# battery



## mymodeltrain (May 14, 2013)

I wonder if this is a good product, http://www.ebay.com/itm/One-Li-ion-...133?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338255dc4d


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

If I was doing Battery, I would only consider 2200ma for a small (single motor) engine

Around 5000ma would be better for much longer run times on multiple motor engines.

And 14 volts is for slow to medium speed locos, 18 to 22 volts is needed if you need high speed of the modern locos.


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## mymodeltrain (May 14, 2013)

Thanks Dan, I will try to remember those statistics. 
Do you think that battery in ebay is reliable. One hand we want to buy economical things but on the other hand, we have to take safety in an account. Particularly, I learned from this forum that Li-Ion battery can explode or cause fire.


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

That's a reasonable price for the battery in question. Note that it states cells are of Sanyo origin and that a PCM is included. The only concern I would have is the age of the battery, an older NEW battery regardless of cycles in play, started its life cycle the day the chemicals were combined.

The battery appears to have the common to G scale model railroad 2 pin connector (make sure polarity matches your needs, if not you can simply flip flop the red and black wires).

The PCM offers a layer of safety preventing over-charge, over-discharge, current limiting and short circuit protection.

As long as you utilize the appropriate Lithium battery charger and are cognizant of the needs and or requirements of Lithium battery charging you should have zero problems herein. 

Dan's suggestions for voltage and capacity works well for me.

Michael


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

If you can build your installations such that the battery is removable, packs of that capacity (2200 - 2600mAh) are great. That's pretty much my standard size battery that I've been using for the past 6 years now. When one goes flat, I just pull it and replace it. I usually get between 2 - 4 hours out of a battery of that size, and they charge up in around 90 minutes or so on my charger, so with just two batteries, I could theoretically run continuously. I run medium locos, with one or two motors, usually with trains around 6 or so cars in length.

I can't speak to this specific battery pack, but that's a good price. Typically you'll find them for $35 - $45, so even if they only last half the life as the more expensive packs, you've broken even. Folks have said that the Li-Ion packs are good for 5 years or so. I've just recently had my first pack that didn't want to take a full charge, and it's one of my oldest packs. It'll be interesting to see if the others go belly up, or if this is a fluke. Still, compared to other chemistries I've used (and I've used many), these are the best combination of weight, capacity, and life that I've come across so far. 

Later,

K


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## mymodeltrain (May 14, 2013)

Thanks all for the information. I just ordered that battery last night. My locos usually are small and I don't run continuously as I usually did with track powered. Usually, I watched the trains 10-15 minutes a time and I did a few times aday. I enjoy watching battery-powered trains so much, not only because of their realistic speed but also free from routine track cleaning.


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