Another note. You are getting way better at making videos sir. I already know plenty about lipos, BUT I still enjoyed watching the whole video. That's a testament to the quality of content your now making sir. You've entertained me enough to keep watching even though I already know the info. Please keep the awesome videos coming.
I'm so glad you touched on the liars on the c rating. Traxxas is probably the only honest company. If you look at all of their batteries they're only 20-25c. Which is where most batteries actually are. None of them 50c 75c and definitely not 100c.
I was impatient and bought the traxxas 4s 6700mah Batts and duel charger live kit from my hobby shop for my xmaxx. I was going to get a charger and Batts from Amazon but couldn't wait. Anyway I have been really happy with the traxxas set up tbh, it is pricey for sure but I got 51min run time on my first charge with them. That to me is amazing and generally I'm just done with driving it now before the Batts even run out. The charger has storage mode that I use every time after I'm done driving it and the charger charges the battery's to full in about 40 to 45 mins wich is perfect. The app is very useful for seeing how well your cells are balancing aswell which is nice. All in all really happy with everything.
Traxas cells do go up to 4 cells... their plug can accommodate balance leeds for 4 cells.This is how they use 8s systems. It Does work with a their universal plug, kind of hard to explain, check out a picture of a traxas 4 cell. Great job explaining lipos Jon.
For a comp, I run 850mah 3S. For trail running I run the biggest I can fit in the truck. Typically in the 2200mah range. I will also run 2s on trail where it’s not a lot of complicated terrain.
I prefer to run 5000mAh NiMH with a laydown battery tray between the front shock towers. The weight and low tray yield a great front weight bias for climbing and stability. The lack of low voltage cut off in the ESC gives a long runtime. Most of all, batteries are stored fully charged so I’m always ready to run in seconds.
On nicad nmh battery's balance charging was never used but on discharge the check was on each cellist you got an expensive discharger. Good info for all thanks
A good multiport charger was the best thing I got so that I could put a set of four batteries at a storage voltage after a session of using them. I likely would not do that if I could only do one battery at a time.
Excellent content John I always enjoy your work. Have you seen the bat-safe lipo storage box yet? I got one and love it already it's way safer than the useless cheap bags we grew up with.
Love your videos. As someone familiar with batteries and all the terminology, solid review. To be honest though I would not recomend this video to a new person/beginner. Its a little all over the place.
i stop at 3.5 on all my packs, i would rather carry extra packs in my bag. have to correct you on the size issue though, if its a graphene battery it throws the numbers off for the size. i highly recommend spectrum chargers/batteries. you pay for it, but amazingly safe.
Question. What do you use to run your batteries down to 3.3 volts, then know when to stop? Do you use a plug in cell checker on board? I run mine until no forward movement.
I usually run a 3000mah 3s ovonic, or a 2200mah 3s in the front of my trx4( and just carry a spare). I have had the ovonic for 2 years and they are both a bit puffy. Turnegy 2200 did good, going on 3 years. Been trying zee lately in my bashers lately, and have one that has held up to a 2s drag car with a 4.5 turn motor and a mamba x. Doesn't drop off voltage as much in the data log, like some other 2s I have tried. However I'm going to have to get 2 more small 3s so may be trying something new. I put xt60s on everything. Just as overkill
Goldbat 3s 1500mah 100c. Super cheap on Amazon and usually get them within two days. Had tons all very strong and make it multiple years. Don't no that there actually 100c like they advertise but I do know they have way more punch than either of my traxxas 3s 5000mah batteries.
I’m upgrading my Trail finder 2 after 10 years absent from the hobby . The hobby sure has changed . I’m going to run a firma that the esc has a 6 volt 3 amp built in bec . How many accessories can I run on it . 7.4 v high torque servo and a 6 volt light kit . My winch is rated for 12.6 volts so good there. What bec would you recommend ?
You will not believe this. I use Tamiya connectors on my Tamiya kits and my crawlers too. I have used Tamiya connectors on both 2S and even 3S LIPO batteries. I have had no problems with them. I do understand that Tamiya connectors are not very good. I have also used Tamiya connectors on high speed cars and they melted. Thoughts?
GensAce 3s 4300mAh in my Scx10 II, 3s 1200mAh in my main WPL, 2s lipo or liion in my small crawlers (WPLs, eazyrc, Hobby Plus, Orlandoos). 3s is so, so much better if the truck can run it.
phoenix 4s1300 to 2200mah, and the axial trx4 with 3s from 1000 to 6000mah last not least for my 6x6 1 2s 6500mah all packs are 1p and the dicharged rage is over 50s cool stuff here
What are your thoughts on graphene in Turnigy batteries. Supposed to be new chemistry but I’m not sure. I can say from experience they tend to stay stable longer than the Nano Tech
My problem is most run times on the batteries are not true & most often are far short of the advertised run time. So you get at 4500S & it’s only 3800mha true time. I guess the higher quality more expensive batteries are more true to the run times advertised. Problem is there are so many brands on Amazon unfortunately a lot are just cheap versions. I’ve had good luck with lipos so far but definitely can tell some don’t last as long or go bad. A good charger wil tell you if it’s bad or not chargeable & why. I definitely have respect for these batteries because even now they can be kind of sketchy.
4500mah is a rating at 1c discharge. cell quality determines how close to full runtime it will deliver at 5c, 10c ,25c etc... There are plenty out there that deliver 90% or better rating at 25c.
@@ryurc3033 that's exactly why I run them to 3.3-3.4. That way I know they would be fine if I had to leave them sitting in the lipo bag for a month or 2
Awesome info!! Hey John I just got a new maxamps 5c 5000 mAh Graphene battery and they are claiming 175c it’s got 10ga wire on it. You think that could be true or are they exaggerating a bit? There has to be a true limit to how high the C rated can go I imagine. Just wondering what you think. Thanks!!
Internal Resistance - what are your thoughts on this? Is it a reliable indicator of the pack health and is there a universal point at which a pack should be considered "expired"? For example, I have a couple of 2s packs: a newer 3250mAh which shows ~12ohms when charged and an older 5200mAh which shows ~35ohms when charged and both 'look' fine. Is there a correlation between pack size and optimal/dangerous resistance?
absolutely it is a good indicator. but you need to know where the pack started to know the health today. while higher resistance cells aren't more dangerous, they do sag more and heat up more. the older pack has higher resistance because it is older, and maybe it also had older tech when it was made.
@@HolmesHobbies Ah, ok, thanks. So if the Pack's history is unknown (came with a used crawler) then is it just a case of keeping an eye on the resistance over time and monitoring for sudden resistance increases?
@@NC_RC temperature effects IR as well..so if they are colder your IR will be higher. Lipos like to be room temperature or warmer for best performance.
Another note. You are getting way better at making videos sir. I already know plenty about lipos, BUT I still enjoyed watching the whole video. That's a testament to the quality of content your now making sir. You've entertained me enough to keep watching even though I already know the info. Please keep the awesome videos coming.
I'm so glad you touched on the liars on the c rating. Traxxas is probably the only honest company. If you look at all of their batteries they're only 20-25c. Which is where most batteries actually are. None of them 50c 75c and definitely not 100c.
I run a gens aces 4300 3's and love them super super long run times. & use them in heavy trail trucks/rock crawlers.
I’ve also been happy with those batteries. Not bad bang for the buck.
Nope there not definitely good batteries for how long they last.
love it when you get technical, your passion really shows through! Thanks!
The traxxas chargers can be used to balance charge other batteries, there is a balance port behind the traxxas logo on the front.
Ah ha! they just pop right off! awesome!
I was impatient and bought the traxxas 4s 6700mah Batts and duel charger live kit from my hobby shop for my xmaxx. I was going to get a charger and Batts from Amazon but couldn't wait. Anyway I have been really happy with the traxxas set up tbh, it is pricey for sure but I got 51min run time on my first charge with them. That to me is amazing and generally I'm just done with driving it now before the Batts even run out. The charger has storage mode that I use every time after I'm done driving it and the charger charges the battery's to full in about 40 to 45 mins wich is perfect. The app is very useful for seeing how well your cells are balancing aswell which is nice. All in all really happy with everything.
Great amount of information! Thank you!
I run 3s 3000mah Zees for my crawling, atm. In my Spawn and for trailing my Gen 8 I run 5000mah 3s Goldbats, soft pack as well
Traxas cells do go up to 4 cells... their plug can accommodate balance leeds for 4 cells.This is how they use 8s systems. It Does work with a their universal plug, kind of hard to explain, check out a picture of a traxas 4 cell. Great job explaining lipos Jon.
Ahh, I see the molding has room for a few more pins. My system was the 2 to 3s only one.
Been running cnhl batteries in my drag car and crawler for a year. Just picked up some 1300 3s 100c from their black series. Have been great so far
Not a crawler but a Trail runner 2021 Trx-4 Bronco here 7000mah 3s 120c lcg battery tray works perfect 👌
One more guy here who runs CNHL lipos...they are the best bang for the buck!
For a comp, I run 850mah 3S. For trail running I run the biggest I can fit in the truck. Typically in the 2200mah range. I will also run 2s on trail where it’s not a lot of complicated terrain.
I prefer to run 5000mAh NiMH with a laydown battery tray between the front shock towers. The weight and low tray yield a great front weight bias for climbing and stability. The lack of low voltage cut off in the ESC gives a long runtime. Most of all, batteries are stored fully charged so I’m always ready to run in seconds.
i use lipo but you are right about the simplicity and safety of NiMH
i hope the next step in tech will be the best of both lipo and NiMH
Excellent info brother! the other channels were so confusing, thanks for sharing your experience over the years.
Great video, I'm going to bookmark this to share to all the new guys who start asking about batteries :)
Great info , there's a lot to learn about lipos and how to care for them
On nicad nmh battery's balance charging was never used but on discharge the check was on each cellist you got an expensive discharger.
Good info for all thanks
Love your videos man, The cool Bill Nuy the Science guy of RCs.
A good multiport charger was the best thing I got so that I could put a set of four batteries at a storage voltage after a session of using them. I likely would not do that if I could only do one battery at a time.
Been running Lectron Pro 3S 5200mah packs for years and love them
Thanks for the explanation
I run mainly 1300 or 2200 3s spektrum batteries.
I love this series!
3s 1500 lipo, shorty pack with xt60 plug. My favorite in my scx10 ii.
Excellent content John I always enjoy your work. Have you seen the bat-safe lipo storage box yet? I got one and love it already it's way safer than the useless cheap bags we grew up with.
Love your videos. As someone familiar with batteries and all the terminology, solid review. To be honest though I would not recomend this video to a new person/beginner. Its a little all over the place.
i stop at 3.5 on all my packs, i would rather carry extra packs in my bag. have to correct you on the size issue though, if its a graphene battery it throws the numbers off for the size.
i highly recommend spectrum chargers/batteries. you pay for it, but amazingly safe.
- great info John, thanks !! 😉
Question. What do you use to run your batteries down to 3.3 volts, then know when to stop? Do you use a plug in cell checker on board? I run mine until no forward movement.
the escs have an adjustable low voltage cutoff
I've been running Ovanics 3s 3000mah on the Gen8. They work pretty good.
I usually run a 3000mah 3s ovonic, or a 2200mah 3s in the front of my trx4( and just carry a spare). I have had the ovonic for 2 years and they are both a bit puffy. Turnegy 2200 did good, going on 3 years. Been trying zee lately in my bashers lately, and have one that has held up to a 2s drag car with a 4.5 turn motor and a mamba x. Doesn't drop off voltage as much in the data log, like some other 2s I have tried. However I'm going to have to get 2 more small 3s so may be trying something new. I put xt60s on everything. Just as overkill
Gene Aces and Zees have been doing okay for me. Glad to see that others have similar reports. Makes me feel better in my choices.
I've read that the Internal Resistance of the pack will tell a lot about its quality. Any chance of you touching on that in the future?
Goldbat 3s 1500mah 100c. Super cheap on Amazon and usually get them within two days. Had tons all very strong and make it multiple years. Don't no that there actually 100c like they advertise but I do know they have way more punch than either of my traxxas 3s 5000mah batteries.
I’ve had great luck with my Helios battery’s. It’s all I run now
I’m still running on my old Wraith 2.2 the Hobby People 2200mAh 3s 65c batteries.
Mad scientist at work today...LOL
I run a dynamite 2s 5000mah short pack on my Vaterra ascender, gonna run the same battery when I switch to a 13.5t brushless system
U explain everything clearly even u not a literit or common terminology about rc talk its real simple how u break it all down
thx MIke!
Gens Ace Adventure 4300mah 3S on my trail truck. Turnigy bolt 3S 850mah and 1000mah in my lcg rig
Im curious why you switched from Deans to XT60s and were you using genuine Deans or generic ones?
Protek 1800mah 3 cell lihv. Gets me almost three hours in a twelve pound rig with a puller pro 2200kv.
I’m upgrading my Trail finder 2 after 10 years absent from the hobby . The hobby sure has changed . I’m going to run a firma that the esc has a 6 volt 3 amp built in bec . How many accessories can I run on it . 7.4 v high torque servo and a 6 volt light kit . My winch is rated for 12.6 volts so good there. What bec would you recommend ?
My trail rigs I use 4300mah 3s gens ace, but comp rigs I run 1500mah 4s.
You will not believe this. I use Tamiya connectors on my Tamiya kits and my crawlers too. I have used Tamiya connectors on both 2S and even 3S LIPO batteries. I have had no problems with them. I do understand that Tamiya connectors are not very good. I have also used Tamiya connectors on high speed cars and they melted. Thoughts?
Similar to your battery set up for crawling, 3s 3700 mah shorty!
GensAce 3s 4300mAh in my Scx10 II, 3s 1200mAh in my main WPL, 2s lipo or liion in my small crawlers (WPLs, eazyrc, Hobby Plus, Orlandoos).
3s is so, so much better if the truck can run it.
phoenix 4s1300 to 2200mah, and the axial trx4 with 3s from 1000 to 6000mah last not least for my 6x6 1 2s 6500mah all packs are 1p and the dicharged rage is over 50s cool stuff here
Very helpful! I'm even more confused now lol.👍your brain hurts my head mr. Holmes!
What are your thoughts on graphene in Turnigy batteries. Supposed to be new chemistry but I’m not sure. I can say from experience they tend to stay stable longer than the Nano Tech
graphene is a great battery tech. I have good word that they are actually graphene doped.
2200mah 3s and 3000mah 3s. Gens ace and goldbatt mostly.
🤘🍻🤘
Battery companies HATE HIM for this one trick!
Spektrum 5000 mah hardcase 3s 50C
i have big heavy trucks and like the 2h+ runtime
Helios is not available in Canada I hope this will change
My problem is most run times on the batteries are not true & most often are far short of the advertised run time. So you get at 4500S & it’s only 3800mha true time. I guess the higher quality more expensive batteries are more true to the run times advertised. Problem is there are so many brands on Amazon unfortunately a lot are just cheap versions. I’ve had good luck with lipos so far but definitely can tell some don’t last as long or go bad. A good charger wil tell you if it’s bad or not chargeable & why. I definitely have respect for these batteries because even now they can be kind of sketchy.
4500mah is a rating at 1c discharge. cell quality determines how close to full runtime it will deliver at 5c, 10c ,25c etc... There are plenty out there that deliver 90% or better rating at 25c.
nice timing,sir can the Holmes puller pro v2 stubby take 4s? i want to pair it with the Copperhead
no prob
@@HolmesHobbies thank you for your reply sir
Traxxas they make a plug that you can buy that takes care of the balance plug on other charger
what about the spektrum g2 batteries with no balance port
Off subject... Can you use a sensorless crawlmaster bl with a sensored esc like a micro mamba x or a copperhead 10?
yes, no problem
Awesome! I've been looking for info on this everywhere. I figured I'd go to the man! Thanks!
Im new that this don't know very much about 2s or things like this just wondering how to change them
What's up John ?
3s 1300 for my scx and 3s 2200 up to 4200 in my trx4 depends on crawling/hikeing
What about the Traxxas charger live Bluetooth
I am charged, I'll go after the video lol I run Gens Ace 3s 5000mah 50c,and a protek 3s 4500mah 120c
Question for you John. I often run my batteries down to 3.85v per cell. Is that going to hurt anything?
Thats not even getting it down to nominal voltage. Take them down to 3.3-3.4v.
@@rc-daily thank you so much
100% 3.3 -3.4 is totally safe and actually leaves them pretty darn close to a decent storage charge
@@ryurc3033 that's exactly why I run them to 3.3-3.4. That way I know they would be fine if I had to leave them sitting in the lipo bag for a month or 2
Why do you look like you're about to burglarize Macaulay Caulkin's childhood home? 😁
Awesome info!! Hey John I just got a new maxamps 5c 5000 mAh Graphene battery and they are claiming 175c it’s got 10ga wire on it. You think that could be true or are they exaggerating a bit? There has to be a true limit to how high the C rated can go I imagine. Just wondering what you think. Thanks!!
thats 875 amps. solder melts at 250 amps....
@@HolmesHobbies unless you use lead free solder that's what I use had like a 700 degree melting point....
Internal Resistance - what are your thoughts on this? Is it a reliable indicator of the pack health and is there a universal point at which a pack should be considered "expired"?
For example, I have a couple of 2s packs: a newer 3250mAh which shows ~12ohms when charged and an older 5200mAh which shows ~35ohms when charged and both 'look' fine.
Is there a correlation between pack size and optimal/dangerous resistance?
absolutely it is a good indicator. but you need to know where the pack started to know the health today. while higher resistance cells aren't more dangerous, they do sag more and heat up more. the older pack has higher resistance because it is older, and maybe it also had older tech when it was made.
@@HolmesHobbies Ah, ok, thanks. So if the Pack's history is unknown (came with a used crawler) then is it just a case of keeping an eye on the resistance over time and monitoring for sudden resistance increases?
@@NC_RC temperature effects IR as well..so if they are colder your IR will be higher. Lipos like to be room temperature or warmer for best performance.
What are your thoughts on the spektrum smart eco system?
i love the auto discharge on mine !
@@zonegamma8197 me too. I'm just wondering what John's option is.
haven't used it. I'm not a fan of proprietary systems.
@@HolmesHobbies thank you for reply. I am have already started moving away from eco system.
How can I tell what mah capacity a 7.4v 2s lipo battery is with no details on it ??
I run an ovonics 1300mah 100c 4s,
watched this video twice and its still Chinese arithmetic ✌
2s 5000 mah 100c
In my crawler. Like 2 hours on 1 battery
450mah 3s Tatu
Super confusing. Take away Battery companies lie and buy a good charger🤣. Plus do one on best charging practices👍🏼
Traxxas Charger will charge 2 4S batteries at once
1300mah 3s or 1300mah 4s
3 s helo
"The answer is NO."
- John Holmes
Note: A person can buy Traxxas branded power connector plugs for ESC's and batteries. 🙂