Author Topic: Li Po Batteries  (Read 30949 times)

skyhawk newbie

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« on: October 22, 2010, 12:16:28 PM »
I'm new here and new to flying powered gliders ,
so if this is in the wrong section sorry..

What I have is a ...4Ch TW-742  SkyHawk  Aerobatic Glider...
has  9.6v 1100mAh battery.

Now I wana Mod this glider just a bit...  :lol:
By fitting a brushlees motor (TowerPro BM2408-21T + 18A ESC combo)
with 8x4 prop...
Now I've been reading ( http://www.dmitrynizh.com/tw742.htm )
 and to get the best out of a brushlees motor, I need to get Li-Po Batteries....Of which I know nothing about.....
So what I wana know is whats the best size Li-Po's / charger
and any other info for a newbie...

Regards Sean
Too many to name
Gliders/Planes/EDF Jets.16 total...
cars.
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Aidan

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« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2010, 14:19:32 PM »
Sean,

There's any number of power systems you could put in a plane like that. To choose a suitable one there's a few more pieces of info needed.

What's your flying experience and how do you want to fly the plane?
As a powered glider (power up and spend most of your time with the motor off), as a basic trainer (flying around at moderate speed with occasional mild aerobatics), sport plane (a little of everything including some speed and aerobatics) or something else.

How much do you want to spend?
There is very cheap equipment around now which typically perform pretty well but if you're able to spend a bit more it does open up more options.

The critical thing with electric flight is that the batteries, motor and prop are all interlinked. If any of these 3 components aren't suited to the others for that application the performance will be disappointing.

Aidan

Happy Days

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« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2010, 15:31:46 PM »
Here’s a thought, Skyhawk. :?:  

If you have already brought a TW-742, (and I susspect you have :) ) don’t fit any motor at all! :shock:  Just fly it as a fully fledged slope soarer. :clap:   All the time the wind is hitting  the side of the slope you will have FREE lift.  Fly all day if you want to! 8)  

(By not carrying the weight of a big flight battery the plane is lighter and will be easier to keep in the air. :D )
Most of the slope soarers I know, including myself, don’t use power systems in our gliders. We let the wind do the work!

Keith
Try not to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas....... all at the same time.

skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2010, 16:00:46 PM »
Thanks for replys...

Yeah ..I've allready got one ,,got it last week.....

then Ordered another 2 , So I've got 3 TW-742 SkyHawks ,,,,
( Cheaper to buy the whole glider then the spares )

Glider 1
This is my Trainer glider,as I've allready crashed it....

Glider 2
Christ. . I'm defo keeping one  as a slope soarer

Glider 3 this will be my fully Moded Glider.....
 I want as a sport plane (a little of everything including some speed and aerobatics) Thanks Aidan.....
 Ordered from Hobby King...
 TowerPro BM2408-21T + 18A ESC combo with 8x4 prop...
 But I donn't know what Battery works best for this Combo
Too many to name
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Happy Days

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« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2010, 16:25:10 PM »
Ahrrrrreee. Now we understand a little bit more. :wink:

The battery you want is a 1100mAh 3cell (shown as 3S in the adverts) Li-po with a discharge rate of around 20C (20 times it’s capacity)

So,…..if you look in the adverts for a Li-po batteries = 1100mAh 3S 20C will give you about the same   powered flight time as the original Metal-Hydride battery set up the plane originally had.

If you wanted to use the propeller for longer periods you could get a bigger 3cell li-po, may be a 1500mAh. But you must ensure that whichever size battery you get it will physically fit into the plane. The shops selling them will normally tell you the physical size of each battery.

K.
Try not to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas....... all at the same time.

skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2010, 16:33:29 PM »
Quote from: "Happy Days"
Ahrrrrreee. Now we understand a little bit more. :wink:

The battery you want is a 1100mAh 3cell (shown as 3S in the adverts) Li-po with a discharge rate of around 20C (20 times it’s capacity)

So,…..if you look in the adverts for a Li-po batteries = 1100mAh 3S 20C will give you about the same   powered flight time as the original Metal-Hydride battery set up the plane originally had.

If you wanted to use the propeller for longer periods you could get a bigger 3cell li-po, may be a 1500mAh. But you must ensure that whichever size battery you get it will physically fit into the plane. The shops selling them will normally tell you the physical size of each battery.

K.


Thanks Keith....
Off to E-Bay I go......If not there then HobbyKing....Again
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skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2010, 16:45:01 PM »
Can I go Higher Voltage as well ???

What would be the best out of these...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=241&LiPoConfig=3


Size of my is . . 27mm H. / 35mm W. / 68mm L.
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Happy Days

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« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2010, 16:50:50 PM »
Glad to be of help…………..word of caution when buying lipo’s off ebay Skyhawk.

I’ve heard of many people buying a real "bargin" lipo off eBay, only to find that it only worked for 20 or 30 cycles, (Charges & discharges) and then just died!

If I were you, I’d stick to well know brands, ie Flight power, Flightech,  Dualsky, Kong Power, E-flight, Kokam. There are other reliable manufacturers  as well, (I can’t think of them all) but any of the above should give you a good 300 or more cycles.

K
Try not to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas....... all at the same time.

Happy Days

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« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2010, 16:59:14 PM »
No, you can’t go to a higher voltage because 3S is the highest that the ESC (speed controller) is designed to work at.

Turnigy is a good brand. Of the list on the site you’ve referred to I’d think the 1300mAh would be best,…….but I don’t know if it would physically fit into your model.. You’ll have to check it’s size.

B.T.W. Why are you buying your batteries from the States? It would be easier and quicker to get them in the UK or Ireland.

K.
Try not to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas....... all at the same time.

skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2010, 17:05:06 PM »
Quote from: "Happy Days"
No, you can’t go to a higher voltage because 3S is the highest that the ESC (speed controller) is designed to work at.

Turnigy is a good brand. Of the list on the site you’ve referred to I’d think the 1300mAh would be best,…….but I don’t know if it would physically fit into your model.. You’ll have to check it’s size.

B.T.W. Why are you buying your batteries from the States? It would be easier and quicker to get them in the UK or Ireland.

K.


I buy most of my R/C car stuff from the States as €100 = $125
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billscottni

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Li Po Batteries
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2010, 17:39:38 PM »
Have a look at Giant Cod in the UK. Good prices and the stuff works as advertised

http://www.giantcod.co.uk/

Happy Days

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« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2010, 20:03:24 PM »
Quote
I buy most of my R/C car stuff from the States as €100 = $125


In that case why not buy your gear from Japan,……..100Euro will get you over 11,000 Yen :lol:  :lol:
Try not to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas....... all at the same time.

skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2010, 20:31:28 PM »
I could do...Will have to have a look see what I can get for my R/C Cars..

Losi Mini Rock Crawler..1/18th scale


hpi Baja 29cc Petrol..1/5th scale...My favourite.....





This is how it use to look like,before the up-grades


Traaxas T-Maxx 3.3 trx 1/10th scale fully up-grades.
and the mini Maxx "table top racer" 1/32



These are just a few of what I've got...
theres still the ...........

Losi micro DT 1/36th..

Axial AX-10 Rock Crawler with moded Motor 1/10th..

Losi  XXX  1/8th..

...................................................
................................................. :D  :D  :D
Too many to name
Gliders/Planes/EDF Jets.16 total...
cars.
hpi Baja

Aidan

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« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2010, 23:06:25 PM »
Hi again,

If #3 is going to be used as a glider as well as general sport flying you'd be best to fit a folding prop and fully enclose the motor but I expect that'll be tricky with the style of motor you've got. A normal prop is very draggy when it's not in use so it'll really hurt gliding performance.

There are 2 potential problems with the battery from an installation point of view. One as Keith said, is the size. The other is the weight. I don't know much about the plane so I don't know if you've much flexibility on the size or location of the battery. If the new power system you're installing is a lot lighter or heavier than the one it's originally designed for you might have problems getting the plane to balance correctly. The new system is probably lighter meaning the plane will tend to end up tail heavy. If that's the case, and if there's space in front of the CG for a larger battery than I'd go for more capacity (more than 1100mAh) instead of just putting lots of dead weight (lead or similar) in the nose to get the balance correct.

I've used a couple of types of HobbyKing lipo cells and have been very happy with them so far. Flightmax and Rhino seem to get better press than Turnigy but to be honest they could all be coming from the same manufacturers, you just don't know. In general the Flightmax cells tend to have better energy density than the Rhino and Turnigy cells (if the advertised specs are accurate). I'd probably go for something like these if you want almost identical size:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6308
or something like these if you can fit a longer pack and want more duration or need the weight for balance:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6307
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6293

There's no point getting cells with a high C rating if you don't need them as they're normally a lot heavier and more expensive. You'll be fine with 20C or 25C cells.

If you want to shop more locally than Hong Kong (hard to beat them on price but shipping sometimes takes a while) you could try Giantcod.co.uk, expressfly.org.uk or Robotbirds.com.
I just had a very quick look at Giantcod and they have at least 2 packs that  are a match for size but I don't know anything about the brands:
http://www.giantcod.co.uk/rcmodelpart-1350-lipo-pack-p-405371.html
http://www.giantcod.co.uk/loong-tipple-1300-3s1p-2535c-lipo-battery-p-404432.html

You'll need a lipo charger of course.
There are lots around now. I've used Schulze, Hyperion and now have an icharger. Happy with all of them. The iCharger 106b+ is available from Hobbyking and a few other places. It's $80 but should meet all of your requirements for a while unless you make a quick move up fairly big stuff. There are much cheaper chargers available too. I haven't tried any of them so I can't really give you any guidance on them. I haven't used  I would suggest you find out what you can about using and storing Lipos before you start using them. They are less tolerant of abuse than Nickel based cylindrical cells. Shorting, overcharging, etc can have serious consequences (potentially fire) and overdischarging will harm performance and can ruin the cells. The standard advice is to charge lipos in a shed, garage, etc away from anything flammable if possible and/or supervise the charge process.

Aidan

skyhawk newbie

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« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2010, 23:27:47 PM »
Thanks for all the info Aidan...

Theres alot too take in...
Yeah I'd head that Li-Po's where not as straight forwards as the Ni-Mh I'm useing at the moment....

Suppose I'll just have to use my standard batteries for know,with the brushless motor..
I didn't know about chargeing of Li-Po's and the danger involved ( have 2 small kids in the house , the last thing I want is a fire )


Regards Sean
Too many to name
Gliders/Planes/EDF Jets.16 total...
cars.
hpi Baja