hobbyking

[John G.]

Is the demise of cheap lipos from Hobbyking partly responsible for the not inconsiderable increase in the cost of Align 6s 5200 mah lipos across all U.K suppliers?
Will Optipower be next with similar price increases? Lack of competition is a bad thing for us (yes, I appreciate the effect of the devaluation of the pound) but there has been no similar increase in the cost of the smaller lipos.
Regreting selling the big nitro as flying these larger electric models is getting very expensive

[Mark_T]

(yes, I appreciate the effect of the devaluation of the pound) but there has been no similar increase in the cost of the smaller lipos.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, the problem is with the difficulty and cost of shipping any lipo over 100Wh, everyone is up against the same problem, so yes, the larger packs (over 100Wh) are going to increase in price more than the smaller packs (under 100Wh) regardless of any competitive issues.

[atomiccomp]

The answer is simple, Fly Nitro! No pesky battery issues

[John G.]

Yes, and nice long flight times. Shame about all those engine bearings needing regular replacement though!

[cjm180]

or you drive all the way to the field and cant get it started!

[electricsceadu]

Yes, and nice long flight times. Shame about all those engine bearings needing regular replacement though!

the bearing life depends on how well you treat them
I don't have a problem with bearings, mine last around two to three years

[Sheldrake]

the bearing life depends on how well you treat them
I don't have a problem with bearings, mine last around two to three years

Hi I would be very grateful for tips on looking after bearings and nitro engines generally? Have you some of your own or links to good info?

thanks

[electricsceadu]

I never run the engine lean
in fact they all run slightly over rich
and run the regular
that's all I do
I don't run the engine dry, just drain the tank at the end of the days flying

the best 50 hyper I had the bearing still in ok condition after the ring broke with 5 years use on it without being stripped
I was running wildcat but now i'm on 20% opti as it the fuel I can get hold of

[Sheldrake]

I never run the engine lean
in fact they all run slightly over rich
and run the regular
that's all I do
I don't run the engine dry, just drain the tank at the end of the days flying

the best 50 hyper I had the bearing still in ok condition after the ring broke with 5 years use on it without being stripped
I was running wildcat but now i'm on 20% opti as it the fuel I can get hold of

Thanks for that. That's how I treat mine and so far the engines run sweetly. I use MT 20%

[cjm180]

When i had raptors many moons ago, i also ran 0s 50 hypers. The mistake i made was to park them up for a few years, without realising you have to treat them with afterrun / storage oil. Even tho they were inside warm and dry, over that time, the liner pitted, and the rings jamed in the piston!

[scallybert]

FWIW, I've just ordered 4 Turnigy 6S 5Ah packs from the international warehouse; largely to see how it would work.

The packs in themselves, were rather more than I have previously paid from the UK warehouse, but still masses less than Haiyin in the UK.

The issue, of course, is shipping. This is £24 for the 4 packs (was ~£19 for one); "Fedex Priority - International Priority - Dangerous Goods".

While this is nothing like the days when I got similar packs for £22 each from the UK warehouse, it doesn't seem horrendous. However, I haven't seen what the customs charges will be yet. [I expect to be hit, and (morally) should be.]

What does seem to be the case, is that the shipping looks manageable, *if* you're ordering several packs at a time.

[Grumpy]

I'll be interested to hear how it works out. I expect you will be hit for VAT (20%) plus the couriers 'processing fee'. For Royal mail that's about £8 flat rate, I'm not sure what Fedex charge.

Hobbyking used to reduce or avoid customs charges by marking down the value of the goods, but they dont do that anymore. I guess once they set up business in the UK and Europe they had to start towing the line on that sort of thing.

[Ruston]

As mentioned on this thread, the other option is to make up your own split packs from 2 3s packs, http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/main-d...ould-work.html

Current pricing in the U.K. Warehouse allows you to do this for around £28 per 6s 5000 for 20c packs. Postage is unrestricted so you're not stuck having to use expensive couriers. There are a number of advantages of this setup in that you can always split the pack to allow transport on an aircraft and, if a cell goes down, you can just replace half the pack.

[John G.]

Hi scallybert

Things have changed then as Hobbyking were not transporting 6s 5000mah lipos at all to the UK previously. Will be very interested to see how this goes WRT delivery time and any U.K charges. Please keep us updated and good luck.

Thanks
John

[scallybert]

Things have changed then as Hobbyking were not transporting 6s 5000mah lipos at all to the UK previously. Will be very interested to see how this goes WRT delivery time and any U.K charges. Please keep us updated and good luck.

Yes. I'd previously tried going through the order process, to see what happened; and got nowhere sensible. So, it must have changed.