300X Batteries Reviews

[clouseau]

Weights with EC3
Traxxas 117g. (1400mah/3s/25c). $30.00 avg
Hyperion 108g (1300mah/3s/25c) $21.00 avg
E-flite 117g (1350mah/3s/30c). $30.00 avg

This Traxxas battery fits good and balances the heli very well. The punch it provides is so much better that you definitely can hear the difference in gear whine, plus gives you the same flight time as the e-flite 300X battery. It surprised the heck out of me, that I bought 2 more thinking the first one must have been a fluke. Turned out all 3 are consistently good...

As for the Hyperion battery it's not worth writing home about, it's actually worse than the e-flite battery. The only good thing is that it works and gives you the same flight time, but I wouldn't expect to do any snappy spectacular 3D with it.

Please feel free to post your own battery reviews here...

[sn00p]

Well ive been running the stocker and 3 x Artech 1300mah lipos... To be honest the Artech lipos are 3 years old and still give a fair amount of punch although not quite as much as the Eflite pack.... im deffo up for an upgrade on my packs and looking for something other than eflite due to performance and $$$.

I was looking at the the Power-tech packs http://www.centuryuk.com/Batteries/P...-Li-Po-Battery

as they are fairly cheap and alledgedly 33c

Details

Power-Tech batteries incorporate the very latest advances in LiPo chemistry and construction methods to provide excellent levels of performance with supreme reliability.
Power-Tech really does offer performance you can rely on at a price that won't break the bank!

Specification: Length: 68mm
Width: 39mm
Depth: 21mm
Weight: 122g (Including connectors and leads)

Although these look pretty good too and even cheaper :-) POLYPOWER

http://www.brchobbies.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=698

guaranteed 30C+

Specification:
* Type: High Discharge Lithium Polymer
* Cell count: 3S
* Nominal voltage: 11.1V
* Capacity: 1300mAh
* Constant Discharge: 30C (39A)
* Charge Rate: 5C (but stick to 2 for longer life)
* Pre-fitted connector type: XT60
* Balance plug type: JST-XH
* Dimensions: Height 26mm, Width 36mm, Length 72mm
* Weight: 123g

Anyone care for any input???

[JustPlaneChris]

I've been using the Sky Lipo 40c 1300 packs, and the G-Force 40c 1300s

Both perform as well as (or better) than the stock pack and are basically the same size. They are both about 10g lighter than stock, and both cost HALF what the stock pack costs. I have ~20 cycles on them now so it's a bit too early to tell how long they will last, but at that price... who cares really? I do expect they will last, as I've used them in other helis. Time will tell.

I've been reading good things about the Haiyin packs, but have not yet ordered any. Probably will soon though.

[TomC]

Best packs for me have been the HK Turnigy 1300mAh 3S 30C packs. Less than 1/3rd the cost and ~same wt/grunt as stock. Nothing wrong with the stock pack's performance/life btw, just the price is too high.

Worst packs for me have been the HK Nano-tech 1300mAh 3S 45/90C packs. Puffed after only ~20 flights. In general, nano's of all sizes have been a bit of a disappointment imho.

Cheers,
TomC

[bladeguy5]

Wow I just 6 hk 45c batteries

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[bladeguy5]

Tom did you see any performance gains from using the nano techs?

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[TomC]

Originally Posted by bladeguy5

Wow I just 6 hk 45c batteries

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

Best advice I can give you on these packs (nano 1300 45/90C) last longer is to set your timer for at least 30-45 seconds shorter than you set for the stock batteries.

I think that the main problem with the nano's is that they do not tolerate running to the usual 80-85% discharge very well. They are much happier with ~70-75% discharge (~910-975 mAhr out of this pack max!).

Treat these packs a little more carefully than others and they should last a long time. They provide good power (~ same as stock) too.

Cheers,
TomC

[JustPlaneChris]

The nano tech packs also seem to dislike heat (maybe that's why they prefer a shallower discharge?). We've had some club members who had good results with them in cool weather, but as soon as the hot Texas weather hit.... nano-sausages!

[bladeguy5]

Interesting thanks guys

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[syzygyQ]

I've been using 1300 manos with XT60 plugs through an XT60 adapter to the ESC.

Flying scale, never above 70% throttle, on HH CF blades, I've been flying 5:20 to alarm, 5:50 average flight time to landing.

So far the lipos have been taking back at or about 810mah per lipo. The lipos come off of the bird warm to bare hand but not hot. I've yet to see lipo pack swelling. Charge cycles as shown on 306B to LogView have produced so far uniformly tight and even looking recharge cycles.

I've flown 46 full flights and about a dozen short hops on five lipos, plus five charge cycles on the bench, so that runs to approximately 15 cycles per lipo so far.

I don't know how these lipos would perform in aggressive 3D / stunt flying, and I don't know what kind of life cycle they might have.

[dynaudio]

Is this the right battery for the 300X?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...Lipo_Pack.html

[Blackanthem]

I have a set of those, and they work fine in my 300X. I did put a EC3 on them though.

[dynaudio]

Originally Posted by Blackanthem

I have a set of those, and they work fine in my 300X. I did put a EC3 on them though.

Ah, so the connector is different.

Looks like this adapter should work OK? http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=10259

[JustPlaneChris]

You guys shouldn't be afraid to change connectors on the packs! Soldering is a skill you will need to develop if you stick with this hobby.

[dynaudio]

Originally Posted by JustPlaneChris

You guys shouldn't be afraid to change connectors on the packs! Soldering is a skill you will need to develop if you stick with this hobby.

It's more that I'm lazy.

[syzygyQ]

Originally Posted by dynaudio

Is this the right battery for the 300X?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...Lipo_Pack.html

Those are the lipos I use. I've got a plug in adapter to deal with the connector difference.

I plan to replace the adapter with an XT60 lead soldered onto the ESC once I've developed my skills a bit more. I'm concerned about creating a join that snaps off in flight. The thing is my soldering jobs so far have all worked out fine, but I'm pretty sure my methods are unsound. For example, I tend not to heat the target surface until it draws in the solder. Rather I usually just drip solder onto the things I need to join. The rationale for this poor technique is that what I lose in high quality soldering joins I gain in fewer components fried through heating the target too long.
I suspect that I might need better equipment -- may also take an electrical shop night school class. That should be fun. Going back to High School.

[dynaudio]

Originally Posted by syzygyQ

I suspect that I might need better equipment

For a heavy gauge wire/joint, you just need a higher wattage temp regulated iron so you don't have to leave the iron on the wire/joint for too long. Take for instance a classic bench iron like the Weller WTCPT w/ 700 degree tip. It's a 60 watt iron and if you put it on a thick wire/joint, 60 watts won't be enough to keep the tip at 700 degrees. So you may end up leaving the iron on the wire/joint for an extended period of time and that lets heat transfer into your components, frying things.

I recommend something like the Weller W100P3 for heavier gauge wire. You'll still run a 700 degree tip, but it will heat the joint quickly and let you get in and out so that you don't fry things.

[JustPlaneChris]

Or you could just switch to Anderson Powerpoles and never solder another connector.
Just sayin.

[syzygyQ]

Looks like an option -- I'll look into it.

If I use Anderson Powerpoles though, I'm going to want it to be by choice, not necessity, so I might still take that night school course.

That being said, I did my first bullet lead soldering job today (wiring up a motor / ESC combo). Wow, what a surprise. Not only simple, but pleasant. What guy doesn't enjoy pouring molten metal into a well and then sticking stuff into it to see what happens?

Once you do a connector, your feelings of soldering inadequacy get replaced by the concrete experience of having done it right. One of the good things about straightforward connector jobs is that there's only two ways to do them, right an wrong, and the difference is obvious.

[syzygyQ]

Originally Posted by dynaudio

I recommend something like the Weller W100P3 for heavier gauge wire. You'll still run a 700 degree tip, but it will heat the joint quickly and let you get in and out so that you don't fry things.

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to look into that Weller.

Nice.