Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 These RX batteries look very competitively priced. I wondered if anybody has used them and has an opinion on them. Thanks. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yep, have several packs, of various capacities. Fast delivery too. As will all NiMh batteries keep an eye on the initial charge, as new they might trigger the delta spike early and give a false full charge. I usually give them an initial charge using an old wall wart charger, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks Andy, I will charge then on an older charger that's not Delta Peak. Good to know these batteries are reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I have used Vapex batteries with no problems in the past but have bought batteries and soldered my own packs up. A friend who bought two packs kept having glitches and eventually found a broken welds in both the batteries! Possibly a one off as they probably make hundreds , but cells seem good . Make sure you have enough capacity as AA cells don,t like giving high current for digital servos etc and the voltage will fall off quickly possibly causing a brown out . If in doubt use Sub C cells. Some folk add an extra cell thats ok provided your servos can take the voltage . For what its worth I have used their 1100 Mah AAA cells in a 5 cell pack in a Cougar with FrSky radio and standard servos and never had a problem . I now buy cells from 7DayShop .com as they are competitively priced and are the "ready to go" type . I only use them in Tx's and models with a low power demand as they also suffer from voltage drop if too much current is used . Hope it helps .I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Just the first charge Adrian, I find I don't get false peaks once they have cycled. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Just my two pence worth.... I don't trust Nimh batteries for an RX supply, they just cant supply much current under load and I've witnessed a few that have failed in flight due to a cell going down. I now use a 2s LiFe battery which comes off the charger at 7.2v but quickly drops to 6.6v where it stays until the battery is almost flat. Just about everyone that uses these are doing so without a regulator, unlike a LiPo battery these can be safely charged whilst still in the model. They are cheap too, the ones I buy from Hobbyking are only around £6 each, you just need to make sure that your charger is LiFe capable (nearly all LiPo chargers are) **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Vapextech have a wide a range of batteries and I would suggest that these, (the particular ones you linked) are avoided. They have a relatively high ESR, they only give the stated capacity on low discharge rates and they self-discharge pretty quickly, a matter of days. This isnt a failing on Vapex's part, this is typical of small, high-capacity MiMh cells - these perform as well as almost any equivalent high-capacity cells on the market, but they're just the wrong cells for this application. Their "Instant" cells have a much lower ESR and will deliver much more current without sagging, and are LSD (Low Self Discharge) which means you can charge on your return from flying and they are then good to go for months afterwards without needing a top-up. Having used Vapex "Instant"packs since they were announced, thats at least 15 packs, I've developed a lot confidence in them, and this is based on a lot of use over a long period of time. I'd humbly suggest that if you want AA receiver packs you go for "Instants" rather than the high-capacity AA's you listed. Cheers Phil Edited By Phil Green on 16/07/2015 15:47:26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Well that's well and truly confused me! Well I take your point Phil. However, I use a PowerBox Competition on my models (which regulates the voltage at 5.9V for Nimhs, although Lipos can be used by adjusting the voltage) I usually use 2x 2500mAh Nimh batteries for a mix of analogue and digital servos (3 digital & 3 analogue depending on the job they have to do). Thus far this has not presented me with a problem given that my flying time per session is never longer than 30 minutes. May be I need to rethink that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Phil's comments have made me think on too. Looked on their site and couldn't see Instants, do you have a link? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Scratch that, they are under Std rechargable, I was looking for something special. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yes just found them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extra slim Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Must admit, only tend to use these types of packs on my petrol ignition nowadays and use predominantly LiFe 2s on RX packs. Most servos take 6.6V nowadays, Some modern servos do take a lot of Amps though, especially if they are stalled / under load for larger 3D/Aerobatics applications. The types you describe, wont "give" the Amps. That said, the Vapex Nimh packs I have had have been good (5 or 6) with only one displaying a "leak", where the weld was obviously heated too much, but good job I spotted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Phil, so I understand the language does ESR mean Equivalent Series Resistance? Just trying to educate myself! Edited By Adrian Smith 1 on 16/07/2015 16:17:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 These are the "Instant" cells/packs: **LINK** For some strange reason they're listed on the website as "Instance" rather than "Instants" which is obviously a Chinese Whispers error between the seller and the web designer! look for the silver cells with the green oval badge which says "Instant". Another (pretty much identical) option is Sanyo Eneloop cells. Same technology, same performance, same LSD characteristics but slightly more expensive. Adrian - yes, a cell can be thought of as having a small internal resistor in series with its terminals. In very simplistic terms, the smaller the resistance, the better the battery performs. Cheers Phil Edited By Phil Green on 16/07/2015 21:33:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Phil, something puzzles me if you can explain. The Vapextech 2600 mAh RX battery in the OP has an internal resistance in the spec as 27mOhms while the Instant 2600 mAh battery has an internal resistance of 225mOhms. What I can't understand is you say that the smaller the resistance the better the battery performs. How does that square with the "Instant" that has a higher internal resistance than the Vapextech in the OP. Surely that would make the Instant inferior or am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i12fly Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I've used 4 or 5 packs of the green/silver Vapex instants, they performed well over 2 - 3 years, I then replaced them with Sanyo Enerloops. I feel the Enerloops hold up better. Two years after replacing the Vapex and splitting the packs to use in radio/ camera etc, half the cells are still OK, the other half not holding charge and have been disposed of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 27mΩ will be a typo, 270 is more realistic. I'll measure some & see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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