How To Choose The Best Battery For Your RC Rock Crawler - Holmes Hobbies 

540 21t 1080 esc 3s 9000mah 75c also works great in my construction vehicles.

Personally, I run both. I run a shorty on the front of my TRX4 and a large, high capacity pack in the normal battery tray. And I also run (for now) a 3s shorty and a large capacity 2s. It has worked decent thus far, but I love 3s as opposed to 2s simply because I run my servo at 7.4V and experience brown outs with 2s.

I run 2200 3S packs on trail hikes. I get about a hour and a half out of them. But I’m old, slow and broken so my hikes are longer time wise than distance wise.

This was the most help I have found on the net about this topic I found some 3900mah 45c 3s lipos on clearance I was on the fence about getting them cause I usually run 5000mah but after watching this I went ahead and got one thanks for the info keep up the good work.

I like 5200mAh 7.4v 80c 2s1p I don’t really know if that’s a good one but I like it for more run time for trails.

Very informative. I run Protek 3600mah 3s 100c LiHiv batteries and I'm getting just as much run time as my buddies with 5000mah Lipo batteries. Maybe you could do a video on High Voltage batteries and how they compare to regular Lipo batteries.

Idk really I’m a bigger fan of my big battery’s just cuz we can be out all day but I definitely see the advantage of the smaller batteries. I’m in the middle of looking at downsizing now cuz I can’t get my big ones into my rp power wagon body so we’ll see

Another quality video full of information. #GreyBeardGang

I have 5kmah packs in my scale SCX Defender and rc4wd Hilux. Both are used for long drives with some rock crawling. I easily get 2 hours out of them. Sure beats the 1200mah nicad packs from my rc10 days.

Lol I started out soldering nicad cells together and used a board with lightbulbs to plug into to discharge lol 😂 how far they have came since 2002

Great information as always John!

Bully 2 comp crawler, I run 11.1 3s 2200 mah 60c for free crawls at the beach and get a good 35-45 mins on 2 35 turn brushed. Axial wraith spawn, I run 11.1 3 s 5000 mah 60c for long haul trailing and rock racing. Pushing 5.5inch tall 2.2 tire takes a lot o juice.

I use Gensace 2s and 3s but It really depends on where I’m at in elevation and type of weather. I have 3 U4 rigs and 12 crawlers . All of my rigs are brushless and they are running your 3300kv motor and esc.

I'm just getting into crawling and trailing and never thought about what different batteries could do for the type of trailing I want to do. Great video! 👍

Thanks for this. Fun run I have both 2200 (1.5 hour) and a 3500 (2.5+ hours) 35c's. Gens and Pulse brands. Now converting a scx10 to a comp so more than likely run your suggestions. Thanks again. #HolmesAllDay

Awesomeness! How about a vid on battery connectors?

tattu makes a really good 4s for quads i have 20 of them i fly but now i use them for crawling lol.

What battery do I need for my gen8 axe redcat???? I want to buy the perfect one ??

Thunder powers were always the best lipos with a 6c charge rate they are incredible. They pack insane punch as well. Your going to pay but there packs are no joke. Thinderpower do to have balance leads and get way way more then 30 cycles. What thunder powers did you run couldnt of been there high end packs cause those go forever and have over 100c discharge.

just a curiosity Could you put a Full Metal Front and Rear Axle for Axial RBX10 Ryft 1/10 RC Cralwer, car improvement parts, accessories but let the comma be 2.2

5500 50c 3s in my scx10ii lasts 2 hrs, even running trails in about an 1"1/2 of snow ,that works good for me

Always great info 🤙🤙🤙

I run NIMH. I dont have to worry about water ingress into my Battery when I am chassis deep in the middle of a River and since I only use Brushed motors I don't need to worry about amperage delivery and since they are heavier.. You don't need wheel weights to keep the front end down when running up hill.

Great VID..🤙🤙 I'm running brushed in al my rigs..using GenAce 2s 5000mah (50c)..just hobby trails. Gmade GOM Axial scx10.2 Cross-rc kc6e And a home build 6x6

I like 2200 mah 3s packs.

I use Protek 3600 mah LIHV batteries.

I Always love how informative your videos are. I run Gens Ace 5200 3s packs in my SCX10.2 and my Wraith. They are a bit slimmer profile and about the size of a standard hard pack 2s. I'm just trailing with them.

I run 3s 5200 mah last about two hours on my gen 8

I trail run for fun and exercise. I run 5000-2c-. 35t

At the shop i work at, we prefer the gens ace packs. Far less returns over other brands. We sell a ton of the 3300 3 cell packs for most crawling setups. I would get 3.5 hours in a stock scx10 2. Thanks for informative video.

So sorry but i just have to: John Holmes 😂😂🤣🤣

Great video! New to the channel and just subbed. I'm a basher so I have a lot of high C batteries. I use PowerHobby for those and my smaller rigs I use Venom because of the interchangeable connectors.

With an rc4wd I run a 3s 5000 because the body is such a pain to get off, and the weight doesn't matter. Thanks for posting.

i run 3000mah 3s 30c (333)

4s 2250 for competitive trailing and climbing things your buddies cant.

I run 3s 4000-4500 mah I like the weight up front for hills

Great info John! Rock Racing wise, I’m using mostly 3s packs about 5000-5500mah and 65c packs for a 3000kv 550 canned motor. Depending on the main, I’ve gotten away with as little as 3000mah 3s packs, but it’s a gamble - but the weight savings is cool

Hello i have crawel with hobbywing 1080 esc and motor 550 large 34t my car is heavy but good ballance so i find battery 3s 3500mah 50c i use it 1 time with 1 esc econmy from china and is burn is 5 minuts so my question is : Can i use with hobbywing 1080 battery 3s 3500 mah 50c or is to big and risk burn eesc ?? Battery is not heavy and in car feet good and ballance ok great your video

Gens Ace batteries and I don't use any less than a 45c 3s

I primarily run 5-6000 mAh, 2&3s mostly. I mainly do this to achieve a 3 hour runtime goal in my rigs. I run Floureon, Turnigy, etc.

How do you store/charge your batteries safely, John? While I do use Lipos, I have more NIMH because my BatSafe is at max capacity and I find NiMH to be "Good enough" for most of the crawling and bashing I do. In some cases, the slow death when NiMH are running out of juice is way more desirable than the instant death you get with Lipos - especially when you're on a trail that's less than ideal to stop and change a battery on.

I just switched to running 3s I just do a little trail running with a relatively heavy truck so far those Pro Tek 3s 3500 mah small packs have been perfect I usually run one with a second one as backup plenty of runtime for me

Nice

I really like the venom 2200 3s. I get about an hour of trailing/crawling. Not really into the comp end of things. Just enjoy trailing and seeing what I can do and get better at it. Central CT with a trx 4 defender. Stock motor (when she goes I'm goin holmes), hw 1080 esc, 20kg steering servo, 45t spur, 9t pinion. Beadlocks/ hyrax. Some brass up front. Hilly, slick rock, ledge, riverbeds, little mud. Great video thank you.

Good video, great recommendations. However helping the masses with the math would be a big help. Instead of recommending a particular discharge rating explain to your followers how to figure those numbers. Explain the correlation between rpms and voltage. How to calculate discharge rating How gearing affects final ratios and load demand on systems. Gear down-volt up, but explain what is actually happening and why reduction and high rpm motors can make great crawling motors. 4s lipo, 1300mah 75c discharge Trailmaster ble pro 2200kv puller pro 56t/8t

3S 50c 4,500 mAh HW system in a Trx4. Can get 3 hours on a trail walk. This exactly fits Trx4 battery tray.

iv ditch lipos. li ion all the way

I'm confused. Is the higher the mah the better or lower? I have a 2S 5800 mah and it doesn't seem to give the same power as a 3S 4800 mah. 3s let's me do donuts on my kitchen floor, 2s doesn't.

Venom fly 2200 30c packs, in scx10 ii. Have been working good. But like the sounds of the 3300 with higher c rating. I have some older 1300 35c. I am going to change connectors on them and try them out. The 2200s fit battery box sitting flat not on there side.

I use a 2200mah 3s on all my trucks. Trail running mainly. I prefer my truck heavy though. I like how my suspension flexes with leafs. Not trying to impress people with anything

I run Helios 1500mah 50c 3s batteries and still get 3-3.5 hours out of 1 battery on a 1800kv fusion pro motor

I'm getting into RC and I wish people would use words that I can understand like 30 Cycles what does that mean you can only use the battery 30 times

I'm a fan of the graphene lipo's like the turnigy or Protekrc due to the 100+ c discharge rates, as this allows me to also use them for my FPV drones without having to purchase separate batteries for each hobby. (They're expensive enough hobbies as it is :D) Love the videos and I'm new to crawling, and really appreciate all the teaching your videos provide! (and the occasional pun!) Looking forward to my first Holmes Hobbies brushed purchase soon!

I use a Venom 3S 3300mah 35C in my SCX10ii using a Crawlmaster 540 16T motor, I average 2h 09 per pack (shortest run 1h 36m, longest 3h 10m)

My neighbor said she needs one of those big packs for her battery operated boyfriend. Apparently AAA just isn't enough.

I run a castle mamba x with a 3800 kv in traxxas trx4 with a 1500 mah 4s gensace bashing battery

I’m new to the RC world but I have seen some videos of batteries that catch on fire and almost like blow up what can I do to prevent that from happening to me

hey John, very good informations, thx - what is your favorite joice / Combo for the whole electronic? ESC - Motor - Servo - Battery? and it is very hard to get some Holmes Hobbies Products in Germany … can you help?

I just got a Ariel UMG10 6x6 can I run the 11.1 3s Lipo on it?

my rig is 1/16 summit with some upgrades i use a 2000mah 2s 35c venom pack love that battery

Great video and new subscriber here. For trail fun I use a 7600 mah 2s in my trx bronco, it goes for a 4 or 5 hours 😆

for trails i like to run a 4400 25c in my scx10iii is that a good choice?

Biggest battery to fit in capra battery location is what I use on all my crawlers

Hi Holmes! I just bought a SCX10.2. In my country is very difficult to find batteries. I'll use the truck very quite. No competition. Is good a 7.2V 3000mAh NIMH pack? I'm scared of LIPO batteries. Thank you for your videos and your help!!

I was at The Fix (12h, Europe, 2017) with a SCX10 (35T, too slow geared, old lipos) and with a 2s 6.600mAh i got aboud an hour of runtime. lipos wear really bad and the motor was hot as hell... Then i switched to brushless (Mamba X, 2280KV on 3s) and on the first trailrun/walk my 3s 2.200mAh was empty after 7.7km - i felt like i was entering a new world, runtime- and rangewise.

Good review thanks. Trying to get my gigantic crawler out moving again. Been a long time. Forgot a lot about batteries and so much new stuff.

Prof . Holmes surely eat, sleep & crawl!😁

I need a bigger battery for my rock force what do you recommend

What kinda of run time would I get in a Bomber running a 3500kv puller pro and a BLE with a 3s 5000 35C, just trailing and bashing a little.

I just ordered ready to run rig and it will be my first rc car ever. I dont know nothing so i have to ask. It came with brushed motor and not li-on battery. Can i just change battery with li-on without changing motor and electronics?

Hey John, great video! Would you recommend running batteries in series or parallel ? Maybe a part 2 to this video ??

Great video. I have been into all forms of RC going back to the early 80's and I am still learning....LOL. Yes, keep the videos comming.

Very informative dude thanks for that 👍 awesome video

Been running 30-35c 3400 3s for a few years on my rigs. I mostly do crawling and G6 style stuff. It’s probably time to swap them out but they still balance so 🤞🤘

should talk about graphene!

nicely explained. What would be the downside of using 6s pack with 1900kV sensored motor?

Dang hobby shop sold me a giant 7000

What battery should I get for my bully Moa 2 rtr

Very information packed video Jon, thanks again for sharing your vast expertise with us. Wicked video!! Having just gotten back into RC's & specifically Crawlers, in the last year & half I'm blown away by the battery's & electronics available. It's been a steep learning curve from what we were building & doing 30 years ago!! So honestly I'm an older dude still trying to sort out what'll work best in my scratchbuilt rigs, etc. That's just one of the reasons I run with Holmes products so often & very much appreciate your videos, thanks again Brother.

power hobby 2s lipo

The battery connector is not traxxas?

awesome. i'm going to get back into RC. pretty minor before but now...more durable/water proof, able to afford more, Lipo, run times etc. Looking at that trx-4 sport Traxxas. didn't know what batteries I want. this helped. I want to have fun...fun in snow/sand...not so much crawling major stuff and going 5-10 m/h. looking for more speed. wondered about run time. wasnt' that much fun in the past...but you guys are saying like 45 minutes plus easy....and full power until dead, no winding down for a few minutes with these lipos...cool

So I'm just curious I'm running a Tekin 45t with the hobbywing 1080. Tekin says this motors for us capable but I can not find a 4S capable ESC besides the HW 880. What's the most powerful 3's battery I could go with to get the most torque if that's even possible. Currently have a 3s at 35c

I use a gensace adventure 3s 3600mah battery’s I get like 2+ hours of runtime with my style of driving.

I thought you had forgotten about us. HaHa

who else still runs NiMH?!?! i love them for the weight, hooked two 5000mah 6 cells together in parallel for 10,000mah. since i have a hand built metal bumper, winch, front mounted battery tray and zero weight in the back, i put the second battery in the rear and now my truck will crawl through anything. looks super realistic too. just way to far in to far into nimh batteries and need to wait until the majority dies and then i can switch to lipo, will have to completely re do my rig for the less weight though.

My rig has twin motor on axles. One 60A Esc. The 800mah nimh pack only lasts 5 minutes. Upgrading to a 2s Li-on 3500mah pack. If that works out okay, I'll see. I may change out my esc to a Sabertooth. I need to scope the waveform of initial power to the motors to adjust instantaneous torque. I highly recommend a high quality pwm board. Part of my low duration power issue is my 20kg steering servo.

Thanks. This is the most confusing thing about the RC vehicles. I’m a 58year old engineer and I get brain fog, when I try to figure it,out. So about 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a new RTR Axial CRC Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I then went nuts with the mods....all aluminum suspension, real hydraulic shocks, bead-locking rims and new bigger tires, additional LEDs etc. Shit I probably have $800 invested in that “toy.” Then, like many new hobbies, I got busy with some other things and it got set to the side. I haven’t run the Jeep in probably 5 years. Only have one battery - a two cell LiPo that fills the battery tray (about 2/3 the thickness of the big one in this video). It was like $110, and I never wished I had more (never ran out of juice before I stopped “playing” with it). That said, I assume it’s toast after sitting for so long. I’d like to get another, but I’m not a fanatic; will never run it for hours at a time. So if I can get a $50 that does what I personally get out of a $110 battery, I would be up for it. Anyhow, I’ll head up to the hobby / rc store later this week, but if anyone reads this and,would like to give me any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for posting.

Gensace 2600 mah 3s 60c

I am putting in a Axial AX31312 35T motor in my stock Redcat Everest-10 and just ordered 2S 50C 5200mAh Lipos will I be ok to maybe run for an hour or so?

4:30 I've heard that a lot.

I run 3s 5ah packs for just running around and bashing. My logic behind this is it keep battery temps lower for running, I generally only need one battery so I won’t take an extra (gets me 1.5hr on a trx6 with puller pro 2700kv,) and it was only $4 more for the extra amp hour over the 3s 4ah traxxas battery.

Good information as always. I still use 2S, but want to switch to 3S. And use lighter batteries, I now use Turnigy 5000MAh 2s hard case batteries. Great batteries, but thinking of going to somewhere around 3S and smaller size. To bad the Helios are not available in Europe. Would love to get those. Thing I am wondering. Is there any reason why there are so little hard case 3S batteries? It is all soft case.

This may be a "duh" question but on hard case lipo packs, is it just a plastic shell around a soft pack or does it have foam or anything? My inner nerd is really hoping its just plastic and good ol chinese volatiles. i have a good business idea !!!!! Holmes Hard Packs... or Baitys Battery Bunkers.

I run a max amps 3600 3s saddle pack on my trx-4. It's great because I can get about 3hrs of run time and mount it hella low on the rails. Not cheap but honestly at $89 it's not too expensive considering it's a true 100c pack. It's a little heavy (250 grams) but because it's mounted low and forward on the side rails it still has a very low cg and climbs, decends and sidehills equally well. Running saddle also allows you to get rid of the entire battery tray assembly. Also Max Amps has insanely good customer service. Definitely reccomend.

Hey John, do you have a preference in what make of battery you use?

I have an older axial ascii scorpion. With the stock axial ax24004 motor. Battery is a 5200 mah 7.4 from zeee It's a 50c battery.

I’ve heard others say that your esc has a minimum discharge rate. Meaning that if your esc wants 30c and you only have a 20c battery, than the power delivery system in the esc will be over worked. Could result in an esc fail or cause other components in your system not to work properly due to the esc not having enough power. What’s your opinion on that, what can I do if it’s a problem? Maybe it could be a good video topic.

Doesn't more weight = more grip when crawling ? I understand using a smaller battery to help keep the center of gravity down and trying not to make it top heavy but surely more weight lower down ( wheel weights for example ) will help your tyres to grab on, that's simple traction theory...

I run 1.5amp 100c’s and get through g6’s because of these and the two will run me 3hrs min I don’t think I’ll ever go back to such a large battery say 5amp.