14 replies to this topic

[Pineapplepies]

So some of you may or may not of seen the topic that I posted about my Demolisher not reving as a result of putting trustfires in with regular double A's, and in the end I am forced to buy new batteries. I am wondering, for anyone who uses double A replacement batteries, what would you recommend:Trustfire or ultrafire or IMR? Along with that, does it matter if they are protected? And finally, what charger would you recommend for your favored battery?

Edited by Pineapplepies, 16 January 2016 - 12:15 PM.

[DjOnslaught]

Is this a normal unmodded demolisher, or doesn't have just basic mods (lock removal, etc)?

Mixing batteryou brands and types is never good, mixing trustfire and generic AA could have damaged your motors.

So the question is, does it still rev if you use just generic AA batteries?

[Kilomona]

I woul guess you fried your motors with the mix of chemical energy (or whatever the term is). You probably can fix it with a rewire. On the topic of batteries, I have only used ultrafires. They have worked the best for me compared do duracell and off brand AAs.

[CCBall]

You'd either want IMRs (full rewire, reccomended in conjunction with 1 or 2 dummy batteries when used with stock motors), or Eneloop Pro AAs (when wanting to limit power or are using tamiya, mini4wd, rm2, etc high kv motor). When using rm2 motors use Eneloop Pro batteries, but replace the stock rm2 brushes with carbon ones. No matter what, a full rewire (or even full internal upgrade including microswitches and a lipo connector) will be complimentary or even required.

[shandsgator8]

CCBall, on 16 Jan 2016 - 9:17 PM, said:

You'd either want IMRs (full rewire, reccomended in conjunction with 1 or 2 dummy batteries when used with stock motors), or Eneloop Pro AAs (when wanting to limit power or are using tamiya, mini4wd, rm2, etc high kv motor). When using rm2 motors use Eneloop Pro batteries, but replace the stock rm2 brushes with carbon ones. No matter what, a full rewire (or even full internal upgrade including microswitches and a lipo connector) will be complimentary or even required.

 

+1 on Eneloops, although you don't need to buy the black Eneloop pros, although they'll work great. In fact, the regular white ones can handle high current draws better than the Eneloop Pros. So even though you'll have less run time, you should have slightly more power.

[jwasko]

IMRs are good. If used with stock motors use no more than two. Use "dummy batteries" like these, not more AA batteries to fill the other spots.

 

NIMH  rechargeables like Eneloops are also good. With stock motors you can use four.

 

 

Trustfires and Ultrafires are horrible and may explode on you and/or burn your house down.

[Pineapplepies]

DjOnslaught, on 16 Jan 2016 - 7:15 PM, said:

Is this a normal unmodded demolisher, or doesn't have just basic mods (lock removal, etc)?
Mixing batteryou brands and types is never good, mixing trustfire and generic AA could have damaged your motors.
So the question is, does it still rev if you use just generic AA batteries?

Yeah, I know it is not good to mix batteries, I already had a topic about that. Also, Yes, it does still work just fine.

Edited by Pineapplepies, 17 January 2016 - 02:33 PM.

[Pineapplepies]

jwasko, on 17 Jan 2016 - 12:03 AM, said:

IMRs are good. If used with stock motors use no more than two. Use "dummy batteries" like these, not more AA batteries to fill the other spots.
 
NIMH  rechargeables like Eneloops are also good. With stock motors you can use four.
 
 
Trustfires and Ultrafires are horrible and may explode on you and/or burn your house down.

Well why do you think I got the protected ones? Along with that, could you link a charger for the IMR's if there is any?

Edited by Pineapplepies, 17 January 2016 - 02:36 PM.

[Pineapplepies]

CCBall, on 16 Jan 2016 - 9:17 PM, said:

No matter what, a full rewire (or even full internal upgrade including microswitches and a lipo connector) will be complimentary or even required.

Ok, but the only problem is that I don't know where to get the wire for rewiring my Demolisher. I also have not attempted anything like that so if you can tell me where I can find a tutorial on how to rewire and remove locks like the thermoresister that would be great since I don't want to end up blowing my self up when I severe the wrong wire.

[Quack]

Pineapplepies, on 17 Jan 2016 - 7:44 PM, said:

Ok, but the only problem is that I don't know where to get the wire for rewiring my Demolisher. I also have not attempted anything like that so if you can tell me where I can find a tutorial on how to rewire and remove locks like the thermoresister that would be great since I don't want to end up blowing my self up when I severe the wrong wire.

With a quick search of the internet you can find wire. Just match the specs to the output of your battery. I usually use 18 gauge wire, but that may be overkill for your mod. In terms of rewiring the demolisher is basically a re-shelled stryfe. Here is Coop's tutorial on rewiring a stryfe. It is pretty comprehensive. Don't worry your blaster will definitely not blow up.

[jwasko]

Pineapplepies, on 17 Jan 2016 - 7:44 PM, said:

Ok, but the only problem is that I don't know where to get the wire for rewiring my Demolisher. I also have not attempted anything like that so if you can tell me where I can find a tutorial on how to rewire and remove locks like the thermoresister that would be great since I don't want to end up blowing my self up when I severe the wrong wire.

Good demolisher rewire tutorial: https://www.youtube....h?v=fsj_G2gGxoc

 

Never rewire while a battery is attached. Follow that rule, and cuttin g a wire will never result in things blowing up.

 

After a rewire, always test with normal AA batteries first. If they heat up or act weird, you have a short (which would be bad with the various lithium batteries). If everything seems good, then put in your NiMH'lithium/whatever batteries.

 

"protected" trustfires

[Pineapplepies]

jwasko, on 18 Jan 2016 - 7:59 PM, said:

Good demolisher rewire tutorial: https://www.youtube....h?v=fsj_G2gGxoc
 
Never rewire while a battery is attached. Follow that rule, and cuttin g a wire will never result in things blowing up.
 
After a rewire, always test with normal AA batteries first. If they heat up or act weird, you have a short (which would be bad with the various lithium batteries). If everything seems good, then put in your NiMH'lithium/whatever batteries.
 
"protected" trustfires

Wait so should I not be using the trustfires, or was that just a result of overcharging which is something I am in fact aware of.

[Felix the cat]

Imrs beat any ---fire batteries. And they can charge off of trust fire chargers.

[jwasko]

Pineapplepies, on 18 Jan 2016 - 9:59 PM, said:

Wait so should I not be using the trustfires, or was that just a result of overcharging which is something I am in fact aware of.

It's generally not good to overcharge, over-discharge, or over-drain them.

 

By over-discharge I mean using them until their charge runs so low that their individual voltage is less than 3.3volts.

 

By over-drain I mean using them in high-drain situations that they weren't made for...like running not just one but two or even three motors that demand a lot of current. This can cause the batteries to heat up and the voltage to sag (drop) below 3.3volts. Both will damage your batteries (maybe catastrophically/dangerously, or maybe they just stop working).

 

In all honesty many people have put trustfires in their blasters without anything blowing up. Coop and Drac are still alive, anyway. But there is a legitimate safety concern even when they are charged properly, recharged before being over-discharged, and used in a well-wired/well-insulated blaster simply because Trustfires weren't meant to be used in such devices.

 

Also, while some Li-ion rechargeables are in fact well made, there are many knockoffs that go by the name "Trustfire" or "Ultrafire" that are not made to nearly the same standards. Even using a knockoff as recommended may get you in trouble, if the manufacturer did not match the promised specs.

 

And one last note: I thought that most people used unprotected trustfires because the protection circuits had a tendency to shut down their battery under heavy use. Basically, they have a thermoresistor in them...you know, the thing everyone wants to take out of their blasters in the first place?

 

So you can either use protected trustfires and possibly have your blaster cut out in the middle of a zombie horde.

 

Or use unprotected trustfires and have your batteries heat up and/or discharge until they damage themselves (at which point you will have to buy new ones because they won't be able to hold a charge anymore).

 

Edit: Or use something else, like these IMR 14500s. This is apparently a reputable dealer, too, so they won't be knockoffs.Like Felix said they should work in most any Trustfire charger, but they do sell chargers on that site too if you need one.

 

Edit 2: This seems like a rather good article. Written for Vapers, but some of the same stuff applies.

Edited by jwasko, 18 January 2016 - 08:24 PM.

[DjOnslaught]

jwasko, on 18 Jan 2016 - 7:59 PM, said:

Good demolisher rewire tutorial: https://www.youtube....h?v=fsj_G2gGxoc
 
Never rewire while a battery is attached. Follow that rule, and cuttin g a wire will never result in things blowing up.
 
After a rewire, always test with normal AA batteries first. If they heat up or act weird, you have a short (which would be bad with the various lithium batteries). If everything seems good, then put in your NiMH'lithium/whatever batteries.
 
"protected" trustfires

It is also wise to run each wire individually and use a voltmeter to check continuity individually, then once all the wires are ran, check the entire circuit for it before soldering to the battery connection.

You can prevent shorts by using heartstrings at each connection instead of etape and leaving space between your wiresite as you run them.