Where To Buy Batteries?

[mtbenjamin77]

Kent,

never mind the thread hijackers, you did the right thing for you. Now go have some fun. When you're ready to upgrade I'm sure you'll feel the excitement all over again. Just be sure to read the link I posted about the ins and outs of lipos or you can end up spending alot of money on the wrong things and destroying esc's batts motors and I've even seen boats catch on fire. you're right where you need to be. again go have fun and lemme know if you have any more questions.

travis

[siberianhusky]

When you're ready to step up you'll really love the lipos.
I was a dedicated nitro burner until I saw a boat running a brushless motor and lipos, didn't take long for me to get my first FE.
Until then I just couldn't understand the interest in electric boats, no performance and piles and piles of batteries.
It's an expensive hobby so I understand working your way into it by using what you have available at first.
I wouldn't worry about the fear mongering with lipo batteries, they are in everything now, you probably have one in your pocket most of the day in your cell phone.
All you need is a bit of common sense, it's been a long time since I've seen any stories of lipos going up without some serious extenuating circumstances. It's not like some people would have you believe, you are not playing with a live grenade.

[BHChieftain]

When you're ready to step up you'll really love the lipos.
I was a dedicated nitro burner until I saw a boat running a brushless motor and lipos, didn't take long for me to get my first FE.
Until then I just couldn't understand the interest in electric boats, no performance and piles and piles of batteries.
It's an expensive hobby so I understand working your way into it by using what you have available at first.
I wouldn't worry about the fear mongering with lipo batteries, they are in everything now, you probably have one in your pocket most of the day in your cell phone.
All you need is a bit of common sense, it's been a long time since I've seen any stories of lipos going up without some serious extenuating circumstances. It's not like some people would have you believe, you are not playing with a live grenade.

I think there are 3 big considerations to keep in mind when comparing lipo use in phones/computers vs. lipo use in RC.

The first is high rate charging. There are plenty of examples of lipo fires when packs are charged at 1C and higher. Yeah, it is not common but it can happen. The second is we are strapping these packs inside of boats flying around at 50mph, riding chop, crashing, whipsaw turns, etc-- this puts physical stress on the packs and damange can lead to internal shorts. Third, we are dealing with huge capacity and discharge rates, which generates a lot of heat, which also degrades the internal structure of the pack and can lead to internal shorts.

Personally, I will never charge my packs unattended... and I charge them in lipo bags in a fireplace, and keep them stored in a woodburning stove. Packs can be fine one day, then a problem the next.

http://helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=194957

Here's a post from our own Sailr, with a brand new pack just sitting on a shelf burn up.

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...nigy-Batteries

Internal shorting sources

http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/pdfs/45856.pdf

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20060013441_2006014411.pdf

Lipos are great for our hobby, but follow common sense safety procedures when charging and handling things that store a lot of energy, and don't get lulled into the trap of "I never had an issue the last 100 charges so I'll just go run to the store while my packs charge this time"

Chief