Baja with 7 cells?

[Lessen]

Ok, I've been lookin for some details and specs on this little thing but I'm comin up a bit short so I thought I'd ask you fellas. I want to build my own battery pack for my mini-t out of venom 2300mah NiMh standard AA size batteries. No big deal I figure so far but I was curious if I could add 1 more cell. I checked the specs on my ESC and it's good for 8.4v but I don't know anything about motor capabilities. Would 7 cells kill the baja? just shorten life?
I'm really just lookin for a way to get better runtimes but don't wanna get into brushless. I was just curious cuz I found out my esc could handle a bit more. Opinions?

 

[Lessen]

anybody in the know?

 

[Candyman]

Although I don't know about that motor specifically, I'm sure it would happily handle 8.4v. The big concern would be the ESC and it sounds like you've already determined that the ESC can handle the 7-cell. So go for it. No doubt it will run faster. And that will be a good thing. Just keep an eye on the ESC temp. Probably won't heat up too much. Just make sure the added voltage doesn't burn it out. You said you're using a standard AA size NiMH. Will 7 of those fit in the battery area of the T? I have a 6-cell but it's made of much smaller batteries and that doesn't leave much room.

 

[lykan]

I've heard of sooo many people building 7 cell packs for their micro's I'm sure it would be ok. I haven't heard of one person frying a motor because of 7 cells either..

BTW Venom Mini-G comes stock with 6, and their (venoms) battery pack is 7-cell, I also belive it's the only pack they sell for the mini-g

It comes stock with a 270 style motor that's just a mabuchi? (sp) anyhow if a stock mabuchi can handle it I'm sure a baja wouldn't have a problem. Seems like 8.4v is kinda of becoming the norm for mini's

 

[GilBeQuick]

It will handle 7 cells no problem, but won't last as long as it would if it were only ran on 6 cells. Don't worry, it'll still last for a while. The more volts you put through a motor the more heat the motor generates which leads to more wear. I think with 8 cells you'd see a pretty big decrease in lifespan.

If I were you I'd reconsider the AA's and go with the 2/3A cells. Sure, you'll get less runtime, but the 2/3's put out more power underload...which means your truck will be much faster with a good set of 2/3A cells VS a good set of AA cells.

 

[Lessen]

sounds good fellas. thanks.

thanks for the info Gil but I think I'm gonna stay with the AA size idea, simply because of runtime. I'm really not lookin for anymore power or speed than I already have but to get the runtimes I want w/o going to brushless I need to build my own pack. if I'm gonna do that I might as well add an extra cell. Besides, Venom 2300 or GP 2300 come in four packs so I'd have a couple extra anyways.

I think temps will be ok on the ESC (LRP AI super reverse digital). it's got a heat sink and after 7.2v runs it's practically still room temperature. The motor gets pretty warm but I'm upgrading with a heat sink motor mount plate and heat sink motor protector... hopefully those will help keep it reasonable, but I'll be watching that.

as far as how to fit 7.. 5 will fit across the chassis parallel with the truck. I'll build it so the 6th and 7th cells will be above the outermost cells on the bottom and out just a touch to make room for the antenna mount and my ESC since it's a bit wider than the battery holder thing. Kinda like a wide "U" shape if you can visualize that.

 

[lykan]

My Venom fireball motor gets hotter than hell and seems to handle it pretty well. I'm sure with a nice heatsink you'll be more than fine.

 

[Lessen]

cool, thanks Lykan

 

[Lessen]

look what I just found.. 2000mah pack

I dunno what size cells those are. they look pretty big cuz they only fit 4 across the bottom. standard AA size NiMhs can go 5 across. But that's pretty much the idea. Cept mine will be 8.4v

 

[lykan]

NIce looks like it's 7 cells.

 

[Lessen]

I thought so at first myself, it's kinda deceiving untill you look at the outline toward the top of it... definately only 6. that's what I can't figure out though. cuz 5 AA size cells fit perfectly across the bottom of a mini-t.