't offer a comparison I'm afraid as it's my first 4S and I've only ever run Turnigy 2S batteries in my 1/10 car but, I'm certainly happy with it, seems good run time. However, it is a bit of a squeeze into the battery tray but, it does stay in there securely. For 6S, I'm likely gonna go for 2 x Turnigy HD 5000mah 60C 3s.
Cheers, Stu

 

[Glock21user]

If I misunderstood balance lead for jumper I am sorry, when charging ALWAYS use the balance lead.

 

[Ari33]

I use an Overlander D100-V2, I also have another slightly higher powered UPAC120 duo charger but they both do exactly the same job and Im equally happy with both.
I don't see charger brand choice as a huge deal. As long as the specs are right for your lipo charging needs is the main thing.

Lipos are a different story... they can be a mixed bag and can range from fantastic to poor depending on the batch. I once bought Turnigy Nanotechs that IR matched for all cells, measured amazing and lasted years with very little performance drop off which prompted me to buy some more... only to find my newer ones deteriorated far quicker and I don't even know why.. QC issues or new clueless factory workers?

From all the Lipos I've tried. I like the highest C rated Turnigy Graphines (Same as Panthers) the most, performance is impressive, they have outlasted all my others and I haven't had a dud yet. Are they worth the extra? Well they have been worth it for me. YMMV..

 

[olds97_lss]

Hi everyone,

Just going to order some batteries tonight. I would like to start with 4s power. I was just looking some advice on the following please ;;

Difference between running say two 2s batteries vs one 4s?

Does all lipos require plugging in the balance lead?

What battery chargers would you recommend?

Thanks guys

Battery thread:
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/whats-your-budget-lipo-of-choice.218/

Charger thread:
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/recommend-me-a-battery-charger.1079/

Happy reading!

Depending on how far you want to go for chargers you can stay basic and get a 100W+ single port or get more involved and go with a good DC charger or chargers with a power supply. That thread has info on many variations.

For simplicity, 4S and 6S packs are best if your just starting out and don't have anything else to run the packs in.

When I ran 4S, I ran dual SMC 7400mah 2S hard case packs.
Now that I run 6S, I run dual HRB 5000mah 50C and Hobbystar 6200mah 50C packs.

I have 2 other 1/8th trucks that require using dual packs, so for simplicity, I use dual in all 3 of my 1/8ths.

With that in mind, I usually only use quad or dual chargers since I always need 2 packs at a time.

If you intend on running 6S, bite the bullet and get a charger capable of at least 150W per port. DC chargers are typically more capable, which is why you find a lot of high wattage DC chargers, then you use a power supply to drive it/them. There are decent 200W per port AC chargers as well, like the SkyRC 400W, does 200w x 2.

I run the dynamite 100Wx4/10Ax4, hitec D7 200Wx2/20Ax2, HTRC ACDC150Duo 150Wx2/12Ax2 and an iSDT D6 Pro 300Wx1/14Ax1. The first 3 are AC/DC. I keep the first 2 in my house to prepare for the day and to discharge/storage charge at the end of the day. I use the other two in my car as DC chargers to charge while I'm out bashing.

They dynamite 100Wx4 was a good choice when I started and was running 2x2S, but charging up 4 5000mah 3S packs at 2C requires at least 111 watts, which it can't do. It still charges them fine and relatively quick. Just wish it was a bit more capable so I wasn't running it at 100% every time I used it.

 

[arrmadillo]

Thanks for the detailed reply. Could you recommend a good single 4s battery brand please?



Thank you for the very helpful reply?

SMC is all I currently run, here is their 4s 5400 hardpack

 

[Jerry-rigged]

For a charger, a good rule of thumb to remember is, you need 25w of charging power for each 5000mah cell being charged.

So for one 4s, you need 100w. If you want to charge 2 x 4s at one time, you need 200w (8 cells x 25w).

 

[Phaedrus]

I figure charger and power supply like this:

6S pack = 6x4.2 v/cell = 25.2 volts
1C charge for 5,000 mAh pack
5Ax25.2 v = 126 watts
Chargers are not 100% efficient so I figure another 25% so 157 watts per pack.

12-volt charger -> 157 watts/12 volts = 13 amp power for each pack.

So, I use a 55-amp PS supplying 13.8 volts to my charger when charging 4x6S/5,000mAh packs.

4 packs @ 157 watts each = 628 watts
628 watts/13.8 volts =46 amps being drawn from my 55-amp PS.

You need both cell count and capacity to calculate the required size charger and power supply.
I generally only . charge at 1C. Easier on the cells and they tend to last a bit longer.