Charge time ?

[shanet75]

I have just ordered myself a new Revo 3.3 and am going to order my son (and me as he is only 4 ) a new a/16 brushless revo. I am ordering the series connector and one extra battery for now. How long does it take to charge the stock batteries with the stock charger? I am not into electric at all yet so don't have a nice charger. Any other little odds and ends I should think of ordering with it? $ is always an issue especially seeing I just ordered my revo.
Any input would be greatly appreciated....

[3DSteve]

Never used the stock charger, but at the recommended 1.2 amps it takes about an hour.

[termn8r]

You won't like the stock charger. Charge time is 6 - 8 hours. I just received a Venom Pro charger. Its more like 18 minutes.

[Core]

You won't like the stock charger. Charge time is 6 - 8 hours. I just received a Venom Pro charger. Its more like 18 minutes.

i'm not gunna even ask what you're charging.

[radicalray]

You won't like the stock charger. Charge time is 6 - 8 hours. I just received a Venom Pro charger. Its more like 18 minutes.

If your charging a 1/16 pack in 18 mins your charging at too high a rate. It should take 1hr as in the above post

[Wiggy Fuzz]

If your charging a 1/16 pack in 18 mins your charging at too high a rate. It should take 1hr as in the above post

true that. i had one stock nimh and one rage nimh catch fire from fast charging (20 min charge time).

i put it straight in my car in series and about 5 minutes later there was smoke pouring out from under the body

[shanet75]

Thanks for the input guys. So does it really tale 6-8 hours with the stock charger? I really can't swing a new charger right now. Also, do the aftermarket chargers come with the same kind of plug end as the stock batteries?
Thanks again

[Wiggy Fuzz]

my chargers all came with the tamiya molex plug - but trx to molex adapters are readily available, some from traxxas themselves.

[shanet75]

Thank you...I have a really old 15 minute quick charger for my old Blitzer beetle. Sounds like that won't work. That Venom Pro looks nice but pricy...Any other cheaper options out there?

[Core]

for just the stock batteries the prophet sport is a nice charger and can be found for around 25 bucks. if you're interested in one pm me since i don't use either of mine anymore.

[shanet75]

Thanks. Will that charge the batteries in about an hour? I see them new for about 25 bucks..

[Core]

yup. i have two of them. me and my wife ran nimh batteries for a couple weeks before we switched to lipos.

[shanet75]

Is it worth skipping the charger and just waiting and getting lipos? I was into electric plane a while back and ********* has really cheap lipos and chargers. Around 10 bucks each. Charger was around 30. Do you still run lipos in series?

[OffshoreMetal]

I use the TRX power charger. Perfect for those batteries. IT charges at 900mah wich is a little under the maximum charge for those batteries ( 1.2 amps ) But the lower charge mean your batteries will last longer.
So the Trx power charger comes with the Tamya molex plug but like Wiggy said , Get a adapter. All together cost me about 30-40$ wich is a really good buy.
The batteries charges in about 1h15 each. If you plan to get 1600mah batteries you will have to unplug the battery and plud it again after 1h30 because of the timer. With my Orion Supercharge 1600mah batteries it takes around 1h45. Wayy better than the 6-8 hours of the stock charger wich charge at only 200mah !!!

[Core]

Is it worth skipping the charger and just waiting and getting lipos? I was into electric plane a while back and ********* has really cheap lipos and chargers. Around 10 bucks each. Charger was around 30. Do you still run lipos in series?

personally, yes it's worth it to switch to lipos. in parallel i get 40 minutes out of the 2s 2200s for less than 10 bucks each. and they're plenty fast. if you want a little more speed, 3s 1600s fit with no issues and in parallel you should get around 30 minutes.

lipos are not meant to be run in a series with the stock esc.

charger & ps for lipos 50 bucks
2- 2s & 2-3s, 40 bucks
hk shipping 20 bucks.

so for around 100 bucks you get a rockin' set of batteries and a charger.

[shanet75]

Thanks again.....You are being more than helpful.
Did you switch connectors, or just buy traxxas ends and solder them onto the lipos?
You also said that lipos shouldn't be run in series with the stock esc. Do you just run 1 lipo at a time then? Or did you upgrade your esc?

[T-maxx3.3racer]

You can run 2 lipos I do believe, but they must be in parallel instead of in series. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[IM4RC]

@ Core: Do you happen to remember the lipo part numbers from *********?

[Core]

3s 1800 20c
2s 2200 20c
3s 1600 20c

accucel-6
power supply

2s balance extension
3s balance extension

these can prolly be found at your LHS
tower traxxas female
banana plug traxxas male
lipo charging bag

you'll have to solder the female ends onto the batteries if you don't want to use an adapter

[Core]

lol or you can just get what offshore got in this post from a few days ago.

i would definitely get the balance extensions too tho.

[shanet75]

Reconsidering lipos as this is going to be mainly for my son who is only 4. I will stick with the stock batteries. It was mentioned that the trx receiver battery charger would work with these and not take hours to charge. I know that one comes with the revo I ordered. I think all I would need is the tamiya to Traxxas adapter to use this correct? Anyone else using one of these chargers?
What is the run time with 2 stock batteries in series? Was going to order 1 extra, giving us only 2 batteries....
Thanks

[3DSteve]

You can calculate how long it takes to charge a battery by dividing the capacity (in mAh or milliamp hours, how many milliamps it will produce for an hour) by the charge rate (in amps). Charging a 2000 mAh pack at 5 amps will take approximately 24 minutes (2000/1000 = 2 amps, divided by 5 amps = .4 hours, * 60 = 24 minutes).

The stock batteries are 1200 mAh, and charged at the recommended maximum of 1.2 amps will take approximately one hour. It can vary depending on the internal resistance of the pack, how much juice it already has in it, etc. Charging at a lower amperage is easier on the battery, and supposedly gives longer run time, while charging at a higher amperage will provide more 'punch'. I honestly don't know if the last two are true, I just charge at about the recommended maximum to do it in less time.

It's worth it to spend a bit on a good charger; even if you don't buy really expensive packs, if you have several batteries a better charger will work better and help them last longer. Why not get one now that can do lipo packs as well as normal NiCads and NiMH cells, cover all the bases? I did recently, after using a basic peak charger that could only to NiCads at 4.5 amps for over 10 years. With the new one I can do NiMH cells, transmitter packs, and eventually LiPo packs and others when I want to move up to them. It was less than $100, and considering that the average pack is $25-50, why risk it?

[Core]

Reconsidering lipos as this is going to be mainly for my son who is only 4. I will stick with the stock batteries. It was mentioned that the trx receiver battery charger would work with these and not take hours to charge. I know that one comes with the revo I ordered. I think all I would need is the tamiya to Traxxas adapter to use this correct? Anyone else using one of these chargers?
What is the run time with 2 stock batteries in series? Was going to order 1 extra, giving us only 2 batteries....
Thanks

smart choice actually. i completely missed the part of your post where you stated the truck is for your 4 year old son. i'd recommend not running them in a series for him, for now, and maybe set the rx into training mode. run the stockers in parallel and you might be able to get 20-30 minutes of run per set.