High Voltage battery. Did I make a mistake buying these?

[MMoelmann]

I was looking to buy new 4s batteries and I bought some online and only realized after that they are HV batteries. I looked up some reviews after and I'm seeing mixed reviews. Some say they are better. Others say they are good at first but lose their charge faster and are inconsistent throughout the run. Did I make a mistake? Should I return them or keep them?
FYI I'm using them on an Outcast 8s with a Hobbywing Max5 ESC.

 

[Moirae]

iirc hobbywing esc can handle hv lipo fine. As long as you charge them to the stated max voltage you should be okay? or maybe only 6s hv is acceptable.

 

[MMoelmann]

iirc hobbywing esc can handle hv lipo fine. As long as you charge them to the stated max voltage you should be okay? or maybe only 6s hv is acceptable.

Thank you. I thought the Max 5 could handle it. I guess I'll try them and see how it goes. And good advice to make sure I charge them fully. I'll check my charger to make sure I can do that.

 

[MrWednesday]

I was looking to buy new 4s batteries and I bought some online and only realized after that they are HV batteries. I looked up some reviews after and I'm seeing mixed reviews. Some say they are better. Others say they are good at first but lose their charge faster and are inconsistent throughout the run. Did I make a mistake? Should I return them or keep them?
FYI I'm using them on an Outcast 8s with a Hobbywing Max5 ESC.

I paid 300$ (Canadian) for a pair of HOOVO 10,000mAh 120c batteries, babied them and 3 months later and only 9 cycles (storage charged after each run) and one cell is showing a resistance of 22… should be between 2-4, maybe 5. Batteries are so fkn unpredictable, keeps me up at night.

 

[Armarookie43]

I did that mistake before. I just charged them as regular voltage batteries with no issues. You can't do HV batteries on an ESC that is not designed for it. I realized that I had bought HV batteries after they were in my hands off Ebay.

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

I paid 300$ (Canadian) for a pair of HOOVO 10,000mAh 120c batteries, babied them and 3 months later and only 9 cycles (storage charged after each run) and one cell is showing a resistance of 22… should be between 2-4, maybe 5. Batteries are so fkn unpredictable, keeps me up at night.

10,000 mah? Jeez

 

[MMoelmann]

I did that mistake before. I just charged them as regular voltage batteries with no issues. You can't do HV batteries on an ESC that is not designed for it. I realized that I had bought HV batteries after they were in my hands off Ebay.

So you didn't charge them to max capacity? How was the run times?

10,000 mah? Jeez

The ones I got are 9000mAh HV 120C from Zeee. I know they are cheap but I've had good luck with their other batteries.

Zeee Premium Series 4S Lipo Battery 9000mAh 15.2V HV Lipo 120C Hard Case High Voltage Battery with EC5 Connector for RC Car RC Truck Tank Racing Models (2 Pack) https://a.co/d/f85jw9C

 

[dure16]

So you didn't charge them to max capacity? How was the run times?

I believe you’d only see the full 9000mah capacity if you charge them to 15.2V.

Castle ESCs come with a warning not to use high voltage batteries if you’re at maximum voltage. For example, it’s okay to run HV 6S on an 8S ESC, but not okay to run HV 8S on that same ESC.

Does the Max5 allow you to edit the LVC? Do HV batteries have a different cutoff point on the low end?

I don’t know the answer about the Max 5 though. It may be able to handle the higher voltage just fine.

 

[MMoelmann]

I just checked the Hobbywing website and read the manual and I didn't see any warnings about running on high voltage. I'm going to give it a shot. Hopefully it doesn't go up in smoke

HW does allow me to adjust the LVC. I read that the nominal voltage of a HV is 3.8 volts per cell compared to 3.7 for a standard Lipo. So 0.8 volts difference on 8s. I'll check my ESC settings to make sure I don't go too low.

 

[Armarookie43]

I just checked the Hobbywing website and read the manual and I didn't see any warnings about running on high voltage. I'm going to give it a shot. Hopefully it doesn't go up in smoke

HW does allow me to adjust the LVC. I read that the nominal voltage of a HV is 3.8 volts per cell compared to 3.7 for a standard Lipo. So 0.8 volts difference on 8s. I'll check my ESC settings to make sure I don't go too low.

I would send them an email first asking them. I personally wouldn't take that risk. As far as run times, it seemed fine to me under the regular voltage mode. I would get around the same time as other batteries with the same capacity and non HV.

 

[MMoelmann]

I would like to report back that I didn't fry my ESC and it ran just fine. I just took it out today. I'm not really sure if I noticed an increase in performance with the slightly higher voltage, but the run time fine and I shut it down after 20 minutes only because it started raining.

 

[QLynxer]

I paid 300$ (Canadian) for a pair of HOOVO 10,000mAh 120c batteries, babied them and 3 months later and only 9 cycles (storage charged after each run) and one cell is showing a resistance of 22… should be between 2-4, maybe 5. Batteries are so fkn unpredictable, keeps me up at night.

I just purchased some Hoovo batteries. Main selling point for me was that they have a 12month warranty.

You could try to email them.

[email protected]

 

[MrWednesday]

I just purchased some Hoovo batteries. Main selling point for me was that they have a 12month warranty.

You could try to email them.

[email protected]

Thank you! I can’t believe you found this, I looked everywhere

 

[QLynxer]

Thank you! I can’t believe you found this, I looked everywhere

You’re welcome man. It was included in a warranty card in the box it came with. I ordered from Amazon.

 

[Audy21]

So you didn't charge them to max capacity? How was the run times?

The ones I got are 9000mAh HV 120C from Zeee. I know they are cheap but I've had good luck with their other batteries.

Zeee Premium Series 4S Lipo Battery 9000mAh 15.2V HV Lipo 120C Hard Case High Voltage Battery with EC5 Connector for RC Car RC Truck Tank Racing Models (2 Pack) https://a.co/d/f85jw9C

Can I run 15.2v on xlx2 800kv they send me 15.2v by mistake?

 

[MMoelmann]

Can I run 15.2v on xlx2 800kv they send me 15.2v by mistake?

I would not run high voltage on the XLX2 if it were me. That ESC puts out a lot of power, but I've seen them go up in smoke (It didn't fry because of HV batteries).
I would double check the manual and warrantee info provided by Castle.

 

[jkflow]

Castle is a little picky with voltage. It's not that you will blow stuff up (on purpose). The Lipo detection gets messed up and doesn't know if you have a very bad 6S or an overcharged 4S and might simply not turn on i.e. it believes it's 6S and LVC kicks in.

Haven't tried it myself, but that is what I'm hearing on other forums.

You could try turning off LVC and will probably work just fine.
8S HV is a different subject, most components have an upper voltage limit, and you would literally damage the ESC utilizing 8S HV. Not recommended if manufacturer states a max voltage (like Castle).

There is no real HV magic, the HV series is a normal lipo but can be reliably be charged to 4.35V per cell, thus getting more capacity.
At standard 4.2V is acts like a normal Lipo with ~ 80% of advertised HV capacity.

SMC is considering label options to make it more clear for their HV line, might take a couple of batches for it to trickle down.

Example:
5300mAh @ 4.35V
5035mAh @ 4.30V
4770mAh @ 4.25V
4505mAh @ 4.20V

 

[Armarookie43]

Can I run 15.2v on xlx2 800kv they send me 15.2v by mistake?

NO. Just charge them as they were regular voltage batteries. You run the risk of frying your XLX2. Heck, some have caught fire with regular lipo voltage. I mentioned before that I was in the same situation and I used my HV batteries as regular voltage ones with no issues.

 

[Audy21]

NO. Just charge them as they were regular voltage batteries. You run the risk of frying your XLX2. Heck, some have caught fire with regular lipo voltage. I mentioned before that I was in the same situation and I used my HV batteries as regular voltage ones with no issues.

Soo 15.2v 4s 8000mah battery are safe to run on xlx2?? Right

 

[Armarookie43]

Soo 15.2v 4s 8000mah battery are safe to run on xlx2?? Right

Yes, just charge them as you charge your other lipos. My charger has a "high voltage" lipo mode, and I never use it. Just as an example.