Be careful buying into the Graphene deception.

[Beniferd]

I've been wanting to change to Graphene battery tech. But after looking for any plausible reason to spend the extra money I can't bring myself to do it.

Watch if you have time.

 

[Sledgehog]

It's mostly marketing fluff.

 

[arrmadillo]

SMC has a write up on Graphine.
Hard pass for me!

 

[slick2500]

SMC has a write up on Graphine.
Hard pass for me!

Ironically SMC is supposedly working on Graphene batteries.

 

[arrmadillo]

Ironically SMC is supposedly working on Graphene batteries.

Yeah so they can make money on them like everyone else.

 

[Brewcity414]

?

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Graphene is actually a very good compound and aids batteries significantly. The issue of course is how people actually implement that technology. It will actually improve charging performance which is what I like about it. Again how manufacturers implement the tech will no doubt be varied and i’m sure some will put in such a small qty that it makes no material difference over that of a normal Lipo

 

[joostin420]

So nothing about discharge, or surge from that... I love my graphene batteries.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

The term Graphene in the LiPo industry is complete lies/marketing bull.
HOWEVER I will say that Turnigy (probably the biggest user of the word) does have some of the best batteries out there when looking at high discharge output, long life/durability, low cell temps during use.

As a general statement when looking at a company's different battery lineup, their graphene is typically their best offering.

If anyone was not aware the C-ratings are completely bogus. There is almost no batteries out there capable of more than 70c output.

 

[slick2500]

The term Graphene in the LiPo industry is complete lies/marketing bull.
HOWEVER I will say that Turnigy (probably the biggest user of the word) does have some of the best batteries out there when looking at high discharge output, long life/durability, low cell temps during use.

As a general statement when looking at a company's different battery lineup, their graphene is typically their best offering.

If anyone was not aware the C-ratings are completely bogus. There is almost no batteries out there capable of more than 70c output.

Last I checked it was 50c +/- 5.

-edit-

HK GRAPHENE Never in my wildest fantasies 5 years ago would I have thought today I would be singing Hobby Kings praises. And I am. Their Graphene line is the best commercially available RC lipo in the world, Period. They pulled a coup and raised the performance bar to a standard their competitors can only hope to match. Because Hobby King laid the supplier "pipeline" they now have competitors in this space. However I don't expect any will copy the "Rhino Hide" HK utilizes for pack covering. I can now prove that not only do the HK Graphene's deliver on a life sustainable 50C the skin can handle it, something not true for the others.

The track line of cell voltage readings (the spread) look like a rope. Any better they would appear as a single line instead of 6 separate ones. Simply Perfection. To avoid sounding completely like a freaking Fan Boy I have to point out all this performance comes at a weight penalty (So there )

HK PANTHER GRAPHENE My initial tests indicated these wouldn't offer much more then the first generation of Heavy Carbon pioneered by Hobby King. By and large that is true. There are minor improvements which are evolutionary whereas the original HK Graphenes were revolutionary. However that doesn't negate the fact that while the others "grazed" the 300A mark the Panther banged solidly off the scale. Also none of the others displayed the voltage authority and certainly didn't run as cool as the Panther did in the 55C test. So I can say with confidence the HK Panther is a true 55C pack. The others are 50C capable. So the only question is whether using arguably the most powerful pack in the world is worth the additional one ounce (28g) of weight?

Sauce
Original thread was started back in 2012 first post was updated June 2018. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1767093-Battery-Load-Test-Comparisons

 

[Lazy Bushman]

So do they actually use Graphene? I presume so or it would be false advertising. I know about it in theory only and it is good stuff, but none of my batteries are or in the past ever claimed to be so I never looked to investigate how much or how precisely manuafactures implement it in practice.

Again the benefits of Graphene is undisputed in batteries.....how it is implemented in Lipo's (quality, quantity etc) will always be variable to the point it has little or no effect. This a manufacturing issue opposed to a molecular and chemistry one.

 

[Captain Dirt]

Here's a pretty good read on graphene and lipos. This article basically states that the graphite and other carbon structures used in lipo construction form "shards" of graphene inside of their structures. So, manufacturers can and do label their batteries "graphene" without changing anything about the chemistry of the battery.

https://www.propwashed.com/graphene-lipo-battery-performance-tests/

 

[Lazy Bushman]

I haven't read your link, but I'm sure it says what you say, in which case battery manufacturers using that to claim that the are Graphene are being way too liberal with that term IMO and you could expect to see stuff all performance difference, opposed to adding deliberately adding graphene to the cathodes.

I have heard of batteries being capable of between 3c and 5c charge rates (I haven't seen any personally) and had always presumed that they must have used good quality graphene in the construction process......maybe it is just being liberal with the truth.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

I've been wanting to change to Graphene battery tech. But after looking for any plausible reason to spend the extra money I can't bring myself to do it.

Watch if you have time.

I don't have 25 minutes to watch, but is this the vid where they guy discharged the packs to zero, cuts the pack open, smears the goo around, then says "I cant see any Graphene?" (Which is microscopically thin, kind of the point).

Oh, an x2 what slick said. If you care about big amps, Graphine for the win. If you want max run time at 20 amps, others may be better.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Last I checked it was 50c +/- 5.

-edit-

HK GRAPHENE Never in my wildest fantasies 5 years ago would I have thought today I would be singing Hobby Kings praises. And I am. Their Graphene line is the best commercially available RC lipo in the world, Period. They pulled a coup and raised the performance bar to a standard their competitors can only hope to match. Because Hobby King laid the supplier "pipeline" they now have competitors in this space. However I don't expect any will copy the "Rhino Hide" HK utilizes for pack covering. I can now prove that not only do the HK Graphene's deliver on a life sustainable 50C the skin can handle it, something not true for the others.

The track line of cell voltage readings (the spread) look like a rope. Any better they would appear as a single line instead of 6 separate ones. Simply Perfection. To avoid sounding completely like a freaking Fan Boy I have to point out all this performance comes at a weight penalty (So there )

HK PANTHER GRAPHENE My initial tests indicated these wouldn't offer much more then the first generation of Heavy Carbon pioneered by Hobby King. By and large that is true. There are minor improvements which are evolutionary whereas the original HK Graphenes were revolutionary. However that doesn't negate the fact that while the others "grazed" the 300A mark the Panther banged solidly off the scale. Also none of the others displayed the voltage authority and certainly didn't run as cool as the Panther did in the 55C test. So I can say with confidence the HK Panther is a true 55C pack. The others are 50C capable. So the only question is whether using arguably the most powerful pack in the world is worth the additional one ounce (28g) of weight?

Sauce
Original thread was started back in 2012 first post was updated June 2018. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1767093-Battery-Load-Test-Comparisons

Another thing worth noting is that you want the newest batteries possible. With the volume that HK does they probably don't have Graphene packs sitting on shelves for 4 years. Just incase I went with the new panther series to ensure I had something new.

-Liberty

 

[slick2500]

I haven't read your link, but I'm sure it says what you say, in which case battery manufacturers using that to claim that the are Graphene are being way too liberal with that term IMO and you could expect to see stuff all performance difference, opposed to adding deliberately adding graphene to the cathodes.

I have heard of batteries being capable of between 3c and 5c charge rates (I haven't seen any personally) and had always presumed that they must have used good quality graphene in the construction process......maybe it is just being liberal with the truth.

I read the link the guy goes on to say something along the lines of the graphene batteries are different from the regular lipos, but what it is that makes them different the manufacturers are being tight-lipped about what they are putting in the batteries. Even if it's not graphene they are in fact doing something different with them.

 

[Beniferd]

I don't have 25 minutes to watch, but is this the vid where they guy discharged the packs to zero, cuts the pack open, smears the goo around, then says "I cant see any Graphene?" (Which is microscopically thin, kind of the point).

Oh, an x2 what slick said. If you care about big amps, Graphine for the win. If you want max run time at 20 amps, others may be better.

I was bored enough to watch most of it but didn't see the part where he cut it open. But I'm not closing the possibility for them being better than traditional. I do like the estimated life cycle on them. That alone makes them better. I'm building a speeder out of my typhon now so I'm going to be asking more about recommended batteries for it. So I'm sure Graphene will be in the topic.

 

[dms70]

Here’s my take. There’s only so many lipo producing factories. I would also assume they are all over seas. Then retailers make their own labels, and pow you now can buy the latest and greatest technology! You can’t tell me they are all spending the money on R&D, testing, and have a full time chemist on hand. My advice is buy the lipo batteries you like, and don’t overpay on marketing fluff. More importantly buy them from a seller that you trust and will be there for you if you have a problem.

 

[VerticalChallenge]

I purchased a pair of 4000 mAh 3S Turnigy Graphenes for my Nero a few years ago, and they are beefy batteries that give me runtimes similar to other 5000 mAhs I own and have proven surprisingly resilient to battery neglect. I had trouble finding them in a size for my Typhon though, they run plus-sized for its battery box. I ended up running a 4S sideways that doesn't strap in as cleanly as I'd like.

 

[Klappars]

My experience is that my Turnigy Graphene 4S 5000mah 65c pack is the best 4S pack I own.

I have a gensacearespammers 50c and an overlander 35c and the Graphene has significantly more punch and a stronger top end as well as running cooler.

I can say it was worth the cost since I bought it in a sale.

The only negative is the weight as it weighs as much as my gensacearespammers 4500mah 60c 6S pack!