[kounterclokwise]

boost
the bone
rechargables
2x 9v

none of those are the newest generation of powercell. the lipo. They are big in RC cars these days, and are damned impressive. they come in all shapes and sizes to fit about any batter application imaginable -- like hoppers (or markers)

this little guy weighs in at 79grams and will out last any other battery, with a stout voltage output.

$10.99
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=27171
requires a lipo capable charger, but that is only about 50$

concerns: low battery cut-off warning may be too low to prevent damage to the battery (lipos have different cell characteristics than nimh or alkaline)

11.1 volts is sorta volty for applications designed for 9v, but most aftermarket packs are over volting anyways.

i am planning on picking one of these up for a halo 2 and see if how it goes. Does anyone know the voltage in which the low batt signal flashes?

[D-Rock_32]

I'm not sure about the cut off but you would want to cut the hopper off as soon was the you notice the hopper slowing down. Due to the no drop off from a lipo you should be able to tell ASAP when the battery is getting below its low voltage level.

I race RC cars and use lipos all the time! Its a HUGE jump compared to NIMH!

Pros
-How long the charge last. I used to run about 3-5 min races with the old NIMH and now with lipos I can run 15-17 mins per charge.
-Hardly no drop off when the battery is getting "low"
-You can get 2-7 cells batteries (not a huge deal in paintball but pretty cool in RC)

Cons
-Have to have a Lipo charger (Can be $$$$$)
-You cannot let a lipo get past a certain voltage (I can't remember I think 6.5-7.0 volts) or it will kill the cells in the battery (RC Cars speed controllers have a setting to shut the motor off when the voltage gets to low so there is no harm to the lipo)
-They can dangerous when charging, lipos are known to explode if not charged in the correct order
-Long charge time (30-50 mins per charge, depending on how may cells)

I think lipos would go great in paintball. The bad thing is the marker and hopper boards would need to have a lipo low voltage setting to shut everything down so there is no damage to the lipo. The good thing is depending on how much you play you might only have to charge both lipos 1-3 times per year! Just have to get the charger

[kounterclokwise]

i bought the cheapest charger possible and i am having good results in RC - 1/18 and 1/10 batts. knowing how to use it properly and using the right battery for right application make it perfectly safe.

but for those that are not battery minded- these are so good and cheap that you could be more cost effective than 9v batts by buying 4 of the one mentioned above, solder on some new leads and just use it till it dies and then throw it away. they ship charged. it will seriously outlast that bone back by 25-50%. $10.99

[D-Rock_32]

Originally Posted by kounterclokwise

i bought the cheapest charger possible and i am having good results in RC - 1/18 and 1/10 batts. knowing how to use it properly and using the right battery for right application make it perfectly safe.

Yeah I got a charger off of ebay for around $29 and AC adaptor was $8 so for about $40-$50 you can get a cheaper on that works fine. I was just giving the pros and cons to a lipo for those who don't know thats all

[kounterclokwise]

i am going to swap over at least my hopper to a lipo. my charger (and nearly all lipo chargers) can measure the mAh capacity it has put back in the batt, therefore you can find its life threshhold in shots fired with a little careful experimentation. from there i will know how many cases of paint the loader can feed before the batt needs a charge to prevent damage.

finding a lipo that fits the voltage and size requirements for a triggerframe may be more difficult

[D-Rock_32]

Cool deal man. Let me know how it goes!

[barrel roll]

Wouldn't 2s be better than 3s for a 9v application? Also lighter (without looking into milliampers)


Also, I thought the cheaper chargers don't do that charge balancing stuff (make sure all cells get even charge).

[kounterclokwise]

that charger does balancing, balanced charging, discharging, lipo, nimh, lifo

and a 2cell batt would only put up 7.4 volts

[D-Rock_32]

Originally Posted by kounterclokwise

that charger does balancing, balanced charging, discharging, lipo, nimh, lifo

and a 2cell batt would only put up 7.4 volts

Yeah man thats the one I got for under $40 on ebay... Works just as good as my $120 hyperion lipo charger...

[SmartPartsuser]

i run lipos in my RC cars, low discharge rated batteries would probly be best for a hopper. my cut off voltage on my lipos are 7 to be safe but i've seen guys at the track cut them off at 6.5.
as for knowing when the batterie is at 7 or 6.5:
you might be able to rig up this monitor on the hopper somewhere or tucked away or something

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...itor_2_6S.html
a cheap charger would obviously be best if your not charging on the go, if you get everything to work i recomend buying like 2 to have a backup one just in case.

by the way if you're going to buy from hobbyking just sit on the page for like 5-10 mins, they send you a "one time only offer" small discount but dont sit on it to long or refresh the page over and over they'll go away.
(it can't hurt to get a better charger though, hobbyking has cheap chargers) - Don't charge any lipo's without a balanced charge

[kounterclokwise]

Nice call Smartpartsuser- that monitor will suit the situation perfectly. plus if you get fancy with a dremel you can have a neato external battery read out.

and yeah i generally hate dealing with hobbyking, but sometimes they are the best option

edit: heh, the 2 minute special offer came up... $0.10 off!!

[SmartPartsuser]

Alright so I was talking with my other hobby friends about this.
Came up with some ideas but they get pricey depending on if the hopper can regulate the voltage coming from the lipo.

Here's the issue/fix:
You've got a 11V or so lipo, I read the cut off for every cell is max 3V so 3x3=9v, now the hopper might or might not be able to handle the 11 or so volts, castle creations sells a regulator you can set to only output to 9v, but it won't shut off or sound when it's bellow 9, so you would need the monitor ontop of that. But this is also assumptions, the regulator is like 20 bucks and you also would have to program it with a laptop. But the lipo idea would be a long lasting battery

By the way let me make sure you know this before you try your halo with a lipo.
Lipo batteries WILL EXPLODE when the charges drops bellow 3v's per cell, and it isn't just a small explosion, IT WILL BLOW UP ha so watch

[kounterclokwise]

the bag pops and wicket hot lithium spews out, its not like your halo shells would become shrapnel.

I just figured the over volting would be tolerable since all the aftermarket batteries that boast more bps out of your loader... are putting more voltage to the board. so they can take more than 9, but 11.1 may be maxing it out.

[xmc1146]

i use one ipower lithium polymer on my prophecies. works like a champ!

[SmartPartsuser]

Originally Posted by kounterclokwise

the bag pops and wicket hot lithium spews out, its not like your halo shells would become shrapnel.

I just figured the over volting would be tolerable since all the aftermarket batteries that boast more bps out of your loader... are putting more voltage to the board. so they can take more than 9, but 11.1 may be maxing it out.

I'm just saying be safe man ha, using a battery designs for products that monitor and regular power on products that might not can be risky, I doubt any battery that says it boosts bps is 11 volts

The ipower would be a good lipo battery to use, but that battery isn't like the one he's trying to use, not trying to bash or anything just saying

[dapoofyhairdude]

I work with batteries and chargers quite a bit at my job so here are my 2cents

Remember that lipos are very very susceptible to damage. If you're putting them in your hopper, hardcase lipos may be the safer option since theyre protected. the one posted by OP is not hard case, and lipo fires are no joke. you wouldn't want to be sliding around on the field only to see that you're shooting fireballs. well, actually...

As several of you guys have said, 11.1V is quite high. Actually, a 3s lipo charges to 12.6V when full (4.2 per cell). If you're really interested in seeing if your board can handle the voltage, you're going to have to open it up and look at the individual components. you'll have to look on the web for spec sheets for their voltage ratings. things that probably experience the full battery voltage are: the regulator, the caps, the motor driver. probably some other stuff too, i dont remember what else is on the board.

Also, 3s batteries have a minimum voltage of 9V (3V per cell). any lower and you risk permanently discharging your battery. Since the hopper is made to work with 6AA batteries, it's low voltage cutoff is probably well below 9V and this means that your hopper will probably brick your pack unless you're super careful or use a BMS like the one smartpartsuser mentioned.

It would probably be safer, as someone else has already pointed out, to use a 2s lipo, which charges up to 8.4V. 2 reasons: 1) safer for your components since it's definitely within components ratings, 2) the low-voltage protection will probably work since the 2s can safely go down to 6V. If anyone is interested in knowing exactly what voltage it is, I could probably open up my old halo to see.

hobby king is great if you can find the battery you want in the US warehouse. shipping from china usually takes 2-4 weeks. hobbypartz is another place i order my stuff from, they're located in socal and have similar prices to hobbyking.


also, afaik, lipos do not explode when discharged too low, they just brick and never come back. I've discharged many lipos below the minimum. they explode when charged too high or when punctured/damaged. someone correct me if i'm wrong.


that's it for now.

[s2master]

I have been thinking about doing this as well. With lipos being pretty inexspensive you could buy both a 7.4 & 11.1v lipo and see how each of them works.

If you are worried about it getting damaged inside of the hopper you could always put foam around it to prevent it from moving.

They also make lipo monitors that Beep when the voltage gets to low for use. They cost about 2-3.00 a piece. Might be a good idea to invest in one.

As long as you are carefull and know what you are doing I see no reason for problems. I've been using the same lipos for about 2 years now and havn't had any issues.

[kounterclokwise]

if you can bang around a lipo hard enough in a hopper to damage it, theres no hope of being able to feed the glob of paint thats in in the loader anyways. a bit of foam to hold it snug inside will do fine

a good point about a 11.1v lipo... fully charged its way over 11.1. perhaps a 2s is the best choice.

i will make a little project out of this sooner or later and post up some results. having an audio warning would be just as cool as a voltage readout...

[dapoofyhairdude]

Originally Posted by kounterclokwise

if you can bang around a lipo hard enough in a hopper to damage it, theres no hope of being able to feed the glob of paint thats in in the loader anyways. a bit of foam to hold it snug inside will do fine

a good point about a 11.1v lipo... fully charged its way over 11.1. perhaps a 2s is the best choice.

i will make a little project out of this sooner or later and post up some results. having an audio warning would be just as cool as a voltage readout...

Some people do a good amount of diving. especially off the break while there's not much room in the hopper for the paint to move around.

foam is a must if you're planning on soft case. watch out for any protrusions in the plastic that could dig into the foam/battery.

and yes, audio warning seems the most practical unless you want to open up the battery tray after every game.

[SmartPartsuser]

im liking dapoofyhairdude's info, great info man. i ordered 4 nano tech batteries from china on accident......took 1 and a half months yeah ha

[dapoofyhairdude]

glad i could help.