Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Anyone ever tried one of these?

From: Jack Brooks <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:25:30 -0700

Doug,

I suspect the lipo starter is for real.  Lipos are powerful, but with
incredible power comes incredible responsibility.  They hold a lot of energy
and if mistreated they can cause nasty fires.  I have used a lead acid
tractor battery for the starter on my RC engines for years.  I recently
converted it to a lipo.  Instead of that mid sized lead acid battery, I use
an oversize 1x1.5x5 inch 4-cell lipo I assembled from old beater battery
cells, the ones that didn't get wimpy when the lipo finally started to lose
it's capacity.  The lipo cranks the starter faster (16v vs. 12v) but it
lasts all day, no problem.  If it didn't, I could recharge it a lot faster
than the lead acid battery.  

As long as you don't exceed the rated discharge rate or let a cell drop
below 3+ volts, lipos are exceptional.  The minimum voltage you should let
them go to is subject to discussion.  Technically, I think the spec is
3v/cell, but they seem to last longer if you don't beat on them with heavy
and deep discharges.  I tend to try to use 3.3/cell as a minimum.

Jack
p.s. for those in the know, yes, I installed a balance plug on the home made
lipo pack.  We balance every lipo pack every time we use them.

-----Original Message-----
From: Shop-talk [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Doug
Braun
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2014 5:40 PM
To: Shop-Talk
Subject: [Shop-talk] Anyone ever tried one of these?

Hello,

I was wondering about a couple of (garage-related) gadgets I have seen
recently:

1:  Has anyone ever used a Uview "Airlift" to change a car's coolant?  This
is a gadget that you connect to a compressed air source, that generates a
vacuum to suck all the air out of your car's (drained) cooling system, and
lets fresh coolant get sucked in.  I was thinking of getting one for my
Prius (which has TWO cooling systems).

2:  I have seen these portable jump-starters that use a lithium instead of
a lead-acid battery,  They are very small, only about 1x3x6 inches, and
will keep their charge for a long time while sitting in your trunk.  I am
amazed that such a small device can out put enough current to actually
start a car.  Are they for real?

Thanks,
Doug
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

---

From: Darrell Walker <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:29:49 -0700

> Prius (which has TWO cooling systems).

Hi Doug,

I used one of those on my Wedge, to see if it would help to get trapped air
out.  I dont know if it helped in that respect, but it did a fine job of
filling the system.
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]