Making battery packs.

[dubzoncamelz]

Is it really worth it to make your own battery packs? Reciever packs, radio packs, Mini T packs, any type of battery really. By the time you purchase the cells and all the connectors, do you save any? What kind of soldering iron would you need? (wattage, accesories) I tried to search, but couldn't find any information, though I'm sure this question has been asked before.

Basically, is it worth it? What would you need to get the job done right?

[SteveK]

Tools: You'll need some pliers (A cheap pair you just solder with since heat can weaken them), solder (Good electrical 'silver' solder), flux paste, and maybe a third hand dealy from Radio Shack. Of course, you also need an iron, over 40 watts for doing sub C battery packs.

If you want a pack of really good cells for a 1/10th scale car, or some specialized shape or layout for another application, then it's worth it. From my experience, you can save a little bit buying individual cells for mini's and receiver packs, but there are a lot of good pre-assembled packs available now.

It's not hard, and I usually end up tearing down my pre-built 1/10th scale packs to take advantage of the more efficient battery bars, but I'm getting away from that a little now. I built one pack for my Micro and it worked OK, but I just bought one for my Mini-T and it worked out great too.

So basically unless you want to race and/or use killer cells that are only available unassembled, or have a need for an unusual shape, you don't really NEED to do it anymore.

[always_opencarb]

will 40 watts work ok?

[dubzoncamelz]

Thanks SteveK.

[AnimeKing]

Okay, so say we do want to race. Say, in the touring car class and have one of those fancy kits that come with no wheels, tires or body (HPI Pro 4, MR4TC, etc.) is it worth it then?

If so, what's the best battery to use now? And where's the best info on it for someone who's never done it?

Is there any non-electrical performance increase in using side by side battery packs?

Are there any good race-level stick packs at all?

[TimisTim]

I started to use stick packs in my stadium truck because the side by side packs dont have any form of insulation between the bars and the chassis. They would increase glitching in my radio and servos because graphite can carry a current, and there is not enough space to stick something between the bars and the chassis. Im sure there is a difference in the amount of resistance in a stick pack vs. a side by side handbuilt but I dont race yet so they suit me fine. I would give the same advice for you, no racing then dont worry about it.

You can go to www.promatchracing.com for the new gp3700's but they are quite pricey.

A race level stick pack........Studysession used a product that held together packs without soldering (it places the cells in a tube then clamps together or somehting like that) and you can go the extra step and use a silver paste to help conductivity of the cells. I must thank you for bringing this up, because I had totally forgot about it until now. The website for this product is http://www.modelelectronicscorp.com/

As soon as I recieve my paycheck (tomorrow I hope) I will purchase some and post a thread of my experience with them.

[cr250]

dubzoncamelz - SPC (http://www.specpointbatteries.com) has a good article on their website on battery assembly and care. If you are still hesitant about assembling packs, SPC will assemble packs for a very reasonable fee. They will even assemble other companies packs. Contact them if you have any questions, their customer service is great.

[Sean Patterson]

I just assembled a pack using a 230W iron and trying silver solder like stevek said. Bad choice! It takes more heat to melt the silver and I ended up just over heating my cells. Stick with good ole 60/40 rosin core.

[studysession]

If you need help with assembling, here is an article that gives you an idea on what it takes to assemble a battery pack:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=481