RC Stuff Anyone into them?

[VintageRice]

So I bought my irst real RC car the other day used.  Traxxas Slash 2wd Short course truck.  Got one 6 cell 3300 with it and a vision peak 2 charger.

 

 

So I go buy a brand new venom 4200mah 7 cell from hobby town usa.  Chaged it a few times and used it 3-4 times. no problem.  Then one eve i had it charging in the garage, wife found it smoking and catching fire.  Chucked it outside.  ooookkkk

 

Took it back, they exchanged it for me.  Now I just had the same thing happen to my next one. Still ive used it 3-4 times and the sucker started shooting steam and smoke out the side violently.  What the heck is going on here?!?!

 

Is my charger malfunctioning or something?!  I'm lost......... Help out a RC newbie i'm sure someone on here is into these things.

 

 

Thanks

[graveltrapp]

Take a looky.

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/52141-new-rc-track-in-western-washington/

[]2eDeYe]

Sounds like your over charging.

[graveltrapp]

Like he said ^^^ or to much amperage. How old is your charger?

I am sure you have been here already.

 

Start here.

http://www.ultimaterc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=376

 

http://traxxas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?62-Traxxas-Slash

 

Until you go Lipo start here. They are also the best deal $$$ on chargers and Lipo packs as well.

http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-1600-8-4v-nimh-odd-double.html

[DISLEXICDIME]

did you set up the charger right

[bonvo]

bout to say sounds like your doin somethin wrong here ive delt with lipos before and when the charger is set up right ive never had this issue

[VintageRice]

4200 mah battery charging on 4amp setting  7 cell batt set on 7 cell setting I'm not a retard.......

 

If a 12 year old can figure it out...........

[VintageRice]

So I've got lots of cordless tool batteries laying around.  We have lots of power tools.(electrical contractor) bla bla bla

 

I started reading about how batts are rated.  RC stuff is rated in Mah  (mili-amp hours.)  These batts I have for the makita are also Ni-Mh(cell type) just like the popular RC batteries.  

 

 

They are rated in Ah(amp hours) so this 2.6 Ah battery is same as a 2600mah RC battery except its 14.4 volts instead of 7.2 like my 7 cell venom.

   

The Mah is the gas in your tank and the Volts is your HorsePower

 

So a 14.4v 2600mah battery is like having a dragster motor. REALLY fast for a fairly short amount of time.  hmmm..

 

 

 

So I wired one up. Holy Mother of crap.  It hauled ARSE! !  sweet.  Guessing motor life will be shorter than running half the voltage but..............sure is fun.   :D

[Phixius]

I don't consider a slash a "real rc". They are a backyard basher yhat shouldn't have its own race class...

[graveltrapp]

I dont drink that Cool Aide, the truck is a tool and the driver wins the race, Traxxas, HPI, Associated, or whatever you flavor is, My 4x4 slash set the bar for the others to copy and play catchup to. May not be the lightest but definetly a contender. I currently have over a dozen"real RC" vehicles and short of the Mugen 1/8 scale buggy, non are as fun or durable as my Slash.

[VintageRice]

I'd say any RC you can build complete from parts off the shelf is pretty real.  if you can change the weight of oil in the shocks to tune for racing its REAL Jack!

 

 

It's a really fun truck and is tough as nails. just bought it for playin and havin fun and that its does a great job.  :D

[Phixius]

I know. I bought into when all my friends did just to have a class that was truly a stock class.. was fun for a bit...

 

My first car was a xxt bushing kit with mechanical speed control and a 1400mah 6 cell and 27 turn stock closed endbell BRUSHED motor... wooohooo that's some technology there...!!!

[jrock4224]

^^^^^^^ no lie, former stock nationals champion..I have watched phixius beat the fastest drivers in the northwest with zero sponsorship.....been trying to get his bitch ass to come back to racing but no luck yet.....

 

 

And yes slash was fun for a while....till the started straying from the box stock regulations..... I race a lot of short bus around here..... Pretty fun but the racing isn't the cleanest..... To much aiming and not enough driving.....'gravel trap we get a pretty big 4x4 short bus class down here on Thursday nights if u ever wanna throw down....

 

Vintage, this is coming from a guy that has melted or blown up a few battery's as well various other rc shit ..... Even if a twelve year old can do it, Your still doin it wrong....lol ...... If u let the magic smoke out it is a good indication of doing it wrong...battery's are dangerous if abused.... Seen houses burned down and cells explode in faces.....lipo is the way to go now though..

[jrock4224]

And FYI your speedo will not handle that 14.4 volts

[Komeuppance]

4200 mah battery charging on 4amp setting  7 cell batt set on 7 cell setting I'm not a retard.......

 

If a 12 year old can figure it out...........

4amps is going to make that battery very hot.  Maximum recommended charge rate for a 4200mAh NiMh would be 4.2amps or 1c, but that's for a very high quality battery pack.  Most cheap ones are going to be less.

 

Lower your charge rate to 2amps MAX, and don't catch your house on fire.  Your batteries will also last much longer.  When a NiMh is finished charging it should not be hot, it can be warm though.  If you're not able to hold it in your hands, you're charging too fast.

 

BTW, I looked up your charger, it's a very basic model and doesn't have good reviews.  Consider getting a LiPo battery and a LiPo charger, when you're ready (deals for dayz at http://www.hobbyking.com ).  LiPo is a lot more volatile than NiMh and very sensitive to overcharging, so be sure you've got the hang of it before making the jump.

 

-Robert

[VintageRice]

And FYI your speedo will not handle that 14.4 volts

Whats my speedo?   :geek: 

 

4amps is going to make that battery very hot.  Maximum recommended charge rate for a 4200mAh NiMh would be 4.2amps or 1c, but that's for a very high quality battery pack.  Most cheap ones are going to be less.

 

Lower your charge rate to 2amps MAX, and don't catch your house on fire.  Your batteries will also last much longer.  When a NiMh is finished charging it should not be hot, it can be warm though.  If you're not able to hold it in your hands, you're charging too fast.

 

BTW, I looked up your charger, it's a very basic model and doesn't have good reviews.  Consider getting a LiPo battery and a LiPo charger, when you're ready (deals for dayz at http://www.hobbyking.com ).  LiPo is a lot more volatile than NiMh and very sensitive to overcharging, so be sure you've got the hang of it before making the jump.

 

-Robert

Good info thanks.   When I bought the battery at hobbytown he told me to charge it at 4 amps.  Well, I know with any other battery in the world a trickle charge is the best way to charge. I guess I listened to the wrong idiot.  Figured he knew best since he worked at a RC store but I WAS WRONG.  Guess I shoulda known that.......

[jrock4224]

Speedo =. Speed control..... There are certain and specific speed controls that can handle 11.1 volts but most are 8.4 stable... I use to charge all my nimhs and Nicads at 4 or more amps.....I'm guessing the charger isn't as precise as its settings..... And yes that's how long I been racing... Since Nicads and nimhs that were 1400 and 1700 and now I'm using 5000 mah lipos that I can charge at any time and u plug or plug in at any time to use or charge and as long as I never take them past the minimum discharge voltage it will last for ever and the run times are twice as long as and traditional cell battery's..... But mind u as nice as all the benefits of lipo there still dangerous as fuck if u try to over charge them or force to much voltage in to them.... The explosion is much larger then that of a cell battery

[wayno]

You need to set up a charge area, like a small barrel with sand in the bottom, they are not kidding when they say peoples houses have burnt down, I say again, you need a small metal barrel with sand in the bottom that you could start a fire in if you wanted, the barrel will absorb an explosion, and the sand will insulate and doesn't burn.

The guys at the field used a bucket.

[VintageRice]

These things should come with a warning. A REAL one.

 

When I first got the car I charged it in the house. Yikes. I smelled the battery getting hot.....After that I moved it to the shop.  Safer yet was what I saw on youtube. The old timer puts his in a ammo can every time.  I think thats an excellent idea.  Crazy they sell this stuff to kids.......  I've never had a ni-cd nimh or lithium ion drill battery get hot or explode and have been in the trades using them every day for ten years.  If makita dewalt milwakee ryobi and hitachi can do it why can't the RC people.......

[jrock4224]

are u sure u didnt like double charge the batts....the batts are totally safe used and charged appropriately...i used to charge these tpe of batts at 4-6 amps to even higher.......theres something wrong is your charger set to the right type of batt....?

[thisismatt]

These things should come with a warning. A REAL one.

 

When I first got the car I charged it in the house. Yikes. I smelled the battery getting hot.....After that I moved it to the shop.  Safer yet was what I saw on youtube. The old timer puts his in a ammo can every time.  I think thats an excellent idea.  Crazy they sell this stuff to kids.......  I've never had a ni-cd nimh or lithium ion drill battery get hot or explode and have been in the trades using them every day for ten years.  If makita dewalt milwakee ryobi and hitachi can do it why can't the RC people.......

Eh, I work in the trades and have gotten a Makita Ni-mh smoking :P  POS...

[VintageRice]

are u sure u didnt like double charge the batts....the batts are totally safe used and charged appropriately...i used to charge these tpe of batts at 4-6 amps to even higher.......theres something wrong is your charger set to the right type of batt....?

 

 

All settings are correct. Like I said,  4 amps 7 cell

 

 

The only settings on my charger are number of cells, and amps so.....

 

Only thing I can think of is that either venom batts are POS and I got two junk ones in a row.  Or my charger is faulty.

[Komeuppance]

This thread needs more pics.

 

Just finished this TransAm body a little bit ago.  I thought about getting a Starion body, but this was half the price and I don't care that much when it gets battle damage.

 

Those are the closest wheels I could find, on eBay, for cheap, that looked like snowflakes.  Painted the spokes gold.  Need to space out the rears a few mm, it's a 200mm body on a 190mm chassis.

 

-Robert