Lithium-Ion (18650 cells) versus Lipo -- which is best?

If you fly an RC plane or drone you have typically used a lithium polymer (lipo) battery but there is an alternative -- the lithium ion cell, typically in the 18650 form-factor. What is the difference? When would you use Li-ion in preference to Lipo and vice-versa.
I will shortly post some practical "field test" videos showing how great (or small) the differences are.

[@lagynas]

218 grams for people in Murica it's equivalent for about 3 yards :D Nice burn

[@Lagggerengineering]

Burn baby burn! XD Metric system FTW!

[@richardlong3615]

If a kilometre is 5 eighths of a mile then surely 218 grams is 136.25 inches or 3.78 yards.

[@slembcke]

LOL. I have a general idea how much a pound is since it's a more regularly used unit, but when other RC folks start talking about their model that weighs 2 ounces I have no intuition for how much that is. Metric for this american please. LOL

[@LuxKeiwoker]

that was GOLD XD

[@dann8260]

I loved it... really loved it

[@Cmensailing]

Bruce you are king of reviewers! You make the hobby fun and informative! Jumper t16 and nirvana transmitter moved the 18650 now I see why! Thanks mate!

[@joshgault61]

Hi Bruce, Something I have also been testing recently. My application is long range quadcopters. Amp draw is very low, 10-15A. I use Sony VTC6 30A 3120 cells. I did some back to back testing with an only 5200 multistar vs a 4s2p ‘6240’mah pack. Running down to 80% discharge. I found the most interesting and very important fact is that although the liion has more capacity per gram, as they run to a lower voltage, their mid voltage is much lower than a lipo, there for I found the nearly identical weight packs, that more amps were used from the liion to keep the craft in there air. I was getting 20+ min flight times from both, however significantly more cumulative distance with the lower capacity lipo. I have found that the liion gets hot in flight, and their capacity drops with say 10A vs the lipo that will delivery their 80% discharge with much higher volts at the end. I also tried a 6s1p 3120 liion. Vs a newer turnigy 5200 4s vs the multistar 4s 5200This is where the test results changed a lot as realised the multistar was very tired, max cumulatively was 20km to a 80% in 22 mins(but voltage dropped off) The turnigy was doing 20km in 18 mins to 80% & still lots of volts. The 6s max cumulatively was 16km to a complete discharge where it drops! From now I’m only using lipos & the liion remains fantastic field charging batts

[@MehdiGuizani]

This is actually a huge positive finding 😮

[@TheJohanJonker]

love the grams to yards conversion!!!

[@stevo43068]

"SwellPro," probably not the best name someone came up with for a LiPo brand-name...lol.

[@Deploracle]

That rivals "Nova" as a car name, being sold in Mexico.

[@Mr.Tiger.2013]

They do SWELL big time lol

[@thecraftking113]

Hope you are posting a battery build video 👍

[@BlacksheepMediaNZ]

the craft king #1 agreed. With a description on how to wire balance cables

[@rougeneon1997]

really good site i used as a guide blog.seidel-philipp.de/diy-build-a-longrange-lithium-ion-battery/

[@seniorxj2931]

I second this!

[@Din2580]

We have 4S 8800mA Li-Po packs and 4S 15000mA Li-Ion Packs. They weigh very close to one another. In our survey fixed wing, (when the Li-Po's were still good) they gave us around 35min with the whole setup running. With the Li-Ions, we get around 55min-1hr flight time. The only issue is because our model is heavy, on warm days with no wind, the Li-Ions tend to not give enough power for thrust for take-offs. We also use a catapult system to get it in the air, as it's a pusher and got a big prop.

[@ArchmageAU]

Li-Ion tend to be used in low-impact environments, as the electrolyte is more liquid than gel (and also why the stronger casing). Lithium is highly reactive (read combustable) and a case breach is likely catastrophic to a model. Should be great for a cruise wing type model as the discharge rating is usually not as high as Li-Po, but for a raw power machine (like a quad or a heli), Li-ion would not be ideal. Interested to see how this turns out.

[@superdau]

The lithium in li-ion cells (and lipos, which are also li-ion cells and the same thing just in a different form factor) is irrelevant for fires. There's so little of it in the cells and it's not in metallic form either. All the battery fires are the electrolyte burning after being heated up by a shortcircuit.

[@svareter42]

equivalent to 3 yards, Brilliant Bruce (hit those no metric "fools" hard).. I used to fly on A123 cells, they packed a punch (when lipos only had 2C change capability, they were amazing fast charge)

[@FlyingFun.]

Good for long duration flying for sure not for general RC flying use and can't be charged as fast. Lifepo4 a123 cells used to be good for fast charging and high drain but heavy for same capacity. Lipo is unfortunately still the best option generally but I can't wait to see the back of them for safely reasons.

[@ZeroFPV]

Most of the 18650's you can charge with 1C.

[@FlyingFun.]

@@ZeroFPV yes, while a123 lifepo4 cells and newer lipos can be charged at 3 to 5c or even higher. 8 min charges are fantastic but somewhat scarey lol.

[@ZeroFPV]

@@FlyingFun. Oh, wow. :-) I'm more the 10 packs in parallel @1C charging type. I want to keep them healthy as long as possible.

[@FlyingFun.]

@@ZeroFPV yeah, I'm somewhere in between, 2c charge regularly, reason is British weather creates short windows for flying and getting charged up fast before it changes is needed, I don't store charged.... I have multiple chargers and charge individual packs , so in 25 minutes I go from storage to full charge , hppefuly before the rain starts again lol..

[@GR8SCOTT]

Really excited to see how your testing turns out.

[@Reman1975]

A couple years back I built a camera quad that I used 18650 cells in. It was purely as an experiment to see if it would work. I built it to only sip power, but worked out that at full throttle it might be a little too close to the amp limit for my liking with 3S2P (Like Li-Po's, The easier a time you give them, The more cycles you get before they're scrap), So went with 3S3P instaid. As I also vape, and already have a few 4 cell Li-Ion chargers on hand, I decided not to solder up a bloody great pack, But got some battery holders instead. I'd built the quad to take 4S so I used three 4 cell holders and wired each to hold either 4 cells in series, Or 3 cells and a dummy "Pass through" cell. It flew pretty well on 3S so I never actually got around to trying it on 4s in the end. Flight times were......... Longer than I could concentrate on flying in one stretch ! But I estimated it would be somewhere around 25 minutes if I wasn't pushing it too hard. In the end, for convenience I converting it to run with the stack of 5000 3s Li-Po packs I bought for a larger folding Y6 I built as its replacment, Then not long after that, as it was now surplus to requirements a friend bought it off me. As an experiment it was pretty good, But at around £60 for the 9 cells it was cheaper to just use budget Li-Po's as it didn't need a high C pack.

[@rcrahul3657]

New Li ions like this LG HG2 are very good, and can give a good discharge rate. These batteries with 2p configuration can give lift off easily

[@aaaaaaaaaassssssssdf]

i'm in the process of building David Windestal's long range tricopter, which people claim can get a 40 minute flight off a 5200 3s, and up to an hour if you stack two batteries together. i'm really curious to try on this a 3s 6 battery 18650 to see what crazy flight times are possible

[@ZeroFPV]

I'm getting up to 14 minutes with a 4s 3000mAh and 5" (2205, 2300KV) so I'd say it's possible with bigger prop and lower KV. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6mZmqClbadon6M

[@peterzingler6221]

So I have to say I'm using 18650s in my vape every day and my Fpv Glider got a 6000mah pack made from LG Hg2 in 3s2p config. It's really great for lower current applications that need long runtimes

[@darkness0334]

Totally looking forward to a comprehensive comparison.. Thanks!!

[@hanelyp1]

You'd want a low dropout BEC using li-ion 2S, but if the label current rating on those cells is anywhere close accurate, those look like the way to go for an endurance model. I was looking at a 2S pack and 10A motor controller for a sub-250g model.

[@azgarogly]

I am afraid that this 20A figure would be a bit optimistic. Is it really sustained current at which the battery is able to deliver all it's juice? It would probably reduce capacity by 30-40% or something. But if you are able to cruise at 7A per battery, it might be much better.

[@CustomBuiltDIY]

Very interested in your battery making videos it would be awesome to see you make some more!

[@Orbitaldebr1s]

As fellow kiwi it is weird to hear a kiwi accent on one of these videos keep it up mate you're doing awesome!

[@AnandNL]

The low voltage cutoff of most ESC's gives problems with using 18650 cells, most of my HK esc i can't disable it, so started using bl heli esc's for fpv planes with mixed results.

[@Lagggerengineering]

Is the cutoff too high or too low?

[@AnandNL]

too high, since the esc's cutoff at 3.2v which is normal for lipo's but way too high for li-ion cells since then you can't use 30% of the capacity. My nano talon flies 60-70 mins with a 4s 18650 pack.

[@KingsPhotographySolutions]

Samsung 20700 come in at 69g: 3000mah, 30amp continuous! 🤯 Really tempted to do a 2s, low kv, Mini long range Tricopter in future. 😆 Small body, long arms, low kv, big props, sounds like a long range dream. 😁

[@mihaiilie8808]

Chinese brand Liitokala is better than Samsung.They have 4000 mah with 40 amps continuous 21700 for same weight.

[@christi_L]

So happy to see a direct comparison. I love you Bruce! Will be jumping on that Patreon as soon as I can!

[@grahamrdyer6322]

Can't wait to see the results Bruce, this looks interesting.

[@ianwillats5110]

I have been wondering about running them in parallel config, so looking forward to your next video.

[@aliberkozderya3112]

Very interesting. Im excited to see you compare the two

[@highwaltage]

Had a play a while ago with 18650 and a 4inch. Went ok.. couldnt really punch it. 5 inch... no chance. But 3 inch is looking like a sweet spot for a high capacity li ion 4 - 6s packs. I'll be doing this soon. Waiting on bits. :)

[@highwaltage]

Forgot to add.. for the 3 inch im keen on using cr123 size li ion.

[@riverbankmactavishmcghee4573]

I like where this is going. Staying tuned for more. Thanks.

[@akhtarkh]

What about the charge, discharge cycles between the two types? I think li-ion can endure many more cycles.

[@shyamyelamarti3113]

Excellent video. In one short I got all my answers. Thanks a lot.

[@rahuljaiswal2070]

if we are making a pack out of 18650s then how to calculate the output c rating

[@rockrl98]

Rewatch the video... (1p=rating 2p=2x^^

[@JarredBaines]

Omg 😂 equivalent of 3 yards!!! 🤣🤣🤣 You made my day!

[@TheVexinator]

I just saw this and can't find the follow-up video you were mentioning at the end. Did you post a video showing a comparison of how the battery techs/types performed?

[@maxheadrom3088]

Sir, I think you converted that wrongly: 218g is 3 yards and one see-saw. :b One question: which one is safer? I'm getting batteries for an Yamaha WX5 and I don't want my controller to catch on fire. The WX5 is a wind Midi controller manufactured from 1999 to 2017 and discontinued - no new ones available - and it requires 1.5V cells. I found both li-po and li-ion 1.5V cells but the li-po ones are easier to find here in Brazil. I also would like to know if I can keep them inside the instrument while not using it or if I should remove them. Thanks for your patience! Nice video!

[@Imakilln]

I've been using the Sony VTC6's (4s2p) in my 7" long range quad with great results, they will deliver 60A+ if you need it but I mostly cruise around at about 10-15A for 20+min flights. Be careful where you get then though, plenty of dodgy sellers out there..

[@thegusk520]

FWIW Sony batteries have burned up more laptops than all other makes combined.

[@_tyrannus]

VTC-6 cells are IMR, not ICR. No fire hazard unless they get physically damaged, as their resistance increases with heat.

[@mihaiilie8808]

Forget about Sony.Chinese brand Liitokala has 40 amps discharge for 21700 ,4000 mah cells.The best brand of cells in the world for high discharge.

[@WPGinfo]

Nice topic! I'm very interested to watch your prep and tests.

[@glytch5]

Isn't the 3s pack 2600mah per cell? Not the whole pack? One of those cells are still 2600mah aren't they? The whole point of lipo was largely due to its lighter weight for RC

[@davidellis1290]

Would it be possible to mix the batteries in the pack with an additional control circuit. i.e when running at low current draw use the li-ion, but when current draw is high switch to lipo for a burst?

[@happyhippr]

amazing overview, fun to watch. love the application story of rc flight plane

[@crotaflyingsolo4759]

How can you determine the Mah of a battery (li-ion) if there are no markings on the cell if possible?

[@easystar123]

Interesting video on these two battery types. Thanks for sharing.

[@Ed-eq8ui]

Fantastic video. You really know your stuff.

[@big5astra]

I believe EACH of the 18650 cells you have is 3000 mAh so you were not comparing the same thing by saying that the lipo has 2200 mAh and the THREE Li-ion cells together "are about the same (mAh)". So the 150g for the 3 Li-ions represent 9000mAh and the 218g represents 2200mAh for the Lipo.

[@martinrowley1042]

Nope, you're wrong. Each battery has 3000maH, in series the 3 batteries will still be 3000maH, but you have 3 times the voltage.

[@big5astra]

@@martinrowley1042 Correct...

[@MarcAntoine01]

A website I would recommend is Nkon, I paid 180€ for 50 cells, Sanyos are really good. They are 30A 3Ah cells. Now I'm waiting on my spot welder to make my own batteries

[@peterzingler6221]

They sell hg2 with solder plates for 3.90€ atm

[@Patrick-rj8gh]

Yep that website is great. I replaced my 2012 vintage ICRs in my e-bike with brand spanking new 3.6 AH IMR-18650s. Only 160 euros from Nkon and my bike rides like new.

[@floriankocznar3813]

Thx for sharing! 2 questions : in your experience: whats a save margin to fly with for lipo and lions ? atm i stop my lipos at 3.6 but at home they have 3.8…so i guess 3.4 under load would be okay ? or even less ? Thanks in advance

[@ats89117]

The biggest advantage of the LiPo batteries is that they can be cycled a lot more times than Li Ion batteries...

[@vasobg12]

I use exactly the same Li-Ion batteries for my foam 950gr. plane .In fact yesterday I just made one 4s pack.They work great and if you made 3s2p the current draw will be 40a and 6000 mah capacity.

[@ryu-yuta9259]

did u use an bms on your li-ion?

[@vasobg12]

@@ryu-yuta9259 No. I charged it with balance charger so bms is not required

[@bdee1084]

Hello. I’m trying to decide what type of battery pack would provide the longest life at the smallest size between 2 to 6 continuous amps. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[@nycgags]

I am confused you have 3x 3000mAh batteries shouldn't you be referring to them as 9000mAh or are you connecting them in parallel to achieve 60A?

[@xpertcrush]

sir, if you dont show yourself and just speak, everyone will assume you are a young lad, very energetic.

[@oneselmo]

Not everyone! Us old guys know him.

[@JustJimJr]

I'm currently studying these batteries myself. I have about 25-30 Eneloop AAA's and AA batteries, they are the best. I've had those rechargeable bats for 7years and only 1 shorted cell. Bought all other types, Duracell and powerex batteries and Duracell beats the powerex. I have 1 powerex left out of about 8 AA. Weight is a factor but I've found the heavier they are is better but they short out early also.

[@toddmadeen]

Perfect timing! I have a VTOL and have seen that Foxtech has a battery swap board. Use a small Iipo for vertical take off and landing and switch to li ion for forward flight. Only problem is unless I want to spend a ton of money I'll have to build the 6S 12000mah battery. Show us the battery build!

[@YT-qp3xw]

I know its been 5 years since your post this educational video but @ 2.04 , thats funny 😂😂....218grams=3 yards

[@paulg5437]

Bruce, whats you views on using Li-Ion vs Lipos in transmitters? The new Transmitters (Jumper & Taranis 9d 2019) recommend Li-Ion or Lipo but not LiFe. I've always preferred using LiFe or Ni-MH in my TXs as I keep them in the house as opposed to my Lipos which are in a big metal box in the garage. In a TX, both will be drawing a lot less current so 'should' be safer but I think the Li-Ion has a more graceful dropoff. Thanks PaulG

[@IanBeaty]

Great information. This could be fun to experiment with. Thanks for making the video!

[@MehdiGuizani]

Ur explanation is so good I understand it now 😂

[@DomenicSimone]

hello,which batteries do you think would be better in jump starters for auto's?

[@momag7087]

Good day are those Li-io batteries rechargeable?

[@olliea6052]

Love this! Battery build video plz.

[@stonkeng]

You did a Swell job explaining that, but there is no way i'd buy a SWELL battery.

[@darioluzuriaga6913]

Hi Sr, nice video, thanks for the tips. I have a question, which model are you using to get those 20 min flight ? and what motor/battery/esc do you use? Thanks in advance!!

[@CustomBuiltDIY]

How are the Samsung batteries? I can't seem to find the LG's in stock anywhere that seem to be real LG batteries and not the knock off. I'm in the US. I don't know about other countries, but the Sony battery that you mentioned in one of your videos I have found.Lg is not in stock.I'm very interested in making some of these packs.

[@SajaksFavorites]

Where do you buy it ?

[@ddegn]

I have the same question. I doubt Banggood or Hobbyking are good options this time.

[@ddegn]

I just found *LG HG2 3000 mAh 20A Battery* on Amazon for $17 a pair. I think I'll get a six pack myself and play along at home.

[@grumpyjohntxredneckrc6346]

Read What I Wrote!

[@grumpyjohntxredneckrc6346]

@@ddegn I Buy Them By The 100s... Read What I Wrote! ;~)P

[@someonespotatohmm9513]

For europe nkon works. With all the fakes its probably best to stick to large stores.

[@Side85Winder]

Single motor rc air craft are fantastic for lion batteries with very long endurance flights in mind even just some fun lesure flying. There are other electronics you could throw in like a bost circuit if you must keep the volts around 11.1v (obviously weight comes into it again) or just use a extra cell since most of its life is below the voltage required.

[@_Otaku-kt8be]

What if you use 21700 cells instead of 18650?

[@GR8SCOTT]

Brownies (LG HG2) are great but pinkies(Samsung 30Q) is a little better. IMR is who I buy from. Mooch does excellent testing of these batteries.

[@friendlyfire01]

Those HG2's are a great choice. I've got loads originally meant for vaporizers, but damn if they don't put out the current!

[@thetechlibrarian]

Those and the Samsung 30q I always had good luck with

[@russellwilson5246]

what was the charge time diferance?

[@SmirksNZ]

Hi Bruce, just wondering if cell phone batteries can be used for light weight models?

[@propelegant]

As I understand the situation there is no real difference in the chemistry between the two types of battery but rather describes the construction of the cells. The 18650 are more robust but have a heavier metal container as opposed to the lighter plastic pouch used in most rc batteries. Lithium ion is more a generic label for a family of lithium batteries rather than a specific form?

[@mandelbro777]

good points. Go the 3s2p Li-ion 18650's for long distance/high power and throw the LiPo away imo. 18650's are so much cheaper to get hold of and to salvage from old laptop batteries and cordless drill packs etc...

[@kkuenzel56]

Will you be soldering the cells together or do you have a spot welder?

[@wibbyarief8958]

You could solder 18650 battery together but you need special flux, for stainless steel soldering and high watt soldering iron. Otherwise your solder tin won't stick to the battery

[@geraldrigby7382]

wiring the pack is the tough part, can be soldered but spot welding is far better way to go, see vids on electric bike pack building

[@bradkalman2353]

Do you have any RC cars and trucks if you don't you are missing out on the fantastic things they are doing with ground vehicles.

[@rougeneon1997]

yes making endurance packs with 18650's is extremely popular. I used Sony cells in a 3s2p for 60000 mah only slightly heavier than my cnhl 3s 2200. Ive gone half an hour on my AR Wing and land from boredom usually . Spent like $25 in supplies

[@petrusoroaga6528]

@rcmodelreviews Bruce, you might want to update this video or add a appropriate annotation or comment on top of it: The power (Wh) to weight ratio is not that different as you suggest. Your quick initial weight and power mental calculation is off (due to real voltage under load. You better do proper weight to charge capacity (Wh) calculations, voltage is not a good measure). The difference (with good LiPos) is at most 20%. Given that 18650 are harder to make as a pack, where as Lipo is already done for you, I would say it's not worth it. Remember, the only real comparation is on the energy density (energy stored/mass). All other measures, weight, voltage, as you did are just misleading and kind of intuitive (in the wrong way) for most of us: lighter weight -> longer flight times. Which is wrong. (Yes, I ignore the max current output, assume it's enough for what you want to fly). The only real measure is how much energy can be delivered over time for the same mass. Hence, in real life, LiIon - LiPo the difference is max 20% (for LiIon cells that are usable for our hobbies: can deliver let's say at least 5C discharge). Here is a quick reference already calculated: i.stack.imgur.com/Z9Flb.jpg

[@kand198]

Castravete Murat the major advantage is in form factor - pouch vs cylindrical cells. Cylindrical cells allow for much greater density due to increased internal surface area - kind of like how capacitors work. Now obviously it’s going to depend on your application, and for most RC pouch lipos will likely continue to be superior to cylindrical liions but there are a lot of applications where the liions have a pretty significant advantage (and 20% is huge).

[@ataru4]

Was there a practical test? I can't seem to find it. Thanks.

[@MykeHawke-r9r]

Thank you for making this video

[@mountaingoat8788]

dumb question but can you use these cells with any esc that is meant for a Normal Lipo pack as Long as to use the correct voltage.?

[@marhar2]

What's a good vendor for quality, genuine 18650's?

[@airplanenut6242]

Mark Harrison liionwholesale in the US has been a good source for me. I bought some goggle batteries from them about a year ago

[@grumpyjohntxredneckrc6346]

Check What I Just Wrote! ;~)P

[@oussamasmaini7297]

Where to get them

[@tyronmoore9237]

Hi Bruce, great intel as always. Is there any chance you could explain discharge rating? A single Li-on battery is good for 20A discharge, are you still limited to 20A discharge when you connect the cells in series or parallel. I'm thinking about making a 6S but need max discharge of 60A. Would 6S 2P work? Thanks again mate and keep up the great work.

[@kand198]

Tyron Moore wiring in parallel adds the discharge ratings. Also, the higher end 18650s hit 30A continuous, so two of them would be ideal, but then capacity is knocked down to ~2100mah. If you can find them, 21700s might be a better option for you. Try to have a 20% overhead for your continuous discharge rating at the very least.

[@FarmerFpv]

Actually LG recommends charging them to the same voltage as a lipo and also use a lipo settings on your charger not lithium ion. Take a look at the efest 18 650 40a 3900mah that's what I'm using on my AXN it screams! But I'm glad you are playing with these 18650 cells really looking forward to learn more about them. And maybe a simple DIY supercapacitor spot welder I put the batteries together if anybody can make one super easy to use yocan mr. Bruce 😈

[@superdau]

The reason for LG saying that is that there isn't really anything special about lipos chemistry wise. They are just one type of li-ion cell in a different formfactor. And there many different types of li-ion chemistries, but the "packaging" of the cell is not deciding factor for that.

[@FarmerFpv]

@@superdau no it's not the deciding factor but the E-Fest cells are far more Superior for what we need them for. They're what I'm using in all my planes and quads.

[@macro820]

Should make a hybrid battery with a small lipo and big lion pack

[@fiveangle]

It would be great for transients like on launch and quick punches: launching Strix Goblin on 18650s is challenging to say the least !

[@kand198]

Preproto you’d want a battery management system otherwise you could run into... issues.

[@fiveangle]

@@kand198 This isn't a powerwall or ebike: it's solved easily with telemetry. If an entire series bank goes in an RC setup, well ces't la vie - we live with that risk every day. This is why it's good to run a separate RX/VTX battery in a plane so that one can attempt to safely land if the main pack goes belly up. In a quad, it doesn't really matter, so bombs away ! :)

[@kand198]

I might be missing something here, but just thinking about it, due to the very different internal resistances of the batteries you’re going to be drawing very different currents from each pack. Also they will have differing capacities (even if there rated capacities were the same). Both of these factors will cause problems pretty quickly. You could probably develop a pretty simple BMS that could be integrated into a PDB or ESC (PDB would be easier to design than an ESC but there are open source hardware ESCs out there) that could handle this. A more rudimentary design could be to have a switch on the plane to swap what packs you’re drawing from bound to a switch on your controller.

[@fiveangle]

Keith Anderson what problems ? You're making unfounded assumptions without any scientific basis. It's the exact same principle as capacitors used with batteries so the capacitors with far lower IR charge and discharge infinitely more quickly than batteries, allowing pulses of brushless motors to be smoothed out. A hybrid pack allows short bursts of high current which then essentially recharges from the higher IR cells when the high load is removed. I've built a pack like this myself by adding a cheap 3S car jump pack connected in parallel with 3S40P 18650 NC cells in a jumper box that used to have a Pb-acid battery. It wouldn't start a vehicle previously but does without issue with the low-IR cells added.

[@RenKnight347]

Nice presentation.

[@Anton-sz6ef]

Where did you get the Li-Ion battery ?

[@tonymcclendon-hobbytime7727]

Found this information useful. Thanks!

[@vontressler1]

lipo nomial 3.8 volts ??

[@borivojetravica569]

Cycle time difference ?

[@interga72dog]

So can it use in edf?

check out the liitokala 26650 cells too. Price/watts and discharge rates are better, and people say they deliver better under higher loads. I'm looking forward into building an EV pack but these might be the best thing in long-range and endurance RC since the 10C hk packs! :))

[@jonathanlang9711]

You got something confused there I think. One of the three Liion Cells has got 3000mAh, so 9000 combined. And you sure that this big of a LiPo battery only got 2600mAh?

[@Ben.N]

Yo the one on the left looks mad familiar lol

[@TheWebstaff]

You tab welding or soldering the cells?

[@amindnew527]

will 2 sony or lg or samsung 18650's FIT into where a standard 3.7 1300mah lipo pack fits on say a 4x4 truck / buggy or ???

[@TheEviling]

Maybe a boost converter could up the voltage when the 18650 cells get low? And as for 20A being the limit, maybe a super capacitor could help? usually sending it to the moon only lasts about 5-10 seconds anyway.

[@waynerussell6401]

Always better to add batteries than use a UltraCap - way higher energy density and much cheaper (15Wh/kg v 275Wh/kg).

[@wdavie27]

Bruce do you think the 18650 will be a good choice for a petrol rc car for just running the receiver

[@adrianpiekos4555]

I bet it will

[@wdavie27]

@@adrianpiekos4555 really iv made 2 x2s battery packs to try on my baja petrol buggy :-?

[@kand198]

Hi Bruce, I’m a part of the University of Auckland Formula SAE team. Since 2016 we’ve used LiPos, but next year we’re making the upgrade to LiIons. If you are ever up in Auckland I’m sure we’d love to have you around the workshop (I personally can’t extend the invitation on my own haha) so flick me a message if you’re ever around. Could be a really cool video. Check out our Facebook to see the car! It’s almost like the ultimate evolution of the hobby (except it’s ground-bound and manned).

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Doesn't the 'C' rating impact the weight, with higher C ratings meaning more mass for the same mAh rating ? We use the Li-Ion's in the packs on Broadcast and Cinema cameras, where the current draw is much lower then the majority of Quads, and is comparatively tiny to a race quad.

[@waynerussell6401]

Weight will be similar, just different chemicals, but cycle life will go down.

[@loldev]

Where'd you buy the Li-Ion's from?

[@martinlewis1015]

Wait until 2021 as big news for batteries, maybe solid state?

[@jjjjrrr678]

Storage voltage on those cells? Such a pain to have to leave your Lipos in storage voltage... when I find a tiny bit of time to run my RC car... oh wait I can't... need to wait an hour to charge the Lipos :(