Life batteries

[bjackson1206]

What's everybody's opinion on hobbico life batteries I was thinking about using them for rx pack for my 71" slick and do away with my pro bec I was thinking 2100 mah I would use lipo but my servos can't handle them I could buy lipo and use reg I guess or leave it the way it is and use flight pack for power thanks Ben.

 

[SnowDog]

Not sure about Hobbico life batteries, but there are many sponsors of this site who sell life batteries that are very good for this application. Many people will tell you that reducing the number of components in a system is a good way to reduce failure points, and I would agree with that position. I have both setups (in different airplanes) - one that uses life batteries, the other that uses lipos through a regulator. Both work well for me. Ultimately the decision is up to you.

 

[gyro]

What's everybody's opinion on hobbico life batteries I was thinking about using them for rx pack for my 71" slick and do away with my pro bec I was thinking 2100 mah I would use lipo but my servos can't handle them I could buy lipo and use reg I guess or leave it the way it is and use flight pack for power thanks Ben.

I've learned the flat packs are slightly inferior to the round cells... there is some geeky explanation, but i don't remember it.

Checkout the LiFe batteries from Chad at www.taildraggerrc.com, they're premium cells, and he stands behind his products.

You can also find them from buddyrc and a few others that sponsor us here

 

[djmoose]

I like the lifesource packs...they've never let me down, and they have a lot of connectors on them....however they're expensive. I use one on my 74 Slick...and THAT works out great because I needed some extra nose-weight...so it's up under the cowl on the motorbox.

I've never heard the difference between round and flat life packs...that's interesting to me and I'd like to know more. (I don't doubt it, just want to learn more)

Life's are a good thing if you're not HV.

 

[Capt.Roll]

Life packs or A123's are a good option as you don't really need to worry about leaving them in a full charge state.

I have both types; use two of the 2300mAh 2S A123's in my 102" Yak and use two of the GensAce Life 2S 1800mAh paks in my 60cc Extra 300. Also use one of the GensAce packs to power the RX and servos in my 71" Slick.

Have had no issues with either one of them. Receivers and servos are pretty low drain so they don't require a high C discharge pack. On my Slick I can fly 12-15 flights (approx 5-6 minutes) before recharging the pack.

 

[bjackson1206]

To date on all my planes I have used either the bec in esc or a castle pro bec when I first put my 73" yak thoughter the gas guys at club could not believe that I was using flight pack for rx power it was taboo to them but I never had a problem I have purchased 2s lipos for my extra that has hv servos my slick I was going to use the spektrum a 6020 that I have so it's either use the bec and lipos or just order life pack or go back to old set up and just flight pack just weighing my options I would like to share lipos between slick and extra so maybe I should wait and buy some hv's for it this winter thanks for all the input guys.
Ben

 

[gyro]

To date on all my planes I have used either the bec in esc or a castle pro bec when I first put my 73" yak thoughter the gas guys at club could not believe that I was using flight pack for rx power it was taboo to them but I never had a problem I have purchased 2s lipos for my extra that has hv servos my slick I was going to use the spektrum a 6020 that I have so it's either use the bec and lipos or just order life pack or go back to old set up and just flight pack just weighing my options I would like to share lipos between slick and extra so maybe I should wait and buy some hv's for it this winter thanks for all the input guys.
Ben

Ben, if you want to use the lipos you have, the BEC pro from castle, or a Sahara regulator from fromeco would work.
My 72 Extra uses a 8.2 LiIon pack regulated down to 6.6v

-Gary

 

[3dbandit]

My experience with with the hobbico life packs hasn't been very good. It is very hard to detect when they are going bad, it is nearly impossible, and they have an extremely steep discharge curve at the bottom end of their capacity.

I have owned about 10 and have had 3 failures, one of which costed me an airframe.

As for using a BEC, I prefer to stay away from BEC's when possible as they can fail during high current bursts,().

If you do want to use a BEC, many people like and use the castle CC pro, I loved mine until it exploded mid flight(FYI: I was pushing it very close to its limits).



If you really want to use a BEC and dont mind spending some money, western robotics makes a very very good bec, the Hercules Super Pro BEC works VERY WELL. A couple guy are using them at my local field and really love them. http://www.western-robotics.com/hercules-super-BECPRO_hp.html

I personally prefer to run a lipo RX pack when possible, but if you need to run low voltage and dont want to use a regulator or a BEC with a battery then the tail dragger A123 packs are proven to be extremely good and reliable.


IMHO:
The tail dragger 2300 mah A123 packs would be best suited for you.

 

[bjackson1206]

Ok thanks I'll check them out

 

[djmoose]

My experience with with the hobbico life packs hasn't been very good. It is very hard to detect when they are going bad, it is nearly impossible, and they have an extremely steep discharge curve at the bottom end of their capacity.

This is very true, but the very simple way to avoid any problems is to fully charge, fly 1 normal flight, recharge and see how much you put back in. Do the math, figure out how many flights you'd get in a complete charge, subtract 2-3 and you're golden. Always fully charge at the beginning of the day. I've never had a problem.