Elite 3600 cells

[ReddyWatts]

I was going to buy some new battery packs from Steven but he does not have enough to fill my order. I checked on the IB3600 cells and they are over 7 bucks a cell. The Elite cells are under 5 bucks a cell. Anyone tried them?

[JimClark]

Check here

http://www.battlepack.com/loosecells.asp

5.65 each for IB3600

[RMZDADDY]

I've been getting mine here, 4.45 each. got 48 so far all good cells.

http://www.batterystore.com/Intellect/IntMain.htm

[Raydee]

I have a bunch of Elite 3600's and they have all worked fine for me.

[Fluid]

I watched Brian Buass set records with EP3600s a year ago in Valdosta, so I bought a bunch of them the next week. They were absolute cr*p, only putting out 0.8 volts per cell at an 80 amp draw. The makers had changed something - I was not the only boater who got screwed.

Below is the best use for these cells, they work great BTW!
.

[yz120]

i`m very happy with mine

[ReddyWatts]

I ordered 4 - 6 cell IB3600 NiMH brick packs from the Battery Store with deans connectors.

http://www.batterystore.com/Intellect/IntMain.htm

In less than five minutes someone called me and asked some questions about wire length and connectors, then told me he would send them out today. It is already 1:20 pm. They cost me 128.80 for 24 cells. That comes to $32.20 for each prebuilt 6-pack. I am impressed.
Thanks RMZ!!!

[Darin Jordan]

I watched Brian Buass set records with EP3600s a year ago in Valdosta, so I bought a bunch of them the next week. They were absolute cr*p, only putting out 0.8 volts per cell at an 80 amp draw. The makers had changed something - I was not the only boater who got screwed.
.

We had good luck with them for the first 5 or 6 cycles, afterwhich, they fell off hard and were unrecoverable... They were AWESOME for the first few runs... but definately NOT long-lived...

I have some Elite 4500s that I tried at the Nats... I wasn't as impressed with them either... The IB4200s still were better, both on voltage output and cycles... though those either work, or they don't...

I'm looking forward to being completely DONE with NiMH cells...

[ReddyWatts]

NiMH 24 - IB3600 cells $128.80

Lipo quality equivalent $400.00

The Lipo is faster, but not 3 times faster.

I hope NiMH's stay around for awhile.

[Fluid]

I ordered 4 - 6 cell IB3600 NiMH brick packs from the Battery Store with deans connectors....

IBs are not EPs. Our club bought over 300 IB3600s this Spring and they are still running great in all our boats. Unfortunately we will be seeing it more and more difficult to get quality NiMH cells. Note I said quality. The cost of LiPos is coming down, but their power output is not the only advantage. They will survive hundreds of cycles without degrading - no NiMH cell will do that.


.

[Darin Jordan]

NiMH 24 - IB3600 cells $128.80

Lipo quality equivalent $400.00

The Lipo is faster, but not 3 times faster.

You'll replace those NiMH at least 3-times before you'd have to replace those Lipos... I've contended all along that it's about WAY more than just upfront costs, which are high... It all balances out about 1/2 way through a race season, afterwhich, Lipos get well beyond just performing better and being easier to deal with during the race day... We have guys on their second season of the same Lipos, a couple of whom set new National records with them last week...

But I guess people will actually have to start taking the plunge and getting the experience before they will understand this... Perhaps it's not as important to sport boaters, but when you are racing 12-15 races a season, the costs of NiMH are high, even in comparison to today's Lipo costs...

If nothing else... they are SOOOOOOOO much easier to deal with from a charging standpoint... I charge mine up a DAY or so before the weekend, then run a couple of warmup laps during the mill, go race, pull them out of the boat (they're about 100-degrees or so at this point...) throw them right on the charger, and they're ready to go for the next round... No peaking... no having to time the charge just right... NO hassle...

[ReddyWatts]

I agree with your point, but I am not pulling the amps that you guys are racing. These NiMh's should last me as long as your racing lipo's. High amps and heat really shorten the life of a NiMH. That is another reason why I like the high voltage, lower current setups.

[RMZDADDY]

I hear ya Reddy, I'm pulling very reasonable amps in my 24 cell setups to get upper 40- low 50mph speeds. I think for people running high volt sport boats the nimh are still a good value.

[Fluid]

While you sport boaters may think that you are being 'gentle' on your cells, in reality most FE sport boaters are harder on their equipment than racers are. Racers never run their cells down much below 2/3rds charge - yet sport boaters usually run until they see a big speed dropoff - that is very damaging to the newer NiMH cells. Sprint racers run for about 60-90 seconds tops, limiting the buildup of heat in the cells. Sport boaters run a lot longer, allowing more heat buildup even though the amp draw is less. Too, a lot of sport boaters run far more amps than they think they do, due to poor prop choice, wet running boats, etc. Finally, racers take better care of their cells, storing them correctly and monitoring them. Few sport boaters do that, yet some experts believe that more NiMH cells are damaged in storage than in actual use.

But regardless of the type usage, both NiMH and LiPo cells have a limited number of cycles before they die - as specified by their makers. NiMH cells have a far shorter life than LiPos even if run within the parameters that the actual cell makers recommend - which is usually 20 amps tops. And the continuing downgrading in the quality of the available NiMH cells makes their future less than bright.

I'm not saying to abandon NiMH cells today, but be prepared to do so in the next 2 years. And changing over now allows you to enjoy the added run time and better performance 2 years sooner.... :D


.

[ReddyWatts]

I had some cheap tenergy nimh cells that lasted me for 2 years. These IB3600's should last atleast that long the way I am using them.