11 replies to this topic

[Arctic Hunter]

So I just rewired my Stryfe with 18 Gauge wire. The internals are stock motors, stock rev switch and the battery tray is stock. Anyways, I'm going to put IMRs into it. I heard that with a re wire, it can run off of 4 IMRs. Would it be safer for the motors if I only use 3? What is your opinion on this? Thanks

[Ryderbike1]

That's tricky. The stock strife has roughly 6V if you calculate it at 1.5V x 4AA. An IMR has between 3.6V-4.2V per battery. That means two IMR's is technically a full third more than stock when fully charged. Adding a third gets you up to 12.6V and doubles stock. I'm not sure it can handle three IMR's let alone four of them. You would be much better off upgrading the motors before attempting three. Or run it with all four and just be prepared to have to replace the motors when they explode after a couple of shots

[Arctic Hunter]

Okay. I'll probably run it on 3 IMRs, and plan for the motors to eventually burn out. It will be a good excuse to get nicer motors lol

[Ryderbike1]

Lol, it probably won't die immediately but it more than likely we'll at some point.

[Arctic Hunter]

Yeah. IMRs only seem to work on stock motors even though a lot of people dislike them. If I do burn out the stock motors, I will have to upgrade to a Lipo battery, because upgraded motors kill IMRs. I believe most upgraded motors like Rhinos draw to much current for IMRs to handle I believe.

[Meaker VI]

Even stock motors overdraw AA-sized IMR's though. They provide the right voltage, but they cannot supply the current (amperage) demands of even stock motors at stock voltage. Raising the voltage raises the current draw, and stock and aftermarket motors all draw more current than AA-size IMR's are rated to supply.

 

At best, it'll work for a while before burning up your switches and/or battery tray (which isn't designed to supply more current either). At worst, they'll blow out and melt/ignite your blaster.

Edited by Meaker VI, 17 June 2018 - 08:55 AM.

[Arctic Hunter]

Okay. So over all, it seems best to save up for a Lipo, new motors, and a new switch.

[scruffynerfherder]

I've run my stock motor stryfe on 3 efest Imrs for quite a while now with no problems. Sure its not ideal but its a lot better than stock. I'm sure my 3 imrs will burn the stock motors out faster than most would like but mine have lasted a while now, and I'm sure stepping down to 2 imrs would increase motor life, and will still be much better than stock aa batteries

[Meaker VI]

I've run my stock motor stryfe on 3 efest Imrs for quite a while now with no problems. Sure its not ideal but its a lot better than stock. I'm sure my 3 imrs will burn the stock motors out faster than most would like but mine have lasted a while now, and I'm sure stepping down to 2 imrs would increase motor life, and will still be much better than stock aa batteries

 

The risk isn't just burning out the motors, it's burning out the batteries. If they burn out, they can burn a hole in the blaster or ignite it wholesale.

[Arctic Hunter]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a Zippy Brand 3S Lipo with MTB Rhinos or something similar to them. I've been convinced by the internet (lol)to go straight to Lipo power. In the long run it just seems a better overall price and performance. I've got other blasters in mind to Lipo mod such as a Hera and a Nitron.

[ElliottW]

Sorry to join this conversation so late.  As Arctic Hunter eluded to, the problem with IMRs is the amount of instantaneous current they can supply.  Beefy 130s and most 180 motors want to draw much more current than IMRs can provide. I suggest going straight to LiPo if you're using anything larger than a 130.

 

Related to that, the second factor is the milliamp hours rating of your IMRs.  Generally, but not always,  an IMR with a higher mAh rating can provide more current at any given moment.  Cheap IMRs produce about 5 amps, and many can produce 10 amps for short periods of time.  If you're sticking with IMRs, I suggest looking for batteries with a minimum of 2000 mAh. Anything less than that will be disappointing.

 

The third factor with IMRs is the voltage.  Fully charged, they produce 4.2 volts for a short period of time.  Under load, the voltage steadily decreases from 3.9 to 3.0 volts, and the current remains relatively constant.  But as Meaker VI mentioned, there are some dangers associated with unprotected IMRs.  If the voltage falls below 3.0 volts, even for a moment, it starts a catastrophic exothermic chain reaction. Sometimes it can cause a fire.  For those reasons, don't buy unprotected IMRs. 

[scruffynerfherder]

I saw on blasterparts.de facebook page that they are about to release some motors designed for their batteries/imr's. I'm waiting for them to go on sale to try