Hello I am building a combat robot for an upcoming BotsIq competition. I am having a difficult time figuring out what kind and type of battery to use.
Li-po batteries are prohibited.
I am using
2 RS550s each on a their own Bane Bot BB-13-45 ESC
1 Turnigy 3648-1450 Kv bushless motor on a K-force 100A ESC
If I could get help specing a battery, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
RK
Hi,
LiPo’s are prohibited ? That is very strange for a combat robot competition, are they scared that it will catch fire ?
The most important thing to consider is how much current your whole robot will need. What is good with LiPo is that they can output a very high amount of current continuously without overheating or being damaged. That is not the case with other battery types.
Are LiFePo4 banned too ?
If you can tell me the dimensions and weight of the robot, I may be able to offer a few suggestions.
I’m not a pro but it looks like banning LiPo battery for this type of competition is a big problem.
Thanks for replying,
The robot will be 15lbs and outer dimensions of 12in x 16in x 5in.
As for the battery types that are allowed, here are the rules regarding batteries for this competition:
5.3.1 Allowed Battery Types
Only commercially available, rechargeable batteries of the following types can be used:
a. Sealed Lead-Acid (SLA) batteries, provided they are of a leak-proof type, and meet the
requirements defined in Appendix A.
b. Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries.
c. Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries.
d. Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries.
Lithium-Polymer batteries are specifically not allowed.
Hi,
Normally these competitions will also have rules on weight and dimensions. Do you have any link or PDF file for this event ?
From what I see your system will draw quite a bit of current. Without knowing exactly how much, it is very hard for me to suggest something.
The brushless motor you are using can draw up to 45-50 amps of current at Max efficiency and each of your 550 motors will draw around 40-50 amps.
Just for the motors, you need 150 Amps of continuous current. That is a lot !!
Lead Acid could work but they are very heavy;
NiMH cannot provide more than 1-2 C of continuous discharge current;
Ni-Cad are really bad for the environment, I won’t be suggesting these;
Lithium-Ion are normally limited at 0.2 C of continuous discharge current;
Lead Acid seems to be the only solution, but I’m not even sure you will be able to draw that much current from a Lead Acid battery.
My guess is that you are trying to make your robot way too big/strong for the event. The fact that you can’t use Li Po batteries means you have to make a lot of sacrifices in your design.
Hope this helps.
