Li Po batteries

[bmitchell138]

Just wondering what type Li Po batteries everyone is using on their BCPs?

What brand and specs on batts?
What brand charger?
Charge time?
Flight time?
How much did you spend?
Satisfied?

I am going get the Li Pos soon and I'm looking for the best bang for my buck.

[rockymag]

I'm using an Apogee 1050 mah 3-cell. Currently, if I'm only hovering in the livingroom with minimal imputs, about 20-25 minutes of flight time. Takes about 1 hour to recharge (I'm charging @ .70 mah vs. 1C). The Apogee cost around $40 - $50 @ my local store, using a Triton charger @ $150.

My flight time comes mainly from the fact that @ full power, the draw on the battery is only showing 7.6 amps. I was told the Blades can have a current draw much higher than that.

A 1200 mah Thunderpower would work great, but anything over that starts getting on the heavy side. I've tried some 1570 mah I have and found that during hover, the amp draw is higher which Im guessing is going hand in hand with the weight increase. The larger battery didn't improve performance.

I have been real happy with the 1050 mah but will probably grab up a 1200mah to add more time. Happy flying!!

[bmitchell138]

I talked to a guy at my LHS and he uses a 900mA 3 cell. He said he gets around 15 to 20 minutes of 3d flight. He said I should try to stay around 800 to 1300mAs to keep weight down.

[rockymag]

I have some Apogee 1570 mah 3-cells that I have tried. Don't like them. The wieght increases the work load of the 4n1 as well as the main and everything starts to get a little hot for my taste. Not a good trade off. Your local hobby shop is correct on the mah range. 1200 would probably be the top side of the weight range. Happy Flying!!!

[motions]

I just bought a Li-Po charger and a 3-cell 2000mAh battery weighing in at 120g.
Is this battery too heavy or powerful for the Blade?

[bmitchell138]

Let us know how the battery pack and charger perform.

I bought a Dynamite Vision Peak Ultra charger yesterday, and it works great with the stock NiMH batteries. I can't wait to get a LiPo pack!

I use a Graupner Ultramat 10 charger and Kokam 3 Cell 1500mAh battery. The battery is heavy but it last forever is seems like. I use the same battery in my Brushless Mamba 6800kv Mini-Quake truck for 20+ minute runtimes. Still hovering with my Carbooon CP.

[rockymag]

A 3-cell 11.1 volt lipo is never too powerful!! The issue would be weight considerations and the particular flying environment. Flying at or around sea level is probably one of the greatest experiences most of you will get to experience with remote control airframes. The lipos above 1200 mah will probably work great for most anyone out there as there is plenty of air for lift generation. I live at an altitude of 6800 ft and my flying field is at 7200 ft. The limit of my battery payload seems to be right at 1500 mah. Anything above that am I'm chewing up milli-amps like I have a 650 size battery. If you have the time and money, play around with different sizes until you find one that is balanced on weight load and flight time. If your motor starts to gett too hot (even with heat sinks) while hovering, you are start too get a little heavy. Hope this helps out. Modern lipo chargers are all good for our current needs. Apogee dedicated lipo chargers, Tritons, Multiplex and others are all great. Just remember to always monitor your batteries durring charging and never charge above 1C on lipos. 1C equals the mah size (ie. 1050 mah = 1.05 amps or lower).
Happy Flying!!!