Can I use Lipos with an older ESC?

[standard_63]

I have just discovered the wonderful world of Lipos with my new helicopter and Xray M18 with the Mamba setup. Now I want to ditch all my Nimhs and move to Lipos for everything.

I have an Emaxx with a Hacker Master Comp ESC and C50 motor, and a XXX4 with a Basic 5300 and ( I think) 14.97 Shulze ESC. I know it's not the Future one, I got mine right before that one came out.

Is it just a matter of not having the correct cutoff voltage? On my heli with the Phoenix 25 controller, battery cutoff happens just as the heli loses a bit of power, but on my M18 with the Mamba esc, cutoff happens before I notice any drop in power. Maybe it's just because the heli is more sensitive to a power drop I notice it more?

Anyway, my question is, if I run until power drop, is that too late to stop with Lipos? Or if I'm careful could I get away with them in my older setups?

I have 2 Kokam 3S 1500s, and 2 Great Planes 2S 1200, both rated at 8C. Could I hook both 1500s into my Master Comp controller or will it blow up? (I'm not sure the MC controller needs much help in that department?)

The idea of shaving off 2.5 lbs off that truck has me pretty excited!
Thanks for any insight,
--Jonathan

[starluckrc]

You need better discharge for those setups. Do a search for an item called a li-saver for a way to safely run lipoly on any esc.

[TheSteve]

Its possible to stop running as soon as you notice a drop in power, but its not recommended at all. It only takes one "over-discharge" to ruin a LiPo battery.
I speak from experience as I had a LiPo pack in a 2way radio and forgot to turn it off, the pack was dead the next day. It was a small cheap pack thankfully as this happened on the first charge!