Lipo or Nimh

[Swuishytacos]

Hi I'm new to airsoft I have the CYMA CM.011 g36 and it recommend a NIMH battery but I hear loads of people telling me to use a lipo but I have no clue so can anyone tell me why I need lipo? 

 

[EDcase]

LiPo's give more consistent power from a smaller package and can be recharged from any level back to full.  You must get a decent charger. (search forum for suggestions)

NiMh will work fine but have more 'memory' so are best discharged before charging each time.  You still need to get a good charger to keep them in good condition.

LiPo's will provide full power until exhausted then stop. (Best not to drain completely. Stop using as soon as it feels weak)

NiMh will slowly get weaker as they drain

 

[Leonine]

I use a 11.1v LiPo Crane battery on my G36. I find that to give the best results in rate of fire. I also find the batteries to be longer lasting.

 

[EDcase]

Personally I wouldn't use an 11.1v in a standard gun.  If anything fails under the extra strain it will be spectacular. (and expensive)

7.4v will do for standard AEGs

 

[Adolf Hamster]

gotta love that i'm mid-guide writing on a bunch of stuff like this.

essentially lipo's are capable of much higher currents, their power curve is better (it goes for ages then suddenly stops rather than the slow decline of nimh), and they're less susceptable to memory (or losing performance over time)

however they do need a little more care, you want good quality charging equipment, they can burn through your trigger contacts if you're not using a mosfet, and if you over-discharge them (for example by trying to keep firing as it runs out of juice) then it'll kill them.

have a read of this thread as to why you need to take your charging equipment seriously:

https://airsoft-forums.uk/topic/49777-imax-b6s-are-st-change-my-mind/

 

[Leonine]

Personally I wouldn't use an 11.1v in a standard gun.  If anything fails under the extra strain it will be spectacular. (and expensive)

7.4v will do for standard AEGs

Nothing wrong with a few fireworks on the field ??

 

[EDcase]

Nothing wrong with a few fireworks on the field ??

Except when its your precious AEG going up in flames or chewing gears ?

 

[Brophy]

Nothing wrong with a few fireworks on the field ??

Yeah, just say you brought some of that "American freedom" to the field? ?

 

[EDcase]

Then it starts a forest fire and you get sued for damages to the site ?

 

[Leonine]

Then it starts a forest fire and you get sued for damages to the site ?

Knew my flamethrower was a bad idea ?

 

[EDcase]

Knew my flamethrower was a bad idea ?

You might be taking airsoft a bit too seriously ?

 

[Swuishytacos]

So basically go for a 7.4 lipo and it'll work just as well as my NIMH ? Haha

 

[Leonine]

So basically go for a 7.4 lipo and it'll work just as well as my NIMH ? Haha

Yep if anything it will work better ?

 

[Swuishytacos]

Thank you all for that descriptive story of fireworks and America 

 

[Leonine]

Thank you all for that descriptive story of fireworks and America 

Always a pleasure! Also welcome to the forums ? 

 

[Ad_]

I use both types for different guns.

LiPo batteries offer a lot of benefits over NiMH, being much lighter (and typically much smaller than similar capacity NiMH packs), having better capacity and negligible self-discharge, but they require a lot more care to be taken with their use and storage and the charging process is more complex and "risky" (there's a reason why fireproof LiPo charge bags are a thing). If they're abused in any way (e.g. over-charging, attempting to recharge after over-discharging, using them without doing a balance charge, piercing or otherwise physically damaging them etc.) there's a good chance of them "venting with flame".

NiMH batteries are heavier than LiPo, have lower capacity and suffer from high self-discharge (I charge mine the night before a game and then top them up in the morning) but they're very forgiving and it's relatively hard to accidentally ruin them or get them to fail in a way that damages anything other than the battery pack itself.

NiMh will work fine but have more 'memory' so are best discharged before charging each time.

The memory effect was a big issue with NiCd cells, but it's not something to be concerned about with NiMH cells. I would recommend against fully discharging every time as that'll just wear them out faster.

they can burn through your trigger contacts if you're not using a mosfet

Trigger contacts getting burnt out will happen regardless of battery type - I personally wouldn't use any gun without having a MOSFET fitted.

 

[Swuishytacos]

So would a 7.4v lipo last a all day skirmish if charged correctly?

 

[Leonine]

So would a 7.4v lipo last a all day skirmish if charged correctly?

yes maybe get 2 on the day just in case though it depends how much you fire and if full auto or not.?

 

[Ad_]

So would a 7.4v lipo last a all day skirmish if charged correctly?

That depends on the size/capacity of the battery and how much you shoot. I'd recommend getting at least a couple of batteries anyway & swapping them half way through the day, that way you're much less likely to ruin them by accidentally over-discharging (you might also want to consider getting a low battery alarm to help prevent this happening) and you have a spare in case there's a problem with one of them.

 

[Swuishytacos]

It's a CQB event so semi auto only and they would be 1200mha