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[Sinking Feeling]

hi all,
 
I've just got a new boat that came with a 6v lead acid battery, i have no knowledge of these and i don't think i have the correct charger for it anyway.
 
am i right in thinking a modern 6v nimh stick pack will do the job?
 
i get that there will be a weight issue between the two, but is that it?
 
Many thanks S.F   

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

It all depends on 'electrics'  in the boat. That is to say,  How much power it will need in Amps.

Could you tell us tell us the motor type and extra Radio fittings please  ?

ken

[Sinking Feeling]

hi ken
 
its an aeronaut torben tug and has the 6v geared kit motor from what i can see under the electrics deck.
 
It has an mtroniks viper marine 20.
 
The 6v battery has 3.3ah on it
 
Thanks S.F

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

That's great. 

You should be able to use a NimH as long as it's larger than 4000 mAh.

Ken

[Sinking Feeling]

Great, Thanks for your help. 

[Guy Bagley]

the stick pack  is nimh, , so can be fast charged if required at a rate of several amps, - the capacity of the battery you have is 3.3 amp hours,( so for example if you motor was to run on load and draw 3.3 amps your nihm battery would be able to supply power for one hour) -
 its a 6 volt stick so in theory could be used to power your boat... it will be alot lighter i guess than your lead acid battery... this may affect the trim on your boat so do some testing first
 
 
 
 the lead acid cell cant be charged quickly, it needs a trickle charge  of about half an amp  per hour or there abouts, -
 
you dont say what cpacity the lead acid battery is ... but i guess it may be higher than your stick pack  so again in theory it will power your model for longer than the stick pack....-( using the same example if you  lead acid battery was 6ah or 6 amp hour capacity you would get nearer 2 hours run time, so nearly  double that of the nimh stick pack )
 
 there is no reason why you couldnt swap them over,  just be careful with trim and ballasting- you may also need to  modify the plugs that come with the speed controller to accept a stick pack
 
 

[Sinking Feeling]

hi
sorry, i dont know what power the lead acid is. i would prefer the longest runtime possible.
 
connectors arent a problem as it has tamiya type soldered to it.
 
i'll get a photo of the battery.
 
Thanks S.F

[Sinking Feeling]

heres the battery.
Thanks

[inertia]

That's clearly a 3.3AH battery. There are some Sub-C sized 6v NiMH packs here, going up to 5AH @ about twenty pounds. http://www.component-shop.co.uk/html/large_packs.html
DM

[Sinking Feeling]

thanks for that, i was looking at these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6V-4300mAh-SubC-NiMH-battery-pack-Twin-Lead-Vapextech-/370689963562?

i presume these would have a longer runtime than the lead acid above?
 
Thanks
 

[NFMike]

It will be cheaper to get a charger for the SLA off ebay or wherever than pay near £20 for a NiMH battery pack.


That link in the post above says the listing has been removed.

[Sinking Feeling]

ooooops sorry try this one. 
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6V-4300mAh-SubC-NiMH-battery-pack-Twin-Lead-Vapextech-/370689963562?
 

[Guy Bagley]

thanks for that, i was looking at these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6V-4300mAh-SubC-NiMH-battery-pack-Twin-Lead-Vapextech-/370689963562?

i presume these would have a longer runtime than the lead acid above?
 
Thanks

yes with 4300 mah ( 4.3 amp hours ) these have a higher capacity than your 3.3ah lead acid battery-  again in theory this would run your boat for  longer than the lead acid  battery

[scoop]

Great, Thanks for your help. 

As a general guide trickle charging should be carried out at a rate = to 10% of the battery capacity For Example:  if you have a 4.0 ah (4000mah) battery then you need too use a charger rated at 400mah and charge a discharged battery for 14 to 16 hrs. Fast charging NiMh is a different ball game and is normally done using an automatic charger typically charging at 1- 5 amps. A lead acid battery has a much lower discharge capacity than a NiMh so if it's getting warm during use your motor may be pulling too much current from it.

[essex2visuvesi]

Something to bear in mind is the fact that NIMH batteries are quite a bit lighter then Lead acid so extra ballasting may be required to get the boat sitting right in the water

[Sinking Feeling]

Thanks to everyone for the help.
 
I will buy a specific lead acid charger and some of the 6v nimhs.
 
I'll try both types and see how it goes, you can never have too many batteries and i'm sure they'll come in for other projects/boats.
 
Thanks Again S.F