Lipo battery use update. SMC gets ?

[Wmorgan]

I've been running a few brands of lipo batteries to get experience with each. The only brand that I'll never buy again is SMC.

Today my SMC 5000 mah, 90C 6S lipo cut out in a rig 5mins after running and batt was fully charged. I pulled it and it was swole and busting out of the hard case. Charger won't even recognize it when i plug it in to discharge it. I also have an SMC 5000 mah, 90C, 4S that my son runs. While he was running his today his power was greatly reduced 15mins into the run, but would oddly still run. I figured LVC but it still had 30% charge on it.

I also have HRB, Zeee, gensacearespammers Lipos and all treated equally and have had no issues with any of those brands.

The SMC lipos are the newest Lipos I have. Won't buy that brand again.

Update 1/21/20:
I've been emailing Danny with SMC and they are sending me a replacement pack for the one i confirmed had a single faulty cell.
I'm glad to find a company that backs up their warranty claims. It's always good for the hobby to have these companies. it's easier to buy when you know if something goes wrong you'll have support. ??

I'll update again once i receive and run the Lipo. ?

Update 01/27/20:
Received the replacement Lipo from SMC and balance charged. Original charge, as received, all 6 cells were around 3.8v. I have run 2 cycles and so far all is well.

 

[Porschetech🇬🇪]

Ain’t gonna lie. This is what scares me the most. Blowing serious cash on lipos and this poop happens. I haven’t been in the game long enough to know what is a good brand to use. I’ve only been exposed to Traxxas, gensacearespammers, lectron pro and now spektrum.

I don’t use the RC’s as much as you guys, so this is another area I’m very green in.

 

[RSM801]

SMC batteries are notorious for puffing up and yet for some reason, people still rant and rave about them.

Ive had three of them and no matter how meticulous I am with them, they all have puffed.
You can find countless stories online about SMC and puffing, and yet people still claim they are the shiz.
If they wouldnt puff, they would be the best ones out there I think. They have solid C ratings and great punch.
They just puff up like a sponge taking on water, its crazy.

Mine haven't puffed as bad as your looks, so I still use them, but I would be quite worried about using that one.

sorry you had to experience this firsthand.


Before anyone buys lipos, you should use google and google the crap out of that brand. you will find the info you need for sure.

 

[jondilly1974]

I think my SMC lipos are over rated. They are much smaller than my comparable packs from other mfgs, even tho they have the same capacity and a higher C rating. They don’t perform better either. A few mph slower than a comparable pack. It is nice they will put any connector on there for you, but short if that, I will be buying Turnigy lipos from now on.

 

[Cr3pitus]

Yeah man. I literally only buy expensive packs for racing buggy at the track and I don't even practice on those. I have 3x $100 packs for racing at the indoor track like once every couple months. Everything else gets a $40 battery max basically. I'd rather have 25 $40 packs that have proven themselves to me as good B grade basher packs than a few S tier packs anyway. Even my 6s racing drones I just use CNHL in.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Too bad about the packs. I lost two Hobbystar this last month. One still runs fine but the case is splitting and the other has a cell that crapped out. They were both a year old, I think they should have lasted a little longer. Bought some ovonic batteries over the holidays. Really like the 4500mah 6s packs. Two for around a 100$ but you need to change the connectors yourself. They are not hardcase but I just remove them from spent packs and tape them on. I don’t see and drop in performance or run time compared to my hs 4800mah...

 

[RSM801]

Yeah man. I literally only buy expensive packs for racing buggy at the track and I don't even practice on those. I have 3x $100 packs for racing at the indoor track like once every couple months. Everything else gets a $40 battery max basically. I'd rather have 25 $40 packs that have proven themselves to me as good B grade basher packs than a few S tier packs anyway. Even my 6s racing drones I just use CNHL in.

if you race, check out performa racing packs. I get mine on ebay.
I use those for racing and they are every bit as good as the $140 trinity lipos all the other guys at my track use.
Funny how a $40 pack can compete stats wise with a $140 pack.
There is a trinity sponsored driver at my track that was blown away when he used it for a bit and ran all the numbers on his icharger and computer.
They are legit.

 

[Cr3pitus]

if you race, check out performa racing packs. I get mine on ebay.
I use those for racing and they are every bit as good as the $140 trinity lipos all the other guys at my track use.
Funny how a $40 pack can compete stats wise with a $140 pack.
There is a trinity sponsored driver at my track that was blown away when he used it for a bit and ran all the numbers on his icharger and computer.
They are legit.

I'll check them out!

 

[Warby]

Anyone tried these Hyperion branded packs? I've seen them on eBay. Good price for the C and mah ratings.

 

[crimsonfancy]

SMC try to jam out the biggest burst and I think to their detriment. They require gentle handling imo. I have a couple that puffed early but have lasted, I guess ...and one of em I own is scary puffed like yours.
For bashing, as mentioned...we can go cheaper with great results. Turnigy from HobbyKing is dependable and their HD line can take the abuse.
Sorry to hear you're disappointed in SMC because it appears they try hard but we're all better off safe than trying to get a sliver more punch for a few more bucks. The trucks are powerful enough even with cheaper stuff.
Maybe contact SMC to see what they can do to help?

Anyone tried these Hyperion branded packs? I've seen them on eBay. Good price for the C and meh ratings.

View attachment 60676

Worth a try for that cost but C-rating is often fudged. In this case the low cost looks like a low risk worth a shot.

 

[Cr3pitus]

Anyone tried these Hyperion branded packs? I've seen them on eBay. Good price for the C and mah ratings.

View attachment 60676

I've tried the Hyperion blue g5 packs in my drones in the past. They all puffed Super quickly, and sagged pretty hard. I always fly with voltage in my osd, and they would be dragging butt in voltage after any wot punch out and not recover throughout the run. Maybe different in larger packs like in RC cars but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Warby]

I've tried the Hyperion blue g5 packs in my drones in the past. They all puffed Super quickly, and sagged pretty hard. I always fly with voltage in my osd, and they would be dragging butt in voltage after any wot punch out and not recover throughout the run. Maybe different in larger packs like in RC cars but I wouldn't count on it.

Ok I'll give them a miss then I think.

 

[Surchaufeur]

Honestly its not the first time i heard them puffing up they always did i think since they went in the market maybe theres good ones and bad ones maybe they manufacturer are in differant places causing this

 

[slick2500]

I found lipo batteries to be hit or miss no matter who you buy them from. But the random no name batteries like you get on eBay and Banggood are more miss than hit.

 

[Surchaufeur]

I found lipo batteries to be hit or miss no matter who you buy them from. But the random no name batteries like you get on eBay and Banggood are more miss than hit.

Yeah the 6000mah hard case zop power 4s are unblanced kev made a video comparing the spft cases vs the hard case one and the cells were all over the place with the hard case while all of the soft cases ones were at 4.19 all of them

 

[Megasty]

Most of the cheap battery brands have been great for me. At one point I had a single 6s 6000mah HRB pack & used it 4-5x a week for 3 yrs until it finally starting to die. I had 2 SMC 4s 7200mah packs I ran in my 1st X-Maxx with a max6 & 1600kv motor. They lasted about a month before they needed a salt bath. I never went back to an expensive battery. The most recent brand I tried is Youme. I have 2 6s 6500mah & 4 4s 6500mah. They seem way too good for the price although they appear cheaply assembled cells. But the performance is awesome, especially what the 4s packs are doing in my K8S. Under $100 for 2 is unreal so I'll have to see how long they last. The biggest surprize are the ZOPs, stupid cheap Floureon clones. All the soft packs I have are perfect.

 

[Cr3pitus]

Most of the cheap battery brands have been great for me. At one point I had a single 6s 6000mah HRB pack & used it 4-5x a week for 3 yrs until it finally starting to die. I had 2 SMC 4s 7200mah packs I ran in my 1st X-Maxx with a max6 & 1600kv motor. They lasted about a month before they needed a salt bath. I never went back to an expensive battery. The most recent brand I tried is Youme. I have 2 6s 6500mah & 4 4s 6500mah. They seem way too good for the price although they appear cheaply assembled cells. But the performance is awesome, especially what the 4s packs are doing in my K8S. Under $100 for 2 is unreal so I'll have to see how long they last. The biggest surprize are the ZOPs, stupid cheap Floureon clones. All the soft packs I have are perfect.

No joke I have a couple 3s 5500 floureon packs that I bought on day one of the original blue and white Nero diff brain release, used them since then, and they just started getting saggy last week. Like the clone factory messed up and the guy put the best battery they make in a floureon jacket on accident.

 

[slick2500]

Most of the cheap battery brands have been great for me. At one point I had a single 6s 6000mah HRB pack & used it 4-5x a week for 3 yrs until it finally starting to die. I had 2 SMC 4s 7200mah packs I ran in my 1st X-Maxx with a max6 & 1600kv motor. They lasted about a month before they needed a salt bath. I never went back to an expensive battery. The most recent brand I tried is Youme. I have 2 6s 6500mah & 4 4s 6500mah. They seem way too good for the price although they appear cheaply assembled cells. But the performance is awesome, especially what the 4s packs are doing in my K8S. Under $100 for 2 is unreal so I'll have to see how long they last. The biggest surprize are the ZOPs, stupid cheap Floureon clones. All the soft packs I have are perfect.

The Zop Power lipos I bought were absolute trash, they were bad out of the box. I've had 3 Floureons for about 3 years though.

I'm trying out some Ovonic batteries and so far so good with them.

 

[Megasty]

No joke I have a couple 3s 5500 floureon packs that I bought on day one of the original blue and white Nero diff brain release, used them since then, and they just started getting saggy last week. Like the clone factory messed up and the guy put the best battery they make in a floureon jacket on accident.

I still have 4 2s 5200mah hard case Floureons, still going strong after 5 yrs. I ran them everyday back when my V1 Kraton was 4s only.

The Zop Power lipos I bought were absolute trash, they were bad out of the box. I've had 3 Floureons for about 3 years though.

I'm trying out some Ovonic batteries and so far so good with them.

The very 1st ZOP I bought was a hard case 6s 5000mah. It came with a faulty cell. Turned me off ZOP for a long time.

 

[Warby]

Thoughts on HRB batteries anyone?