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Battery Packs
Batteries come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes, capacities, and prices.
Most electric cars use a 7.2 volt, sub-C size, nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery
pack made up of six individual cells. Most Sub-C batteries are in the range
of 1200 to 2000 milliampere hours (mAH). The higher the amp-hour rating, the
longer the run time (and the higher the price).
If you use your car mostly for fun or sport, an economical battery such as the
Trinity Amp Max will work fine and be very reliable. For racing, however, a
good pack of batteries can give you that extra power to get you to the finish
line first. Matched batteries, like the Team Orion Activated racing cells, have
been charged independently, rated, and then, cells that have the closest ratings
are grouped together. Matched racing batteries usually will come as individual
cells, requiring you to assemble (solder) the pack.
Battery Chargers
If you're on a budget, a timer-charger such as the ProMax AC/DC Quick Charger
with meter will do fine. Most sport packs work great on a timer-type charger.
For about the cost of an extra battery or two, you can upgrade to a peak voltage
detection charger such as the Astro Flight Model 115D AC/DC adjustable peak
charger or MRC's Super Brain 809. Peak chargers use an internal voltage sensing
computer chip to cut off the charge at your battery's optimum peak voltage.
This eliminates overcharging which weakens and prematurely ages cells. A peak
charger is cheap insurance that you'll get the most power and longest life from
your batteries. Don't invest in performance matched batteries unless you have
a peak charger.
Racers using matched batteries always discharge their packs to keep them in
top shape. Deans Black Box II and Trinity's Memory Buster prevent cells from
deteriorating between uses and will keep your battery packs ready to go.
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