Which battery type is best?

[SubDude]

Question, when it comes to running batteries in the wet, I only have actual experience with SLA type batteries and I have seen Bob's video for waterproofing LiPo's but I am less familiar with the pro's and con's of other suitable battery types. For instance, I am wondering if NiMh batteries are better than SLA's? I know that for the same basic amount of weight as my SLA's, I could get around 4 times the capacity out of LiPo's but they would be very expensive in comparison. So, what do some of you more seasoned veterans prefer to run? Sorry if this has already been discussed at length already.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Only thing I don't worry about in the wet are the gel-cells (SLA). Other than that I find 'waterproofing' long, involved strings of multi-cell batteries a fools game.

Lithium-polymer in the dry is the way to go -- though it's not what you asked for. Why? Because you don't need to give up much internal volume to them as they have the highest power-density (so far) of any chemistry currently available to us.



David

[RCSubGuy]

I have done it all. Dave is right. Gram for gram, LiPos have the highest energy density and hence biggest bang for the buck. I have, however, found that in some cases, running wet just makes sense. I use SLA when I can, and if space is a bigger concern, a water proofed NiMh. To date, I've been too chicked to waterproof a LiPo, but an upcoming build will have a little 1500mAh in the wet.

I have a chapter dedicated to batteries and waterproofing in my book, by the way!