Need a sanity check on some batteries before I impulse buy...

[Hector_Fisher]

Leaving town for a week to visit family and want to take my RCs with. Son and I will be flying there. Originally was going to take Big rock and Granite, but parts won't be here in time. So I'm taking my Kaiju instead of my big rock.

So I need some new batteries... my two 3s hoovo packs are too big for the kaiju, and the zeee packs I usually use in the kaiju will probably look like a you-know-what to airport security because of the tape. Not sure i want to tempt going through security with them...

I'm considering these youme packs. They're about the cheapest 6s option I could find in decent mah and size. I really only need one, but they only come in a two pack. https://a.co/d/5wmtUHN

I'll be using them for the kaiju, mt410 (once I get a 6s esc for it), and maaaaybe my kraton exb once in a while. Thinking i shouldnt need alot of "C rating" for these trucks. And 4500mah should be plenty right? I feel like I'm impulse buying here? But I do really want to drive when I'm over with my family cause they've never seen me drive my RCs before.

Also, coincidentally these youme packs are just inside the 100Wh limit for unrestricted carryon for air travel.

EDIT: I should clarify that I'm leaving in two days, so I would probably be ordering these to my family's place.

 

[N.Mango]

My .02
DO NOT bring battery packs with black tape on them to the airport!

And in true Arrma forum style....buy new batteries when you get to your destination. Oh and get a new rig while at the Hobby store.

 

[Sandracer_NL]

No experience with Youme, but reading this ( https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3408429-Youme-Power-Lipo ) some not not that happy with them. But that's probably why they are so cheap.
4500mah isn't that much and if that's overstated (like some reviewers mentioned) than you won't have much runtime. At least you have two lipo's so that's OK.
For that price getting two 6s lipo's may be worth a 'gamble' though.

 

[arrmadillo]

Yep, definitely don't take those taped up dynamite sticks on a plane. I also heard negative comments on the youme packs enough to not get any. 4500 mah is not enough IMO, the smallest packs I have are 5400s, decent runtime, not a lot of weight. I run my Kaiju on 4s, 6s is basically undrivable with the SWB.

 

[Engineer]

I purchased some Youme packs back in 2000. They work fine and haven’t puffed up or done anything else bad. I don’t race with them and use them for general street/park bashing. So if they are a few mAh short (as noted in the link), no biggie to me as I remember getting these for a great price and they make the car go zoom zoom.

 

[Tex Koder]

My .02
DO NOT bring battery packs with black tape on them to the airport!

Unless you like to be pulled aside by the "friendly" TSA agents to the back room.. For that private body search with gloves & a nice Long "talking to" ,all the while them folks giving you that dirty-eye stare.

Especially, IF those cheap battery packs start smoking for whatever reason.... while standing in the boarding line.

And in true Arrma forum style....buy new batteries when you get to your destination. Oh and get a new rig while at the Hobby store.

At least you know they're fresh and ready to rip!

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Yeah my general perception was that the youme packs were pretty average at most. Why is a 4000mah pack too small? A 4000mah 6s packs should be equivalent in watt-hours to a 6000mah 4s pack, right? I know lots of people that run their kaiju or MT410 on 4s, but I'm a big air jumper, so i run my kaiju on the two 3s zeee packs (6s) for the "panic" air control (the "oh #$@!" moments). I prefer having more top end on tap and using it only when needed, so I was thinking the 4000 to 4500mah 6s packs would be a good compromise between lightness and top end. But i've never tried something like that before, so tell me if i'm off my rocker?

@Engineer what do you use those 4s packs in?

I had originally considered getting a single turnigy hd or a CNHL pack, but i'm pretty sure hobbyking or CNHL won't ship fast enough to be worth my while. Any suggestions aside from the youme packs?

I do have two 2s packs that I could take and run the kaiju on and I could look into larger pinions today to see if they ship quickly. But charging with my b6ac is going to be a pain (single channel)... yada yada. But I feel like i'm just making excuses to buy stuff now, which is what makes me think i'm impulse buying here.

@N.Mango so what you're saying is this hobby is all about feeding your impulse???

 

[Engineer]

@Engineer what do you use those 4s packs in?

I use the packs in my TLR Typhon and whatever 3S vehicles I've converted to 4S. I don't use it in my MT410 because of how close the input pinion cup is to the battery box so if either the balance lead or battery lead are on opposite sides, one is invariably very close to the cup and can get chewed up so I prefer to use hard packs with leads that exit through the top:

The battery would work fine in the Kaiju.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

I use the packs in my TLR Typhon and whatever 3S vehicles I've converted to 4S. I don't use it in my MT410 because of how close the input pinion cup is to the battery box so if either the balance lead or battery lead are on opposite sides, one is invariably very close to the cup and can get chewed up so I prefer to use hard packs with leads that exit through the top:

View attachment 239072

The battery would work fine in the Kaiju.View attachment 239071

Good to know. I'll point out that the packs I'm looking at are 6s, whereas yours are 4s. However, I just looked up the specs of those 4s packs and they have the same footprint, just the 6s packs are taller. I appreciate the fitness check!

I'll counter the youme packs I listed above with this single socokin pack I found. Honestly looks to be about the same as the other 4000mah 6s packs. And for about half the cost, if the pack sucks I won't feel as dumb.
https://a.co/d/0Nthatz

 

[N.Mango]

@N.Mango so what you're saying is this hobby is all about feeding your impulse???

.