So i bought the drifter and i bought a couple of 7.2v packs from the LHS for about $40 each – they were 3600mah batteries. Good but expensive (for a cheap drifter anyway). So, i spotted an ebay store based in Hong Kong that was selling 2 X 3800mah Ni-Mh packs at about AU$40 for the two posted. It seemed like a pretty good deal so i thought what the hell. I mean, it’s not as if i need special ’super power’ racing packs anyway as the car is not raced as such.
I buy items from HK all the time so i had no hesitation. My Heli’s, parts and most of my Maxx parts all come from HK and i have never had any problems with the service. Infact, i’ve had more problems with local sellers on ebay than i have with international ones…
Anyway, 7 odd days later I got the two packs in the mail. Generally the first charge should be for 10+ hrs at 1/10C or 380ma in this case. I done that, the packs got warm as they should and nothing more. So, i popped one in the car and went for a drift. It seemed ok but didn’t last very long – about 5 mins which is pitiful. The other pack was the same. So, i slow charged them both again and gave it another shot the next day – Same result. I have never experienced this type of problem with battery packs so i messaged the seller with a general question of ‘How many cycles should these batteries need to achieve full capacity’. They replied with a generic text along the lines of ‘make sure you charge for 10hrs before use’. I was not overly happy with the reply but i thought i’d just stick with them for a bit and see what happens. After about 10 cycles and now using my smart charger at 1c rate (3.8A charge), the batteries would still only take about 1200mah.
I went to message the seller again but it seems that they are ‘no longer a registered user’. Odd since they had been a member since 2004. At about the same time I happened to notice that the 3800’s seemed to be much lighter than my 3600’s. I was starting to suspect that perhaps they were not 3800 cells. So, with the seller no longer active, beyond 60 days for buyer protection and the cost of a return likely to be at least half the cost of a new battery i decided to crack the heatshrink on the pack to inspect the cells.
When i finally cut through the two layers of shrink wrap i expected to see something dodgey but nothing prepared me for this!
That’s right, NO WHERE NEAR 3800mah at 1300mah and not only that they are Ni-CD cells, not Ni-Mh!!! Buyer beware! This could have caused huge problems. I was charging this battery at 1C (3.8A) when it is not really supposed to be charged at any more than 1.3A. If this had caused a fire or explosion I could have been in serious trouble. Not only that, it’s complete fraud. I’m not really sure how you could avoid getting these dodgey packs other than staying away from these generic ones completeley. My guess is that most of the cheapies on ebay are probably all from the same factory and just labelled differently. Either that or get a 100% money back guaruntee that the packs you are buying are definately of the specified capacity and chemistry.
If the seller resumes business then i will supply thier ID to anyone who wants it, otherwise just be very careful.