Kraton New SMC graphemes extreme burst into flames

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THC said:
I just got 2 SMC 5200 extreme V2's, hope I didn't make a bad choice as these are my first SMC lipo's
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I e seen good and bad with those. I’m avoiding SMC from now on. I just ordered some CNHL packs instead. Love my Turnigy packs too.
 
phildogg said:
I've made my fastest passes on SMC. Just laid down a new PB with my Limitless GT today..
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That’s awesome Phil. Glad they work for you. The way Danny told us that if they puffed up it was our fault and that voided any and all warranty really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Contrast that with the way you, Bob @PPS-RC, Ted at JRC, and many others do great business, and it’s hard to hand SMC another dime. It is what it is brother. ✌?
 
7/20/20 my SMC Graphene Extreme V2 5200mah/120c/22.2v/115.3wh arrived. After only a handful of runs, this balancing connector is not working. The charger cannot read the battery and does not wish to charge it up. The brand is going downhill, probably purchased a dozen Lipos over the course of a few years and this one broke the record for crappiest. Turnigy green Lipos have been performing like a reliable product should. Just my 2 cents which is not even worth a penny.

Homey
 
I have no experience with SMC packs, they are hard to get in europe.

I've had a lipo burn 3 times thus far. Only one was a crappy old pack which puffed a little and could be accounted as my own mistake for still using it.
Other 2 times they were basically new packs (2-3 cycles in) which burned during speedrunning. Initially they looked fine but exposed to some high load/temperature they internally shorted and burned up. Bad luck/QA imho...
Luckily every time i managed to get them out of the car by pulling at the cable, limiting the damage to melted lexan bodies.
 
I only ran SMC's for the first couple of years until I started running 3S. Needed thinner packs to fit in the revo. The most life I got out of SMC's was about 18 months with their 2S 9000mah packs. They puffed a bit after a few months, but never got worse. I had 4 of those. Then I started running their 2S 7200/7400 (first set of 4 were 7200, second set were 7400). I ran those for a year or so in my ERBEv1, savage flux hp and outcast, then they started dropping cells. One pair of the 7400's sat on a shelf unused for 6 months or so (checked every couple of months for storage charge). When I did try to use them, one died after only a few cycles (dropped a cell).

Now all I have is one 3S pack I made out of remaining 2S 7400mah packs, but it's on it's last leg.

I seemed to get just as much life out of my cheaper HRB 5000mah 3S 50C packs, all 4 are still going after 18 months, but are getting a little fussy to charge and not getting the best run times out of them.

Recently bought 4 of the 3S 45C 5000mah Liperion packs. I ordered 2 of their 65C 5000mah packs, but they were a bit too thick/heavy to fit in the ERBEv2. So I pulled the pin on 4 of the 45C and they are 3-4mm thinner and a bit lighter as well. Haven't run them yet, only cycled on the charger a couple times.

I would have bought 4 of the CNHL 5000mah 65C black series, but they wouldn't be getting any in for a month when I made the order.
 
I got an email back from SMC and they said they would send me a replacement later this week when they got them back in stock
I hope the flaming one was a just a flaw in the one pack. Before it went it run the truck great! Light weight and powerful
 
Back when I had my Granite, I had an SMC 3S hardcase pack. I crashed real bad and it ripped the pack out of the velcro and broke the leads out of the battery. They sold me a replacement at 30 percent off.
On the replacement, one cell was lower than the others. I tried running it once, and the leads popped out again without the battery even coming out of the velcro. They agreed to send me a replacement for free, but I sold that with my granite and I don't plan on buying any more SMC. I know some people don't like RCJuice, but I've been very happy with the Hobbystar 6s soft packs I got from them in my EXB.
 
Brandon said:
What brand do you have the most luck with?
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I recently tried some Rhino batteries from Hobbyking during a battery sale. They are amazing! I bought 3, 6s 4kmah packs and 4, 4s 5kmah packs. All of them are 2mohm or less per cell and are barely warn after 15 minute runs. Of course any mass manufactured battery can produce a dud, but I have had great experiences with Hobbyking as long as it's in the 30 day limit.
 
Wow this thread is a shock to me :0 been been running only SMC/SPC for years now with no puffing or issues.. (hard case). I mustve gotten lucky getting mine right when SPC went out.
 
SlashSlingingHasher said:
Wow this thread is a shock to me :0 been been running only SMC/SPC for years now with no puffing or issues.. (hard case). I mustve gotten lucky getting mine right when SPC went out.
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I miss SPC Racing.

My oldest lipos are Floureons 1 that I bought in 2016 and the other 2 were purchased in 2017 they still work but are showing signs of being old.
 
I just had the same thing happen to me with a brand new SMC battery. Second lap on my track and, poof up in smoke. Did the same exact thing popped the body off and shook the car, battery fell on the ground on fire. Melted battery tray, chassis supports, and killed my Tekin RX8 ESC which only had about 10 packs on it. Haven't contacted them yet but need to, hopefully they will do something.
 
Makman said:
I just had the same thing happen to me with a brand new SMC battery. Second lap on my track and, poof up in smoke. Did the same exact thing popped the body off and shook the car, battery fell on the ground on fire. Melted battery tray, chassis supports, and killed my Tekin RX8 ESC which only had about 10 packs on it. Haven't contacted them yet but need to, hopefully they will do something.
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That's horrible man! I can't believe that this happened to two people. All of my SMC batteries swelled up. I bought 4 packs several years ago and they were all very short on capacity. I was refunded for them and because of the great service, I bought 4 replacement packs. These were supposed to be from a different factory. They were still short on capacity but I ran them anyway. Every single pack swelled up tremendously after only a few cycles. What's weird is that all of them had great IR. Less than three or four milliohms each. I wouldn't risk using another SMC pack.
 
Two out of five of my SMC batteries have swelled. SMC is the only brand I've owned, so I have nothing to compare them with. I just ordered a K8S and I'm looking for battery options, something other than SMC. Buddy of mine is running MaxAmps and says they are the best batteries he's owned and the most expensive!
 
Arrma Addict said:
Two out of five of my SMC batteries have swelled. SMC is the only brand I've owned, so I have nothing to compare them with. I just ordered a K8S and I'm looking for battery options, something other than SMC. Buddy of mine is running MaxAmps and says they are the best batteries he's owned and the most expensive!
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MaxAmps are the WORST lipos regardless of cost and are also the most expensive.
 
jondilly1974 said:
MaxAmps are the WORST lipos regardless of cost and are also the most expensive.
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