Lithium Battery???

Has anyone tried li-on 14500 rechargables given they are practically same size as AA but 3.2 or 3.7 volts?

So did anyone tried it out yet? I am really interested.

[Ucwepn]

As said earlier in this thread if you want to run a rechargeable lithium batteries you need a lipo battery alarm plugged in to tell you when the voltage is getting too low as this hurts the batteries, you also need an expensive balance charger. Not really a cheap endeavor just to have a faster train.

Lithium rechargeable batteries are also a fire risk, just look at how many hoverboards have gone up in smoke due to incorrect charging and cheap lipo batteries

As said earlier in this thread if you want to run a rechargeable lithium batteries you need a lipo battery alarm plugged in to tell you when the voltage is getting too low as this hurts the batteries, you also need an expensive balance charger. Not really a cheap endeavor just to have a faster train.

Lithium rechargeable batteries are also a fire risk, just look at how many hoverboards have gone up in smoke due to incorrect charging and cheap lipo batteries

But Li-ion is completely different from Li-po. I think Li-ion is much more safer and is using by cell phone. the only problem for Li-ion battery is that it will be aging even you don't use it but it has no memories effect. but yes, running too low it will hurt the batteries life and unsafe to recharge.

So, is there a thread teach me how to convert my Chatting James (single AA slot) to 3V? It is funny that the chatting cargo has 2 x AAA batteries but not the engine.

I am starting to gather material to install LED light in one of the passenger cargo.


many thanks!

[Super]

Look forward to seeing what you come up with Lee!

But Li-ion is completely different from Li-po. I think Li-ion is much more safer and is using by cell phone. the only problem for Li-ion battery is that it will be aging even you don't use it but it has no memories effect. but yes, running too low it will hurt the batteries life and unsafe to recharge.

Li-po is a subset of Li-ion. There are also Lifepo4 which are the 3.2 volt variants and are safer than li-po 3.7 volts. The main issue with using these in trains would be the need for a voltage alarm as mentioned by Tramp. Ucwepn mentioned an expensive bakance charger was required but this should not be required for single cells as balancing is required across multiple cells for Li-ion.

I have recently tried using rechargeable LI-ion 14500 batteries. they are the same size as AA, slide right in there and the trains scream. the only problem is that they are too fast sometimes. I got a 'smart charger' on ebay for 20$ and a bunch of the 14500 batteries (and some NIMH AA and AAA batteries) for less than $1 each. I also got some AA to C plastic battery adapters to use in the trains that take C batteries. It all seems to be working well. The 14500 battery gives off ~3.7 V and best I can tell the 130 motors all seem to be rated for ~3-4V.
I'd rather recharge batteries then buy and replace the motors.
KM

[Super]

Screaming trains LOL. What are the NIMH batteries? When using the plastic AA adapters to fit the C battery trains it is sometime necessary to add weight so the front end doesn't jump the rail or jump the points.

This 10.5 volt Talking Thomas has been running like a madman for hours on end for nearly 6 years now without even a hint or whiff of ever heating up.

Yeah I run my spencer on 7.4volts the motors are fine for the voltage, but if anything it’s too fast!

Here was a video a made of it a while back,

https://youtu.be/SltjiJRZBQY

I would have liked to have fitted a voltage alarm device, but there wasn’t enough space so I had to live without it!

That was great! Very cool that you can adjust the speed too! Awesome!