Minimum mAh

[Ub Hauled]

To all to you big cat users...
I was wondering what the minimum TOTAL mAh for a big cat would be.
I'll be looking for speed more then "heat race mode", but there will be
the occasional "racing with the gassers deal" since I won't have to wait for the
glassy waters with a 51" cat.
From what I understand Fluid uses 9800mAh and has great speeds and run time...
but is that the minimum to have decent run times at 50-60mph ?
Bill, what is your setup?
Please spare me from the "the more the better" spiel guys, I know that much.

Here are the specs:
51" ExperssCraft
Lehner 3060/10
ESC TBD

Thanks in advance, I'll be here waiting for you to come back from the X-mas table

[Eyekandyboats]

M1 supercat L
9800 Mah total ( 2P in 4s 4900 mah cells)
i never drain it. one heat isnt long enough to use the amount of power. I will put about 5500-6000 mah back into the boat after one race. however my setup is on the warm... hot side of things :) lol

[Fluid]

My 10S Stryker cat runs a 3060/10 and 40-160 on 10S2P with a total of 9000 mAh. After a heat I usually put back around 4000 mAh of charge, propped for mid 60s racing with the gas cats on the 1/6 mile oval. A member of the club ran his Avenger Pro with 10S1P 5000mAh total and it worked, but I don't know if he ever raced it for a mile plus a mill lap. He eventually went with 2P 10,000 mAh and says the boat is a bit faster.

The problem which is appearing with some 1P setups is that if the cells are pulled too hard they can't supply what the motor wants. This sets up ripple currents to the ESC and can burn the controller up - not just Castles either. The Neu motors seem to be the biggest offenders here, probably because they will draw obnoxious amounts of amperage if propped big enough.

IMO you should be able to get by with 1P 5000 mAh 30C packs if you use short wires and don't get too greedy.


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[ApacheDude]

My 10S Stryker cat runs a 3060/10 and 40-160 on 10S2P with a total of 9000 mAh.

.

Just to clarify, When you say 10S2P does this mean 10S1P x2 in parallel or 5S2P x 2 in series?

[AntronX]

I find that running 5Ah 10S 30C LiPo is still pretty fast than 10Ah. Because the boat is 3 lbs lighter, it rides higher out of the water and is quicker on the turns. 5Ah lasts me the entire 5 lap race. The big down side is how hot these 5Ah LiPos get. Too hot for comfort. My amp draw at full speed is 110A. When i add extra battery, and make it total 10Ah, all LiPos get lightly warm and i get longer run time.

Has anyone tried watercooling their batteries? I want to try that next.

[AntronX]

I find that running 5Ah 10S 30C LiPo is still pretty fast than 10Ah. Because the boat is 3 lbs lighter, it rides higher out of the water and is quicker on the turns. 5Ah lasts me the entire 5 lap race. The big down side is how hot these 5Ah LiPos get. Too hot for comfort. My amp draw at full speed is 110A. When i add extra battery, and make it total 10Ah, all LiPos get lightly warm and i get longer run time.

Has anyone tried watercooling their batteries? I want to try that next.

[Fluid]

Just to clarify, When you say 10S2P does this mean 10S1P x2 in parallel or 5S2P x 2 in series?

Your two examples are the same thing as far as the ESC and motor are concerned. I even tried one boat with 2 x 6S1P and 2 x 4S1P for a total of 10S2P (all cells were 4500 mAh).

10S means 37 volts nominal to the motor.
2P means twice the capacity of a single cell.




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[Eyekandyboats]

. A member of the club ran his Avenger Pro with 10S1P 5000mAh total and it worked, but I don't know if he ever raced it for a mile plus a mill lap. He eventually went with 2P 10,000 mAh and says the boat is a bit faster.




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P mono in our club and we run 4s2p Steve Reesor ran his mono and on bouy5/6 jumped a wave and one "p" came un pluged from the cell and then the speed decrease was very noticeable same with response.

[Ub Hauled]

Good stuff guys, that give me a good idea... thanks.
Anyone one else there with different experiences?

[Boatman]

I use 6S 3600MAh packs in a twin cat boat. It makes sense to use voltage not amperage since that seems to be the victim of most esc failure's along with a blowing packs and motors. This setup is in a smaller boat of only 36" in length. Oddly enough they are small Neu motors and it usually goes but 4-5 minutes before a re-charge. Heat is hot but not enough to be worried.

[Eyekandyboats]

i <3 hi amps and low voltage :)

[Boatman]

i <3 hi amps and low voltage :)

Taylor, your setups seem to prove very effective. It is amazing that for verry little money both setups can be purchased. Instead of spending high dollars on a high amp ie. hydra 240. I run hydra 120 and just spend more on my pack cell quantity. Its a toss up really. The end result is fast boats and sometimes smoke.