Kraton Need BATTERY Advice

[Camgeek]

I have a newbie question about batteries. It's been 20yrs since I owned a few rc10's so I'm basically a newbie so please bare with me.

I purchased an Arrma Kraton 6s BLX with the sole intention of putting a camera gimbal on it. DJI Ronin with a DSLR which all together will ad approx 10 - 15lbs to the truck. I'm not looking for race anything... I need smooth exceleration and most importantly long run time. I will not be needing to go over 25mph... more than likely the majority of shots will be smoothly traveling at a brisk walking pace. so when it comes to batteries I want to spend the least amount of money possible while still getting good run time. In other words: for a full day of production, more batteries that can be charging on the side for replacement when the one in the truck dies is optimal.

Really need advice on the lowest cost batteries I can purchase that will run on this truck while giving me decent run time. I know nothing about modern batts & chargers so if you could help me I'll be in your debt! Also, of course, any advice on gearing or motor setup is absolutely welcome but I'd rather tweak as little as possible.

Thanks for any help.

 

[mrfurious40k]

You're best bet for your needs is probably going to be high capacity 4s packs. Unfortunately, getting cheap packs never pays off in the end. They never perform or last as long as a quality pack.

I love SMC packs. They will put XT90 connectors on for you. If you're not running the car hard, your run times will be pretty good with a pack like this:

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_96&product_id=395

Pick up a couple to start and see how much time you get out of them to see if you need more.

You could also run 2 of these to get your 4s. The capacity is higher and the cost is about the same. But your charging twice as many packs so you'll need to take that into consideration. You'll need a bigger or more chargers and you'll be charging and maintaining a lot more packs.

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_97&product_id=126

I wouldn't change a thing on the gearing or set up until you see how it performs for your needs. 6s would definitely be overkill for the type of use you have in mind, in my opinion. 6s won't yield longer run times, just higher speeds. You're looking for the mah rating to fill the gas tank for long runs.

 

[Josh nortz]

You're best bet for your needs is probably going to be high capacity 4s packs. Unfortunately, getting cheap packs never pays off in the end. They never perform or last as long as a quality pack.

I love SMC packs. They will put XT90 connectors on for you. If you're not running the car hard, your run times will be pretty good with a pack like this:

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_96&product_id=395

Pick up a couple to start and see how much time you get out of them to see if you need more.

You could also run 2 of these to get your 4s. The capacity is higher and the cost is about the same. But your charging twice as many packs so you'll need to take that into consideration. You'll need a bigger or more chargers and you'll be charging and maintaining a lot more packs.

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_97&product_id=126

I wouldn't change a thing on the gearing or set up until you see how it performs for your needs. 6s would definitely be overkill for the type of use you have in mind, in my opinion. 6s won't yield longer run times, just higher speeds. You're looking for the mAh rating to fill the gas tank for long runs.

I have 2 smc 4s 6500mah 65c batteries and 14 tooth pinion and trenchers about 15 minutes in cold as heck weather... with lower gearing you would get better run time. also it's cold as heck here in summer I was getting around 30 minutes out of them. smc is defiantly the way to go.

 

[Vanning]

Low KV motor, 6S 6000 mAhbattery, maybe a 12 tooth pinion. My guess... it would run for a long time. You could also maybe remove the front drive shaft to lessen some resistance . You want something that's good for a heavy vehicle and is slow. That would be a low KV motor geared with a small pinion. It would sip electrons. .... not guzzle them. You can turn the ESC punch setting all the way down also. This is all just a guess because I never really want to go slow. But I do know how to get longer run times going fast. these RC's do prefer to be run wide open. Rock crawler setups run at a walking pace and for a long time. I really don't know what running slow with a Kraton will bring ? My guess would be.... make it slower. More voltage less amps. Should make it not be hungry for electrons. So efficiency is good, and torque for your 15 pounds of added weight. You want more voltage. I'm looking at this like you are building a 1/5th scale rc. They are heavy, they need more voltage and need lower KV motors. Forget about the springs in the Kraton.... no way will they handle 15 more pounds. You may need to just bolt a solid rod in place if the shocks for a camera rig.

 

[Camgeek]

Low KV motor, 6S 6000 mAhbattery, maybe a 12 tooth pinion. My guess... it would run for a long time. You could also maybe remove the front drive shaft to lessen some resistance . You want something that's good for a heavy vehicle and is slow. That would be a low KV motor geared with a small pinion. It would sip electrons. .... not guzzle them. You can turn the ESC punch setting all the way down also. This is all just a guess because I never really want to go slow. But I do know how to get longer run times going fast. these RC's do prefer to be run wide open. Rock crawler setups run at a walking pace and for a long time. I really don't know what running slow with a Kraton will bring ? My guess would be.... make it slower. More voltage less amps. Should make it not be hungry for electrons. So efficiency is good, and torque for your 15 pounds of added weight. You want more voltage. I'm looking at this like you are building a 1/5th scale rc. They are heavy, they need more voltage and need lower KV motors. Forget about the springs in the Kraton.... no way will they handle 15 more pounds. You may need to just bolt a solid rod in place if the shocks for a camera rig.

Sounds logical enough to me... Great info thanks.

 

[Camgeek]

Two more questions:
1-Do you think disconnecting the front driveline would screw up anything like gearbox, motor, speed controller etc? I'm planning on machining a longer and wider frame plate for longer wheelbase (stability) but can only achieve that if the front is disconnected.

2-I want to start a build thread for this. Can't decide between this forum or a camera-centric forum. Are people on this forum interested in this stuff? Thoughts?

UPDATE:
Picked up one of these yesterday for $48 to do a test. Cruised it around mimicking a video shoot with my 8yr old son for approx 45min... he got bored after that. Never ran it past 10mph give or take... (ok, I may have pulled full throttle a couple of times)... smooth starts etc. Still had juice when we shut it all down. So far, high high hopes!

Thanks for all the advice guys. Really helpful. I'll give updates as I go.

 

[Vanning]

You might have to lock up the center diff, or use a spool. If I had do guess. It's easy enough to try. Making it front wheel drive will prevent unwanted wheel stands ??? Just another thought. Your project is very interesting. If anything... at least you can grab a few ideas from people. Run 2 of those 2S in parallel for a total of 10,000 mah. In series it gets you 5000 mah but 4S voltage.

 

[Camgeek]

You might have to lock up the center diff, or use a spool. If I had do guess. It's easy enough to try. Making it front wheel drive will prevent unwanted wheel stands ??? Just another thought. Your project is very interesting.

Good point. I'll think about that one. How do I lock the diff? How will I know if that's necessary?

For those interested... this is similar to what I'll be building.

 

[Vanning]

That's on a 1/5th scale vehicle, pretty cool !!!

Pull out the front drive shaft and test drive it... it might bleed all the power out of the front because there is no driveshaft there and you have a differential gear to deal with. You can fill it with real thick fluid, pack Silly Puddy or Play Doe in it... or machine a spool that just mounts the gear with no center diff. I bet you can already find someone that has made a spool for a Kraton.

 

[Camgeek]

That's on a 1/5th scale vehicle, pretty cool !!!

Pull out the front drive shaft and test drive it... it might bleed all the power out of the front because there is no driveshaft there and you have a differential gear to deal with. You can fill it with real thick fluid, pack Silly Puddy or Play Doe in it... or machine a spool that just mounts the gear with no center diff. I bet you can already find someone that has made a spool for a Kraton.

Yes 1/5 scale. Too pricey for my budget. It will work great using 1/8 scale with some mods.
Concerned that removing the diff will cause problems though. Thoughts?

 

[Vanning]

I can't think of one ? Other than the diff causing power to try to go to where there is no drive shaft. If you lock it up, it will just spin a drive shaft. If you extend the chassis.... you could also get longer drive shafts. I got a dog bone driveshaft in my Traxxas slash that is long. Made by Tekno RC. Keeping it 4x4 may help with different situations. Longer drive shafts might work. The angles may give a problem. It's just a thought. If you make a chassis, you can line up the driveshafts any way you need to.

 

[Camgeek]

I can't think of one ? Other than the diff causing power to try to go to where there is no drive shaft. If you lock it up, it will just spin a drive shaft. If you extend the chassis.... you could also get longer drive shafts. I got a dog bone driveshaft in my Traxxas slash that is long. Made by Tekno RC.

Why didn't I think of that... that's the solution... brilliant. Problem solved. Thanks.

 

[Vanning]

Lol... sounds like a cool project. Best of luck to you.