I need a little help with my new toy

[magic round about]

I just took my new toy out for the first time today............ Love it!!!
What I don't love is the time it takes to run down, about 5 min running flat out any ideas?? I plan on going lipo and hope I get more time to play.
Thanks

[Mark Ball]

Lipo's will run so much longer, you'll love them. Go as big as you can afford and will fit as far as mah. 2s or 3s depends on how fast you want to go and how many parts your willing to break from all the power.

[magic round about]

Aaaaar power
Yer I bought a blast last week and .......mmmmm it will make a nice rescue boat. I didn't know you could buy different types of lipo's 2s 3s ???
I was looking at lipo's at the hobby shop for $90 each but I'm not sure what they were.
Thanks

[Mark Ball]

It depends on your electronics as to how powerful A battery you can use.

[magic round about]

Yer it's all straight out the box 5707

[Mark Ball]

2s should get you there.

[magic round about]

Sweet
Thanks for your time mate.

[67Mustang]

Yeah 2s really is the better option if your Spartan is stock.

You said in another thread that your Spartan "Slows Down" after only about 5 minutes of running. That is just the nature of Nimh batteries. Lipo's go nearly 100% power up until you have to stop. You have to stop so you don't permanently damage the batteries.

This can be done by setting up a Lvc or Low-voltage-cutoff, which would do something like beep or shut the boat off so you don't over discharge your lipo's.

Also remember too that with all the extra power of a lipo, you won't be going flat-out as much. This is especially true if you drive your boat in choppy conditions. I run my Spartan on 3s, and I run it in very choppy water, so I almost never give it more than 50% throttle, and I have really good run times. On 2s packs, you would be giving it more throttle for the same amount of speed compared to a 3s, which means more energy being used up from the battery.

One thing about 3s though is since the Spartan has some design faults and weak points, you will break parts on 3s if you push the boat hard.

What water conditions do you run in?

[bondjr00797]

2s is the way to go. I was running mine with 3s and I can't help but run wot and after about 10 min of running the wires got so hot that the solder melted on the esc.


E-Maxx. Spartan. 4x4 slash. 2x4 slash x 3. Mini revo and summit

[magic round about]

I am running it in a massive dam at the moment and because the water is about 10 meters below the top it's sheltered from the wind. It's just about flat 99% of the time so it's great.
I will try 2s thanks for your help

[Edgemoulic]

2s is the way to go. I was running mine with 3s and I can't help but run wot and after about 10 min of running the wires got so hot that the solder melted on the esc.


E-Maxx. Spartan. 4x4 slash. 2x4 slash x 3. Mini revo and summit

You should upgrade to a bullet connector, heat problem cause by wires are the connectors, use higher amps. For a good flow of current through the wires.

[magic round about]

Bullet connector ????
I don't have a gun but ill buy the bullet thanks!!!
How much $$$

[Redfire427]

It sounds like you are hooked on speed. If so, a 3S set-up will be the way to go. With 5000mah lipo batteries, you will only get about 4 to 5 minutes of hard running. They will also get very hot and you must discipline yourself not to over dis-charge your batteries. This will cause them to swell and cause them permanent damage, or could even explode. Upgraded bullet connectors will also be needed.

[orca44]

2s is the way to go. I was running mine with 3s and I can't help but run wot and after about 10 min of running the wires got so hot that the solder melted on the esc.


E-Maxx. Spartan. 4x4 slash. 2x4 slash x 3. Mini revo and summit

If the wire that came unsoldered was infact one of the wires that is soldered to the speed control, I think it may have been a cold factory solder. I had this happen to me and I just resoldered the wire to the speed control. I made sure there was plenty of solder and that it flowed properly. I also retinned the wire to make sure there was adequate solder there as well.

I personally have not found the Traxxas connectors to be inadequate, I use them in all of my rc cars/trucks/boats with the exception of my 1/24 and 1/32 stuff. Most desoldering is due to poor solder connections especially when vibration is a contributing factor as in our boats etc.

60/40 (tin/lead) solder melts at around 375F which is quite hot and that means there was alot of high current draw (which these boats will do at WOT) to cause the unsoldering.

I have seen various styles of connectors/connections become unsoldered and most of it due to a poor solder connection.

[RCROCKS75]

Go lipo. 2s or 3s. It doesn't matter. Hint: DON'T GUN IT THE WHOLE TIME. IT USES UP A LOT OF BATTERY!!!