Help...Newbie has Questions about Batteries

[Big Daddy Mopar]

I have some Questions about batteries.
I'm fairly new to Hobby Grade R.C.

I currently have the following ELECTRIC R.C. Vehicles:
Traxxas 4Tec-(4WD On-Road Car.
Traxxas Spirit-(RearWD On-Road Truck.
HPI Sprint 2 Drift-(4WD On-Road Car.
Team Associated TC4-(4WD On-Road Car.
Traxxas Slash-(RearWD Off-Road Truck.

I am Currently using a Pair of: "Dynamite Prophet Sport" Battery Chargers, in conjunction with a "RIPMAX / ProPeak / Dual Output" Regulated DC Power Supply.

I started with a Pair of:
7.2V "?"Brand NiMh 6Cell 2800mah stick Packs.(Fairly Cheap)
then I wanted more batteries and Upgraded to a Pair of:
7.2V "Epic"(Brand) NiMh 6Cell 3000mah Stick Packs.
I recently Purchased & Installed the Velineon Brushless System in my Traxxas 4TEC. I will be going to LIPO eventually but at this time I do not have a Charger than Can Charge LiPo Batteries.
So as a Middle step I bought a Pair of:
8.4V "Venom"(Brand) NiMh 7Cell 4200mah Stick Packs.

The R.C. Guru(Snob) at my Local R.C. orientated Hobby Shop said I should "Throw all my batteries away & buy new ones" because "they are Junk" he said they are "Cheap" brand names & that he recommended I Buy "Trinty", "Brand Name Cells" even though I Bought the "Venom" Batteries at his store!

So now that you have some background here are my Questions...

1. In your opinion, Who are the Top 3 Battery Manufacturers for R.C.
that sell Pre-assembled Packs(...I'm not interested in buying individual cells and sodering them together.)

2. What is the BEST Brand name Battery I can Buy in a Pre-Assembled NiMh 8.4V 7Cell Stick Pack with at least a 4000mah Rating??

3. Which is better?
the "Trinity IB 4600 7C Stick/Flat TAM"
or
the "Trinity EP4600 7 Cell Flat Sport Pack"

4. What does "IB" & "EP" mean and which is better?

Please keep in mind that I cannot use any "HUMP" Packs because they won't fit in my Traxxas Vehicles, they have to be Flat "Stick" Packs.

thanks for your time Guys, I look forward to your feedback.:D

[jakewolf]

I would recomend lipos, but if you want nimh maxamps has 4700mah cells and will custom build whatever you need.

[bmxRRT]

I don't have any issues with my 2 3600, 2 4600, 1 5400 3s 11.1 lipo, all are venom's.

[bigboots1302]

ib and ep are two totaly different battery manufacturers. trinity just buys un matched cells from them and they match them and sell them as matched trinity batteries. neither one has an advantage over the other, and they are both good batteries.

[BobT]

Nimh batteries will not last forever. Neither will LiPos. But LiPos will give a much longer service life and give much more punch. Losi makes a lipo charger converter that sells for about $45.

If you add a ballancer you are reballancing a LiPo every time you charge. With NiMh and NiCad you pay someone to match cells which increases their cost 3 to 4 times over their base cost. (Elite5000mha nimh cells can be bought for around 6 to 7 dollars a piece http://www.batterystation.com/nicads.htm) The matching only lasts for about 5 to 10 cycles at most. Then you have to try to keep your cells match with extra discharge devices etc.

Trinity sells good packs but you pay through the nose for matching. I have had much better luck buying loose cells and making my own packs, and saving a bundle.

But I am now sold on Lipo. The only reason I use Nimh is for my Slash. We are alowed to run 7-cell packs which give an extra volt over Lipo 2-cell.

[z-man280]

first thing you need to do is tell the "Guru" at your LHS to go,... well,....you know.

If he wants to buy all your batteries, then by all means, he can call yours whatever he wants to. It's your money you are spending, not his. Yes, Lipo batteries are great, I use them myself, and will confirm everything you have heard....more punch. better run-time, ect.

However, if you use Nimh batteries, and are a basher, i.e., you don't race at top levels, Nimh "play packs" are just fine. If you want to get everything you can out of the Velineon, lipo are certainly the way to go tho. Now, I too have 7 cell "Venom packs, and i do like them in my Slash, but they do not offer the constant power and preformance of my 6000mah lipo pack.

Nor will they.

sport -oriented packs are just fine, such as the ones you have listed. The HPI certainly wont benefit much from "hot" nimh or lipo's as it is a drifter, but for basic fun, enjoy the packs you have. When you are able to go lipo, then do so then.

[timie1]

Exactly as z-man280 said.........so many people at LHS are snobs, or extremely thick and if they want to insult you or what you have then to hell with them. There are other LHS to visit. Speaking of complete thickness in LHS employees, I went to a LHS today and the clot inside there had never heard of Castle Creations - this is in a shop that sells lots of planes and helis and cars - yet NEVER heard of Castle Creations??? They call themselves a Hobby Shop specialising in RC??? What a joke. It's like going to a car dealer and asking for Toyota and them saying "Toyyy...oat......awho, nope, never heard of 'em"

.........anyway......................


IB cells are Intellect, EP cells are Enrich Power. I have heard many IB cells going bad very quickly whereas EP cells last much longer without going bad. I've got EP4600 cells and they are good ones. I've had IB3800 cells and they were good while they lasted, but now they really suck.
If your budget isn't huge, GP cells are very robust and very good, although they have lost the milli-amp war nowadays. The GP3300 packs will be excellent for bashing. and if looked after, should last a long time. Then again, any nimh cells looked after should be alright.

For what it's worth, if you were looking at Trinity packs, I'd get the EP cells over IB. But really, I'd not buy either. Stick with what you have until you go lipo - and tell the snob at the LHS that you'll continue using the packs you have and then in a year or so, maybe you'll have a look online for some lipo packs :D

[pasan]

If you want to look at cheap lipo packs with good performance, I suggest you look at hobbycity.com

I'm not advertising for them or anything like that, but I do use 4 of their packs, 2x 11.1V 5A packs and 2x 14.8v 3.5A packs, and given the way I drive (e.g. broke a lower arm in my E-revo 15 minutes after unpacking and driving), these packs perform very well, giving me oodles of run time and at the same time providing enough power to make tires become unglued from their rims often. They cost only half as much regular packs. I doubt they're the best available, but given the fact that I can buy 2 packs at a time for ~$180 incl S&H, they're not a bad deal at all.