Sear's Hobby Page

In the search for a reasonably priced battery to replace my now dead stock 8.4v unit, I was informed by a fellow airsofter that a local diy shop in Pasig was selling lithium polymer
(commonly known as lipoly) batteries at an unusually low price.

Most lipoly batteries sell for php1500 and up depending on the brand. I was pleasantly surprised to find one for less than one thousand. Pictured on the left is a Bremen Haus 11.1v, 15c lipoly costing php 999.75. Low enough right? After the discount, at 20%, that brings the price down to php 799!

In the past I have always been wary of where to buy batteries. For me, it's not just having a good return policy that matters, I also take into account the shop's reputation as well. Since this Handyman Galleria, one would not expect such a shop to sell lipolies.

Upon entering the store, I immediately asked one of the reps about rechargeable batteries (I wasn't sure if they even knew about lipolies based on a call I made to them a day before). I was asked what type of battery I was looking for and told them. I was directed to another rep who took me to the battery section, where on display was a fair amount of lipolies of varying sizes and shapes. The price range was something that caught my attention. For example, an 11.1v  20c bar-type Bremen Haus costs just a little above a thousand after the discount ( I wish I was able to get pictures of it for this blog).

I decided to buy a triple chuck 11.1v 15c 1250mah unit. As this is my first ever lipoly, I decided to play safe and get a moderately strong battery since I plan to use it for CQB where ROF and not FPS matters. At purchase, the battery comes with Tamiya plugs which I replaced with deans plugs. The wiring looked good, with no signs of tear or abuse from shipping.

The battery was used with a JG G3 RAS. The spring was a 2-year old Guarder SP110. I decided to use the battery without charging it just to see if it would work. After about a thousand bbs, I check the battery and noticed it was a bit warm to touch. Not wanting to have bloated cells, I decided to take it out for cooling and its first charge. Total charge time was around 35 minutes using a Linkman balancer. I did not wait for the charger to indicate a full charge. After 10 minutes, I plugged it in my AEG again and spent the rest of the afternoon playing. After five  7-minute scenarios, two magazine changes, the battery was still working well (My gun's mag holds 500 bbs).

That game was played last week. Since then I have yet to charge the battery and simply stored it in a cool dry play. This morning I tried it with another G3, This one uses a TU 130 spring that has seen limited use. The gun uses the new JG strong motor, a motor known for torque rather than RPM. I fired 10 three-round bursts and I'm quite happy to say that the battery provided a consistent charge.

Overall, I would say this is one of my better purchases where airsoft is concerned. A good price, good quality, things most of us look for in any product. If you're looking for lower priced lipolies I suggest you visit Handyman in Robinson's Galleria. According to the sales rep, the sale of these batteries is until December, so better get there while stocks last. Aside from batteries, they sell Lipoly charger balancers ranging from the most basic to the so-called "intelligent" versions. This is not the end of this review, I will be posting more after each time I use it.