Villian Ex Battery Question

[grafeks]

Can I use both NiCd AND NiMh with my villian ex?
Which is better?

[BoatDoc]

you can use either. NiMh have more capacity these days as Nicd's are getting a little out-dated.

[CG Bob]

You can use either two NiCd or two NiMH. Don't use one NiCd and one NiMh together in the boat. Their discharge rates are different, and you could smoke the boat. A 1700 or 1900 mAh NiCd battery will lose power much quicker than a 2400-3800 mAh NiMh will.

[rooski]

NiCd has higher initial voltage maintainence but is prone to memory issues and must be properly discharged after each use. NiMh, while not having as good initial voltage per cell, has less upkeep issues to deal with. NiMh cells also have much higher mah (milli amp hour) rated cells available so they can last a whole lot longer than NiCd's, ie. a 3600 mah pack will last ~twice as long as a 1800 mah pack. The only downside with long run times is that you can build up a lot of heat. If you run 3600mah or higher packs, you should probably water cool the motors, which is really easy to do. BTW...you can use 14 cells in your Villain EX and it is noticeably faster. With 14 cells, watercooling is a must.

Also, NiMh batteries like to be run straight off the charger while they are still warm. Their voltage drops off quickly once they completely cool. Most FE boaters use NiMh packs.

[Fluid]

NiMH cells have significantly lower internal resistance and much higher usable voltage per cell than NiCds. They are the single most important reason that FE boats now exceed the top speed records of nitro boats. The year we all changed to NiMH cells our SAW speeds went up substantially...same boats, same motors.

Their greater capacity is a double edged sword, as pointed out above. You can run longer, but the heat build up is high, risking cell damage at higher amp draws. NiCds are obsolete due to their hazardous waste issues.

[grafeks]

Thanks for your answers.
Now I've got the 411.