Kraton new kraton owner please help!

[johnauria]

i am anxiously awaiting my kraton blx to be delivered tomorrow, and am trying to make a few decisions here.the new kraton uses the xt90 connectors and none of the spc or smc batteries that i would like to run offer those connections.my question is should i replace with traxxas connectors or use an adapter?what are the pros and cons of each.also i have never ran lipo batteries before so i have been researching chargers,would anyone recommend anything different then the icharger 106b+ or icharger 206b?

 

[johnauria]

also anyone with any input on the biggest spc or smc 2s or 3s batteries that will fit without modification would be great!

 

[chalmene]

I have the 206b, it is a good unit for the price, and will charge your Kraton packs no problem. The Kraton comes with some spare XT90 connectors for you to solder onto your packs. They are heavy duty, I am using them and they work well. I am running 2 of these stacked vertically, not much more room left without removing the roll cage. http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_99&product_id=159 Hope this helps.

Also, you will need some longer velcro straps, the ones provided are inadequate. And you will want to secure your 2 batteries together to make a single unit, so things don't go sliding around. I use a layer of 3m Heavy mounting tape between them, then wrap the pair with electrical tape. Haven't had any issues.

 

[johnauria]

thank you for your help!do you happen to know how many connectors they sent with it?and do you think these would fit?they seem to actually be a touch smaller

http://spcracingbatteries.com/index...path=59&product_id=90&sort=p.price&order=DESC

 

[chalmene]

They sent 2 connectors with my kit, enough for 2 packs. And according to the dimensions given of the batteries, they should fit stacked like I described above.^

 

[Zoom]

Hobbyking.com sells 3S Turnigy Graphene with XT90 connectors.

 

[Ole Fart51]

Welcome to the world of Arrma. Your going to love it. I'm fairly new to Arrma products and have found the Kraton the best truck I have ever bought. To answer your questions, replace all your connectors on your batteries with XT90s ( I've converted all my trucks to xt90s) don't use adapters, the more connections you have, the more resistance you have, battery charger Hitec X2 AC plus, 4s batteries will give you plenty of power, Floureon 4s 5500mah 40c is what I use or two SMC 3s 5000 for 6s power. If you use 6s, I strongly recommend replacing tires with SRC terrain crushers, stock tires will balloon badly, ballooning will cause diff problems. Why? Front tires balloon more than the rear, this creates different gear ratios making the diffs fight each other.

 

[Stanleybb50]

I have the 206b, it is a good unit for the price, and will charge your Kraton packs no problem. The Kraton comes with some spare XT90 connectors for you to solder onto your packs. They are heavy duty, I am using them and they work well. I am running 2 of these stacked vertically, not much more room left without removing the roll cage. http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=67_99&product_id=159 Hope this helps.

Also, you will need some longer velcro straps, the ones provided are inadequate. And you will want to secure your 2 batteries together to make a single unit, so things don't go sliding around. I use a layer of 3m Heavy mounting tape between them, then wrap the pair with electrical tape. Haven't had any issues.

I also have an icharger and love it. It's a 306b. I also converted all my batteries and charging squids to XT90.

Great idea in basically making the 2s and 3s batteries into bricks. Great idea. I don't know why I haven't done that yet. Haha.

 

[Vanning]

I had to order XT90's online. Progressive has them and any adapter you want. You will need a few for your charger also. For all my charging needs.....I deal with Progressive RC online. My charger is setup for parallel charging and I can charge at 40 amps. My dual 3S batteries are like 5C so I can charge both at the same time pretty fast. It's an FMA Powerlab 6 but with this charger you need a power supply also that can get enough voltage for you to parallel charge at some high amps. If I'm in a hurry, I can charge 2 3S 5000 mAh's so fast it's just ridiculous. I don't worry about 1C charges all the time and I'm always parallel charging. It's my preferred method. In my opinion....get the best charger and power supply you can. It makes the hobby much more enjoyable. Learn all you can about charging Lipo's and get good quality packs. I highly recommend Progressive RC and the Power Lab chargers.....call them and tell them what you need and want to do. Another brand that I have is Hyperion....darn good chargers but I like Power Lab and you can't go wrong with the ichargers.

Maximum Charge Power of the FMA Power Lab.

1000W (when input voltage >30V; 408W when 12V)
Charge Current Range 10mA - 40A
Discharge Current Range 10mA - 40A
Input Voltage 10 - 32V DC
Input Current 40A
Maximum Discharge 50W / 8A
Maximum Regenerative Discharge 1000W / 40A
Current Drain For Balancing 1000mA
Balance Accuracy 6mV
LiPo/LiIo/LiFe 1 - 6 series
NiCd/NiMh Cell Count 1 - 19 series
Pb Battery Cell Count 3 - 12 series
Battery Setup Memories 25 user presets

 

[chalmene]

I had to order XT90's online. Progressive has them and any adapter you want. You will need a few for your charger also. For all my charging needs.....I deal with Progressive RC online.

Ditto^, Progressive is great. My main charging rig is an Icharger 4010 Duo and Meanwell 2k psu from them. They sell everything you will need that is charging-related and I have had good experiences with them. The Duo chargers are awesome, if you want to invest a bit more, the 308 Duo has some awesome specs also, and you can charge 2 types at once. My buddy has been using this model in a custom case for a while, and loves it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/iCharger-30...045222?hash=item210f442626:g:uqkAAOSwubRXMhV1

 

[Stanleybb50]

This is what I have and love from Progressive RC. The other chargers mentioned in the two posts above mine are absolutely wonderful choices as well.

http://www.progressiverc.com/the-surface-sidekick-500w-combo.html

 

[johnauria]

thank you all so much for your input its greatly appreciated.so if i wanted to go with the ticket combo from progressive with the jst to bare wire board for parallel charging.which connectors would i need in order to connect those to the xt90's provided for the batterys?and also do i need two low voltage alarms or just one?

any other cables i would need?

 

[chalmene]

thank you all so much for your input its greatly appreciated.so if i wanted to go with the ticket combo from progressive with the jst to bare wire board for parallel charging.which connectors would i need in order to connect those to the xt90's provided for the batterys?and also do i need two low voltage alarms or just one?

any other cables i would need?

You will need a main charging lead. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duratrax-Ch...841951?hash=item3f6787069f:g:6SIAAOSw0RpXloFl

You want on-board low voltage alarms for your packs? You will need 2, 1 per pack. They plug into the balance lead of you packs.

 

[johnauria]

does the main charge lead plug into the modular board?

so i spoke with progressive rc and they said with the ticket combo containing
Charger
1 x iCharger 206B (In Stock)
Power Supply
1 x Junsi P350 Power Supply (In Stock)
Balance Board
1 x JST-XH & ThunderPower Balance Board (In Stock)
Balance Board Cable
1 x 6S JST-XH Adapter Cable for Balance Board (In Stock)
Charge two packs in parallel with a modular board starter set
jst-xh to bare wire



all i would need then to be able to charge in parallel would be 2 female xt90s for the bare leads from the parallel charging board and xt60 female connector for the bare leads from the charger is that correct?

 

[chalmene]

Lipo batteries come with 2 leads (sets of wires with connectors), a balance lead and a main (discharge) lead. The charger should come with a balance board, you will plug your balance leads into this. You will supply the main charge lead for your charger, because this will depend on the type of main connectors you choose (XT90 in your case). One side will plug directly into the charger, the other you will connect your battery main lead into. Check this out: http://www.instructables.com/id/Lithium-Polymer-Etiquette/

 

[Stanleybb50]

I couldn't find a parallel board or charging squid for XT90's. So I went through the arduous task of changing out my Traxxas Squid to XT90. Just a lot if repetitive soldering. They're pretty easy to solder really.

But I should probably link you to the Traxxas squid that I modified and also link to the balance squids also.

But if you're using a 4s or 6s battery actually, you hardly need to worry about a charging squid. You'd be done just getting the lead someone linked above. I'm using 2s and 3s batteries.

 

[Josh nortz]

I had lhs swap all my trucks running 3s or higher to xt90 he could not get them but i got 10 male and then 10 of each male and female ends. So i have connectors out the whazoo.... lol... had some batteries converted but not all... i just got a smc 6500mah 4s 60c battery and love it. I have 2 3s 5300mah 50c and i velcro them together with heavy duty velcro and i put a strip in bottom of battery tray i was having issues of them sliding around now they stay put... i love my kraton it is a beast take a beating and comes back for more... as far as a charger i jusr got a venom dual charger it was 100 bux or so and is awesome. Dual power supply lots of leads included... im buying a good soldering station soon im tored of paying lhs when i can do it myself... im a silver smith so i solder poop evert day but i have torches not a iron...