Oh #%@!! What did I do to my SMC Lipos?

[fastbaja5b]

yeah he was asking me how both A123 packs failed when I had them, and to that, the only thing I can think of is a faulty charger, as they were fine when I used my Lipo - A123 / Nimh charger but failed once I used their proprietory "A123 Hypersonic" charger.

[zeropointbug]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

yeah he was asking me how both A123 packs failed when I had them, and to that, the only thing I can think of is a faulty charger, as they were fine when I used my Lipo - A123 / Nimh charger but failed once I used their proprietory "A123 Hypersonic" charger.

Could very well be the charger, I never liked the looks of those things from day one. I have used a programmable lab quality power supply to charge my A123 packs, very accurate and reliable.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

yeah he was asking me how both A123 packs failed when I had them, and to that, the only thing I can think of is a faulty charger, as they were fine when I used my Lipo - A123 / Nimh charger but failed once I used their proprietory "A123 Hypersonic" charger.

Did you by chance purchase those on Ebay from "hopmeup"? If so, I'm guessing you were one of many who ended up buying old cells. There was a thread on this a year or so back. I bought six packs from them, and ended up with 4 after I rebuilt them and pulled out the bad cells.

Back to the topic at hand - Freeze ya need a break from this. Still not an excuse to use language like that.
I for one have a hard time thinking that both packs puffing at the same time is due to bad cells. If it is, you definitley got some bad mojo going.

[fastbaja5b]

Originally Posted by JThiessen

Did you by chance purchase those on Ebay from "hopmeup"? If so, I'm guessing you were one of many who ended up buying old cells. There was a thread on this a year or so back. I bought six packs from them, and ended up with 4 after I rebuilt them and pulled out the bad cells.

Back to the topic at hand - Freeze ya need a break from this. Still not an excuse to use language like that.
I for one have a hard time thinking that both packs puffing at the same time is due to bad cells. If it is, you definitley got some bad mojo going.

Yeah I did actually, likely a contributing factor!

Can you run a 3s and a 2s on the Flux? The manual says both pack needs to be equal. I didn't think I could even run a 5000mah and a 5100mah pack or a 28C and a 30C pack, what I interpreted was both packs must be identical.

[skellyo]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

Can you run a 3s and a 2s on the Flux? The manual says both pack needs to be equal. I didn't think I could even run a 5000mah and a 5100mah pack or a 28C and a 30C pack, what I interpreted was both packs must be identical.

Yes, you can run a 2S and 3S in there without an issue. They must be the same brand, capacity and C rating though. I run 2S and 3S 25C Thunder Power 5000's in mine.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

Yeah I did actually, likely a contributing factor!

Can you run a 3s and a 2s on the Flux? The manual says both pack needs to be equal. I didn't think I could even run a 5000mah and a 5100mah pack or a 28C and a 30C pack, what I interpreted was both packs must be identical.

I was banned by hopmeup on ebay because I left them neutral feedback based on the quality of the product they were selling. Dont base your opinion of A123's on what you got from them - they really are good reliable power. Not as much power as lipo, but likely much more reliable.

To do a 2S/3S set up (as 5S), you just need to remove the Flux battery wires, and insert a single pack connector - this will make the flux think it is seeing one pack. Oh, and you'll need a series wiring connector for the packs (or is that parallel???) Check Brians speed calculator page on battery wiring to verify the layout.

[skellyo]

Originally Posted by JThiessen

To do a 2S/3S set up (as 5S), you just need to remove the Flux battery wires, and insert a single pack connector - this will make the flux think it is seeing one pack. Oh, and you'll need a series wiring connector for the packs (or is that parallel???) Check Brians speed calculator page on battery wiring to verify the layout.

You don't need to do anything. Just use a single 2S pack and a single 3S pack and use the existing connectors on the Flux ESC. They'll plug right in and be in series for 5S operation. If you do what you stated to modify the connection, you've just wasted your time since it's the same electrically regardless of where the series connection is.

[fastbaja5b]

Originally Posted by JThiessen

I was banned by hopmeup on ebay because I left them neutral feedback based on the quality of the product they were selling. Dont base your opinion of A123's on what you got from them - they really are good reliable power. Not as much power as lipo, but likely much more reliable.

To do a 2S/3S set up (as 5S), you just need to remove the Flux battery wires, and insert a single pack connector - this will make the flux think it is seeing one pack. Oh, and you'll need a series wiring connector for the packs (or is that parallel???) Check Brians speed calculator page on battery wiring to verify the layout.

Ok thanks, do you find the higher internal resistance of A123 vs Lipo presents an issue?

[zeropointbug]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

Ok thanks, do you find the higher internal resistance of A123 vs Lipo presents an issue?

Absolutely not. What type of issue are you referring to?

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by fastbaja5b

Ok thanks, do you find the higher internal resistance of A123 vs Lipo presents an issue?

I didn't notice it. I ran them hard, charged them fast, and for the most part, they came back ready for more. I ran into some balancing "challenges" with one battery, but with some TLC, it came back every time.

[zeropointbug]

I never once balanced my packs, lol... I just don't think they need it with RC packs. I charged them at the max I could which was 10amps and is the rated fast charge for them as well.

The low internal resistance may affect the durability of the esc for absorbing back EMF when braking, but I have had no issues.

I am not calling Freeze a beginner, but I think all beginners should use A123 cells, they provide them with plenty of power, durable, and you can't really get into a dangerous situation like could happen with lipo if a VICTIM does something stupid with the pack, that he may or may not have known you could do, or not do.

But IMO, you should get the Hyperion G3 packs, I am continually amazed at what these things do to my truck. And SPEAKING of durability, I just ran a half run with my Revo geared for 65mph running in the ditch/road... I was scared, I am not joking here, every little bit of throttle increase would lift the front of the truck sky high. I didn't even know my little 1512 could pull the truck so hard with such tall gearing! Brought the truck in, I put ~2400mah back into the pack @ 20amps(immediately after the run mind you) and they were stone cold as well!

I am not speaking out of my @$$ here (although like Pimp said earlier would be cool if you could), my Revo can handle that tall gearing only because my Quark esc has been modified quite a bit to handle anything I can throw at it, which as you can see, is alot.