Top Quality  will deliver ... only if you care!

Gold Peak 3300mAH     Intellect Brothers 3800mAH

  IB3800 NiMH  

Optimum battery pack performance will be obtained by achieving the following…

  • Assembling the battery pack properly  ïclick!

    Assembling the battery pack properly is the most important task in making sure it will deliver to its full capacity.

    • Cut down the battery stick to cells using an exacto knife.

    • Scuff both sides of each cells using 400 grit sandpaper.

    • Clean all surfaces of any residue.

    • Align the cells in a battery jig such as Deans' Speed Jig.

    • Using a good soldering iron (at least 40 Watts), apply a small amount of 60/40 rosin core solder to both sides of each cells.  The covered area should have a diameter of approximatively ¼" (6 mm).

    • Lay down a high quality battery bar, like Deans' Pro3, on the first two cells. While pressing the battery bar down firmly against the cell, apply a small amount of solder to the edge of the battery bar where it touches the cell. Allow the solder to solidify before removing pressure from the battery bar.

    • Repeat the same procedure for all remaining cells.

    • Your soldering job should look like this once completed ... soldered.jpg (98573 octets)

  • Properly charge the battery pack  ïclick!

    When the charging cycle is getting near completion, you'll notice that the battery pack is getting warmer.  Proper cell temperature will vary depending of the room temperature.  At 70°F (room temperature), the ideal optimum cell temperature reached at the end of the charging cycle is 135°F to 140°F.  A proper charge will guarantee ideal cell temperature at the start of the race and that's critical in making sure it'll deliver to its full capacity.  So how will you get a proper charge:

    • Set your charger properly (see recommended settings below).

    • Initiate the charge as late as possible in order to minimize the rest time between the end of the initial charge and the start of the race.

    • Don't allow direct airflow onto the battery pack during the charging cycle.

    • At the end of the initial charge, cover the battery with a clean rag if you know that the rest time is going to be greater than 10 minutes.

    • Re-peak the battery pack just before your race (see recommended settings below).

To maintain your battery pack performance level at its peak, you’ll avoid doing the following...

  • Overcharging the battery pack  ïclick!

    As much important as it is for the battery pack to be warm in order to deliver to its full capacity, overcharging the battery pack will lead to pack failure.  Overcharging the battery pack results in much too high cell temperature during the charging cycle.  Overheating the battery pack during the charging cycle will greatly affect its lifetime and performance.  Overcharging the battery pack can be prevented by making sure the charger is properly set.  Please see recommended charge settings below...  Also, unless the ambient temperature is really cold, you should not "wrap" the battery pack in a cloth or rag during the charging cycle as it'll greatly increase the risk of overheating the cells.

  • Cycling the battery pack more than once a day  ïclick!

    Cycling and/or racing the battery pack more than once a day is not good (period).  Experience shows that battery packs that were re-ran in the same race day did not keep their performance level for very long.  On a properly maintained battery pack, the second run IS NOT BETTER ... your chassis setup might be better ... the track might have more grip ... but one thing is for sure the battery pack will not deliver more power on the second run (unless the pack wasn't maintained properly).  The ideal scenario is to run or cycle a battery pack no more than once week.  Resting the battery pack for a minimum of 3 days between runs or cycles has been tested and proven itself to be acceptable. 

  • Not cycling the battery pack for an extended period of time  ïclick!

    For battery packs not dead shorted, not racing nor cycling the pack for an extended period of time will first affect its runtime then also its overall performance.  I recommend for all packs to be run or cycled at least once a month.  Dead shorted battery packs not cycled for more than two (2) months risk suffering runtime losses as well but voltage and resistance will not be affected negatively.  Before racing a battery pack that has been rested for a couple of months, it shall be cycled the week prior to the race in order to "reset" its capabilities.

 

Recommended charge settings

You've purchased a high quality battery pack ... make sure it delivers to its capacity!  Charge the battery pack using a high quality charger and set your charger using the following recommended settings.

List of recommended chargers  ïclick!

If your charger is not listed here, send me an e-mail and I'll confirm its compatibility with the IB3800 cells.

  • Charge amperage:  Linear 6A

  • Peak detect voltage:  5mV per cell  ïclick!

    Just so you get it right ... 5mV = 0,005V ... that means the recommended peak detect voltage for 4-cell packs is 0,02V and for 6-cell packs is 0,03V ... So your Competition Electronic charger should be set at ,02V for 4-cell packs and ,03V for 6-cell packs.

  • Long lockout feature:  Enabled for dead shorted packs  ïclick!

    When enabled, this feature allows the charger to ignore the peak detect voltage setting for the first 600 seconds of the charge cycle, it then prevents false peaks from occuring.  If your charger doesn't have this feature (like the Novak chargers), you can increase the peak detect voltage to 10mV per cell.  It is then important to monitor cell temperature carefully so it doesn't go well past 140°F.

  • Flex charging:  Disabled

  • Re-peak:  Only if battery pack has rested for more than 2 minutes

  • Re-peak detect voltage (if the pack has rested for 2-10 minutes): 2mV per cell  ïclick!

    Re-peak the battery pack as late as possible, re-peaking just before your race is ideal.  Example:  For 4-cell packs 2mV per cell equals 0,008V.  So, visually monitor the battery pack voltage during the re-peak and manually terminate the re-peak once the voltage drop back 0,01V.  A full re-peak usually take 120-180 seconds.

  • Re-peak detect voltage (if the pack has rested for more than 10 minutes): 5mV per cell  ïclick!

    Re-peak the battery pack as late as possible, re-peaking just before your race is ideal.  Example:  For 4-cell packs 5mV per cell equals 0,02V.  So, if the battery pack has rested for more than 10 minutes after the initial charge, you shall re-peak it using the same peak detect voltage as the initial charge.  A full re-peak usually take 120-180 seconds.

 

Recommended discharge settings

Once you're back to your pit, make sure you properly discharge your battery pack.  If it is important to keep your motors clean and ready to go, it is as important to properly discharge your battery pack as soon as you're back to your pit.  A properly discharged battery pack will run more consistant and will deliver good predictable power on the next run.

  • Discharge amperage:  Linear 35A

  • Discharge cutoff voltage:  0,9V per cell

  • 0V Dead short (AT YOUR OWN RISK!):  Ok, with the exception of the classes for which runtime is crucial  ïclick!

    Dead shorting battery packs can be beneficial ONLY if it is done properly.  By storing your battery packs dead shorted, you can expect increased average voltage and a predictable power curve.  The drawback is that you'll lose a substantial amount of runtime, if you're not running an open mod class it is usually no big deal.  I recommend either the Trinity RealTime 2 trays, the Integy Indi Octane 2 tray or the Integy Zero-Thirty (any 0V tray will work).  You can safely dead short the battery pack when...

    • The battery pack is still in the 0V tray.

    • EACH cell's voltage is down in the range of 10mV and less (0 to 0,01V per cell).

    • The battery pack is at room temperature (IMPORTANT!).