battery pack paralleling

[AKASHA]

hi all new to the site and have a few questions concerning an older r/c hummer that I have. First off it sucks the batteries dry like no other. I can get a good 5 mins of fun play time then it is jsut driving around to discharge the rest of the juice out. the pack is a radio shack special 7.2V 2000mah. I am wondering what all can/would happen if I hooked up another pack in parallel to the components of the r/c? I know that the voltage will stay the same but the capacity will be increased but will it do any harm to the other components? also will the packs heat up enough to melt plastic or anything like that? I guess maybe should heat be a concern?

Maybe I should look at some different motors or something, or maybe jsut ditch it all together and go to the newer Tmaxx 3.3 and never look back? LOL THX

[vaderbxman]

3.3!!!!

Wiring 2 batteries could, and would, burn-up your ESC. You might have to discharge them to rid them of their memory, but that's all I got.

[evst 360]

3.3!!!!

Wiring 2 batteries could, and would, burn-up your ESC. You might have to discharge them to rid them of their memory, but that's all I got.
I dont think woring up two batts in parrallel will harm anything. The voltage is the same, and the capacity is increased. But, if I were you, AKASHA, I would bite the bullet and make the jump into hobby grade rc. You will like it alot. :cool:

[terrible-t]

HMMMM!! Parallel batteries! 1.5vx6=9 doesnt seem like that. Actually 1.5vX6=1.5v,with larger mah. In series it will add up 1.5v X 6=9v, 2200mah stays the same 2200mah.

[AKASHA]

HMMMM!! Parallel batteries! 1.5vx6=9 doesnt seem like that. Actually 1.5vX6=1.5v,with larger mah. In series it will add up 1.5v X 6=9v, 2200mah stays the same 2200mah.

so parallel is what I am after right? LOL I believe so because all of the batts in teh pack are in series which would up the final voltage to ~7.2V (6 cells) Mah stays the same in series while in parallel the voltage stays and the Mah increases.

Has anyone here tried this before? LOL or am I going to be the guinea pig? (I have had thoughts of strapping the 18V crodelss drill pack on there hehe but that is sure to cause some carnage, might be fun for a few mins though LOL)

I guess it is unamious though, gonna have to find a way to come up with the money for the 3.3 tmaxx. at elast I already have a pack and charger!! haha.

[doubleback]

I have made tamiya adapters before. I made a parallel adapter for two packs and a series adapter for two packs. It's pritty easy to do. There are diagrams on the internet how to make them if you are not sure how to do so.
two pack parallel 7.2v
two pack series 14.4v

[ElectricThunder]

AKASHA- Are you talking about the individual cells in one single pack, and putting all of THOSE in parallel? Or do you mean two separate packs of 6 cells in series each, wired together in parallel?

The latter will give increased runtime and possibly even some extra "punch" (because you've doubled your capacity, your batteries can now discharge more current, which is what the motor wants!). The former will simply lower your voltage down to 1.2 volts, but capacity will be 2000mah multiplied by those six cells in series, so it'd have a capacity of 12000mah.

Basically, the latter is the best route to go with what you have (ACTUALLY...simply getting new batteries would be better; 24.99 will get you a decent pack of GP3300s from Radio Shack).

[AKASHA]

I was refering to putting two seperate 6 cell packs in parallel. more power and speed would be nice but I dont expect much out of it. I would just like to be able to play with it for more than a few minutes at a time per day!! LOL I did find one palce on fleaybay that sold come 3600mAh packs for a decent price and I might pick up a pair of those. I might just wait though and save up for a nitro though and try to pawn this off for a few bucks or something. decisions and anxiety dont go together all that well!! haha. THX for the clarifaction though much appreciated.

[Stuart B]

packs in parrallel is no problem as long as they have the same amount of charge at the start. Check that they have the near as damn the same voltage on them before connecting.

You should have better punch, each battery now supplies half the current so their voltage won't dip as much. This also means you will get double the run time. If your single bat gets warm, thy will both be cooler with 2.

[Grant Tokumi]

You should have better punch, each battery now supplies half the current so their voltage won't dip as much. This also means you will get double the run time. If your single bat gets warm, thy will both be cooler with 2.
That is all correct.

[guver]

Charge seperately.

[AKASHA]

THX guys for all of the advice and clarifaction on this process. I will be picking up another battery or two here shortly and start in with this whole plan. thx again.

[Grant Tokumi]

Charge seperately.
Excellent point too.