Turning a Mini into a Large
 

is it possible to take a large battery, strip the wires off and replace the large connector with a mini/small one. In theory it would work but im just wondering if the small difference in wire gage would make a difference. I dont feel like ordering a $2 adapter and paying $10 shipping and $20-$50 bokerage fee from UPS.

check the source, or other places first.. they may have the adapters you need.

i checked source, b+e electronics, battery boys and a few other places. noone has any idea where to get one

Mini connectors suck, really, they will add a whole pile of resistance to the circuit especially with a large battery. Carl/Madmax made a great little tutorial here that explains it more. In the end there are only two connectors you should be using with large packs, large connectors and deans. The connectors themselves are available at R/C car shops and other electronic stores, you don't even need soldering skills.

Adding a mini connector to large wires may not be possible because of the size of the wires but thats a good thing because if the wires are that large it means theres going to be a lot of current which a mini connector can't handle well.

The connectors required can be bought (get mine from eBay) for a few dollars for 10 packs, most places that sell premade adapters charge up to $15 each when they arent worth anywhere near that.

the adapters that you use to make a mini battery gun connect to a large battery have the same gage wires as the mini battery's and they work fine on my friends gun. I see what you are saying and ill decide if i want to risk it. I dont feel like paying 50 bucks for a 2$ item (yes it does work out to $50... dont ask)

Holy, just buy better connectors and a soldering iron. There won't be any problem with wire gauges or anything like that.

They work fine but they add resistance which causes the connector to heat up and decreases your rate of fire.

That's only if you're going from large to mini. He wants to go from mini to large, which will allow greater current flow.



Your local hobby shop should carry the plugs you're looking for.

To clarify im putting a mini connector on a large battery,

if i did it would a mini battery charger charge the newly converted battery the same way a large charger with the same stats charge a normal/ unconverted large battery (my friend has a large battery charger that has the same stats as my mini charger except for the mini/ large connector)

I'd say just go 100% Deans connector and be gone with all those crappy Tamiya connectors that have a higher failure rate than the Deans. Yes, you'd have to solder, yes, you'd have lower resistance.

Wire, don't got a higher number (meaning that in American Wire Gauge wire size, the lower the number, the higher the amp capacity, the lower resistance) #18AWG.

Going for a larger gauge (the lower the AWG number, the higher the thickness of wire, has lower resistance and higher current rating) is really pretty useless considering that the wires that run through the mechbox are #18AWG Teflon insulated, so if you decide to spend money on higher AWG wire to lower the resistance, the wires in the mechbox will keep it the same as if you didn't, you'll just be wasting money.

Good point, i never thought of that. I went around looking at every electronics store and they didnt have any deans connectors. I bought the mini size tamiya and hooked it to the large battery, charged it, shot my gun and it works great. Theres no added heat and the battery is lasting a long time (its 3300 mah) and havent ran it out yet. Ill let you guys know if anything happens for future referances.

Deans connectors are easier to find at hobby shops, it's pretty common for usage with R/C stuff. Costs about $6 per full connector, comes with heat shrink as well.

Tamiya connectors, doesn't matter the size, aren't very reliable at times since the nature of the socket allows the diameter (femalre contact area) to spread, and the type of crimp (butterfly type) actually cuts strands as it's crimped. Better to use needlenose pliers to fold the sides over the wire, and solder the front part of the wire to the contact, and have the rear part firmly folded over the insulation. That gives the best contact and strain relief for those types of connectors.

Keep in mind, that most often, the 'key' of the mini connectors (you have a square on one side and a circle on the other) are generally the opposite of what large connectors are. Depending on your charger type and if it can handle a mini connector (most good chargers only do large Tamiya types) you'll need an adaptor to go from large to small. I put large connectors on my mini batteries, one ended up shorting out my charger and the fuse blew. Turned out one of them, I wired up the large connector the same way as the mini was, and had them ass backwards.

Honestly, Deans connectors are smaller (a full Deans connection is the same size as half a large Tamiya connector) and much more reliable than any of the Tamiya connectors, and it's pretty easy to make an adaptor for your charger to switch back & forth between large and Deans connections.

To answer your original question I have standard mini connectors on all my batteries (small and large) with no issues at all. No need for large connectors.
I found a local hobby shop (RC) carries them.

Yea. Been using the mini on this large battery for a few days now. Seems to be working great. I looked at the local hobby shop for the Deans but they didnt have any. Im deciding if i should bother ordering some since i have never had any problems with any of my Tamiya (only been airsofting for over a year though)

Well if anything comes up ill let ya know in this thread but other than that im good, thanks for everyones help