Why not?

[LtDoc]

Ever wonder why a battery is the shape it is, round, flat, square, whatever? I have. With most batteries it's becasue of what they are made of, and that's understandable. But what about the 'lipo's? Wonder why you couldn't sort of 'shape' them differently? Maybe in a shallow "U" shape? That would certainly 'fit' the bottom a hull for those hulls that are sort of 'rounded'! Or maybe to fit around a motor? 'Flexible' would be nice, but probably going a little to far with that idea...
- 'Doc

[Aerominded]

you would want the factory to shape them- I believe there is a fairly delecate membrane inside a lipo that keeps the important chemicals inside separated- if that membrane is broken (by bending) and the chemicals meet, your day and your boat will be seriously ruined... :eek:

[Boatfox]

Lipos still scare the :censored: outta me. I don't really like unplanned fires and such :eek:

[der kapitan]

Ever wonder why a battery is the shape it is, round, flat, square, whatever? I have. With most batteries it's becasue of what they are made of, and that's understandable. But what about the 'lipo's? Wonder why you couldn't sort of 'shape' them differently? Maybe in a shallow "U" shape? That would certainly 'fit' the bottom a hull for those hulls that are sort of 'rounded'! Or maybe to fit around a motor? 'Flexible' would be nice, but probably going a little to far with that idea...
- 'Doc

Doc, is there something you've been smoking that you'd like to share with your pals? :D

I agree with Boatfox, some things are better not messed with, and like him, I'm still very gun-shy about those Lipo cells---. :eek:

[Aerominded]

Some fear and a lot of respect will keep you reasonably safe with Lipo's- Once you have used them in an RC plane, you will never go back-

Not sure they have a place in decent sized scale, displacement type boats though where weight is typically needed...


:)

[Kmot]

Lipos are making the transition in fast electric boat racing. In scale models, there is absolutely no need for them. Unless you are talking about micro scale. :p

[Ghost 2501]

even in some applications, a fast scale hull will still need some lead to get the pitch of the hull right.

less weight inst always the answer, its WHERE the weight is that is important

[killick]

Those Lipo's scare me too....! I don;t mind things that I make go "boom", but I don't like things that do it on their own. Especially on my boats or near me!

[EMSPAUL]

thats why they make fire boats l.o.l.

[LtDoc]

Knowing practically nothing about 'lipo's I sort of tend to 'shy' away from them too (not to mention being cheap, not having the proper charger, etc, etc.). I'm also aware that they shouldn't be 'shaped' by the end user. But, conventional car batteries have sort of changed shape recently. Still shaped so that they fit in the rectangular 'hole' that the 'normal' battery sits in, but not just a rectangular case anymore (can't think of the name of the things but I'm sure you know the one's I'm talking about). So why not 'curved' ones, or long skinny ones, or... whatever?
- 'Doc

[TugboatTom]

Lipos. Cant stand those things. I prefer to use good ol' fashioned led acids! Them lipos drain too quickly and they are too dangerous and just too hi-tec and fancy for me! But with them fast boats you need them as light and as powerful as possible. Yeah I dunno why they dont make them in all thse crazy shapes. I guess its just cheaper to make them in square shapes. I dunno.

[jeepers1940]

LtDoc, You may be thinking of the Optima brand of batteries; they have a different look to them.
Bill

[pkboo]

Although I would like to get the weight of my PT down I tend to have a combination of ´Doc´s symptoms and a healthy respect for all things chemical :) I guess I could wait a while considering how fast things tend the develop nowadays. Who can say, six months (boy all that optimism!!) from now Lipo´s might be safer without having to built a lead box around it (kinda eliminate the purpose of getting Lipo´s Ha? :D ) Eugène

[Aerominded]

Although I would like to get the weight of my PT down I tend to have a combination of ´Doc´s symptoms and a healthy respect for all things chemical :) I guess I could wait a while considering how fast things tend the develop nowadays. Who can say, six months (boy all that optimism!!) from now Lipo´s might be safer without having to built a lead box around it (kinda eliminate the purpose of getting Lipo´s Ha? :D ) Eugène

Eugène, you're on the right track! Lipo batteries and Lipo chargers have come a very long way over the past couple of years and are getting reasonbly safe- there is also better information out there about how to properly handle them which has improved things-

I do run Lipos in my planes but I still store/charge them in a purpose made fireproof container so I can sleep at night! ;)

[Shaun Hendricks]

I respect the high energy density of LiPo but I've been using them since Gen1 battery's were available and haven't had a single problem with them beyond losing one to a puncture in a crash of my flying wing. It just smoked a bit and died, didn't even get all that hot.

LiPo's have problems when the chemistry is exposed to air, not necessarily 'mixed'. Some manufacturers are putting on tougher skins, separation layers, etc. These are becoming relatively safe batteries to 'use' as their discharge rates climb and stop suffering from the 'over discharge' problem. If you have the right chargers, the 'over charge' problem is dealt with. Boats are not likely to suffer from puncture problems save for the high speed jobs but even then, if your battery is punctured at high speed, I doubt the boat is in one piece and recoverable anyway... :D

It's only a matter of time before LiPo's replace NiMh in the RC market just as NiMh replaced NiCD. Lead acid will still be popular for those with boats that need the weight, LiPo is kinda silly in that application.

LiPo's are already coming way down in price.

(BTW, the next chemistry is on the horizon, still a Lithium derivative but will be less sensitive than Lithium Polymer)

[Ghost 2501]

at the moment, the only lithium battery i have, (Li-ion), is my cell phone, and its going to stay that way.

for model boats I dont see the point of stripping out a $25 ni-cad oly to replace with a $80 Lithium Polythingie and then ADD ballast to get the prop below the water. even a Graupner eco-sport, a popular fast electric racer at one time is actually set up to have a 6-cell nickel type in it, so adding a light weight lipo and then ballasting it will probably make it perform worse than someone who has a ni-cd in a similar model.

Li-pos will only replace ni cad types in the flight business, there will always be a market for nicad and lead types.