Granite Arrma 1/10 Granite Mega 4x4 Brushed 4WD Battery Recommendations?

[alemmo]

Hello Everyone, I am brand new to the hobby. I'm the dad. I bought 2 of these Granite Mega 4x4 for my 9 year old twins. They got them on their birthday yesterday. They love them and they are cool trucks. The battery only lasts about 10 minutes that came with them. I was just wondering if you had recommendations for some more batteries. From what i have read i think i want to stick with NIMH batteries. I don't want anything too powerful or hard to maintain for the 9 year olds.

thank you so much.

 

[FlipSide]

That was also my idea too for my 9 y.o. son's Granite Mega. After a few packs, I bought a 5000mAh 2S Lipo and I am the one taking care of the battery charging. I'd advise staying with NiMH if you don't want to be responsible for the charging.

I'd further advise buying a truck for yourself and take care of the charging!

I was also afraid of Lipos when I started reading about them. I was freaking out about burning my house down. Then I read even more and I realized they are pretty safe if you take good care of them. Accident often happens when people don't follow the rules.

The rules are quite simple:
- You need a good charger that can balance charge;
- Always balance charge in Lipo mode;
- Charge them in Lipo bags and away from flammable stuff;
- Stay nearby (in the same room) when charging in the house. That's the principal pain point IMO.
- Keep them at storage voltage if you're not using them in the next few hours;
- Keep them in a vented ammo box or something like that.
- Discharge completely and discard if they are damaged or starting to puff.

I think that's pretty much it. It seems Lipo fires are very rare occurence if you follow these rules. I know it seems like a lot of things to consider, but most of it is common sense.

 

[jondilly1974]

Hello Everyone, I am brand new to the hobby. I'm the dad. I bought 2 of these Granite Mega 4x4 for my 9 year old twins. They got them on their birthday yesterday. They love them and they are cool trucks. The battery only lasts about 10 minutes that came with them. I was just wondering if you had recommendations for some more batteries. From what i have read i think i want to stick with NIMH batteries. I don't want anything too powerful or hard to maintain for the 9 year olds.

thank you so much.

That’s about all NiMH packs run for. Also with a brushed motor, you don’t want to burn them up with long runs. Just buy more packs and give them a rest for a few mins between packs to keep the motors from heating up.

 

[alemmo]

That’s about all NiMH packs run for. Also with a brushed motor, you don’t want to burn them up with long runs. Just buy more packs and give them a rest for a few mins between packs to keep the motors from heating up.

Thats fine do you have some recommendations on additional NIMH packs to get. I believe the stock ones are 2400MAH. WOuldn't 4000 MAH NIMH run a little longer? Any particular brands i should be looking at?

 

[riley2fast]

I agree with the above comment, nimh is a “safer” option due to them being pretty much idiot proof. But the Lipo is a more enjoyable experience for driving. Better battery life and more consistent performance.

I picked up the Spektrum batteries for mine, 2S 5000 mah 30C for my Senton mega. They self discharge to storage and take a lot of the guess work out of making sure you charge the right way. Whether that is true or not, I dunno, but they have worked out well for me and my kids so far and no fires in my kitchen!

 

[Cheapbastard]

Thats fine do you have some recommendations on additional NIMH packs to get. I believe the stock ones are 2400MAH. WOuldn't 4000 MAH NIMH run a little longer? Any particular brands i should be looking at?

There aren't that many manufacturers that make nimh batteries anymore, lipos though have lots of brands to choose from and can be had cheaper than a 8.4v nimh. I would just get some Venom 8.4v nimh packs. I only have the 3000mah nimh ones but they still hold a charge after years of use (don't really use nimh anymore though). They make 42000mah ones and those would be the ones I suggest to get. The neat thing about the Venom packs is that they come with adapters to suit different connectors, you would use the EC3 plug adapter since EC3 and IC3 (stock Mega connector) are compatible.

Lipos would better but nimh can work fine even with mild brushless setups. Running nimh might help to keep the brushed motors live a little longer. Get a couple of nimh packs and then I would highly suggest reading up on lipos, then move onto using them.

 

[1stGranite]

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