I want a battery pack that lasts long...what to look for?

[S. Karim]

Okay Im at onlybatterypacks.com (recommend other sites please) and I found a couple NiMH battery packs at 6V ranging from 350mAh to 10000 mAh.

I want a battery pack with a lot of juice and lasts very long, what do I look for? Thanks!

[frank26080115]

Li-Poly batteries is probably the best but it is delicate (can't drain it too much or you risk damaging the battery) and expensive
It packs a huge punch for less weight, probably as good as it gets for robots and RC

This one packs 7.4V 8000mAh, costs about $200, weighs 11.29 oz, something with half the power will weigh over a pound
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/marketplace_lipoly-tp.html

[S. Karim]

Im investing around 30-50 dollars into a pack and a charger. Could we work on something now?

The 10000 mAh ones at onlybatterpacks.com is only $51.50, where do I purchase chargers? I dont mind if it takes a day to charge.

[maverick monk]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHDJ1&P=7
this is a realy nice charger but will need a power suply, you can mod a old computer psu to output 1 12v channel fairly easily, search google for instructions.
you CAN NOT use a "wall wart" style power supply, you should get somthing with a large amperage supply.
look for somthing along the lines of http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXL356&P=V
install a voltage cut off on your batteries to cut off the voltage befor they get below a certain point ( usualy befor they go below 3v per cell)
watch these batteries charge, if they start to bloat, smoke, smell or anything odd,turn off the charger, pick them up with somthing (not your hands, that would be dumb) and place them outside, its not a bad idea to set the batteries inside a cinderblock wile charging

[megaman935]

I recommend just getting a plastic holder and going to Harbor freight.com (no space)
to get their rechargeable niCad- for 4 it's about 5$ I think- and just getting new ones once those die.

[Admin]

You should calculate how much current your robot will draw, and that will help you determine exactly how long X battery will last

Just hook up a multimeter to your stuff to easily figure out current draw.

I use 6V 1800mAh NiMH packs typically, but I also have some old 7.2V 1700mAh NiCads when I need more juice.

I recommend not getting anything less than 2000mAh, and you can always put a few in parallel for future robots if you need more later.

Dont forget a charger

[maverick monk]

www.cheapbatterypacks.com is a great store, if you give them a diagram they will build you custom packs too,

ive got a problem, my chassis is too small for a AA style batterypack, im only runningf 2 130 can motors, which draw about 1A each, the biggest 5-6cell i can fit is a 2/3A cell, they run between 1100 and 1500mah, those should work fine right? since (gunna say 3A to count in amps for led, electronics, sensors and the robot stalling every once in a wile) would give me 30minute run times...

mega, i know i am probobly going agenst the flow, but im gunna recomend agenst ni-cd's, unless you happen to have a discharger, a peak charger, and a trickle charger lying around. they have memory, and if not properly discharged, they will only discharge partway in the future. also, i think you should have 5 cell at least, since the board is supposed to get 5v and 4X1.2=4.8, but im not totaly sure on that.

[Del]

Thank you very much for the link, maverick! 

I've been looking everywhere for 1/3 AAA's (for a tiny robot).

http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/cellinfo.asp?invid=KAN160AAA