[m102404]

StrikeFreedom...I disagree. Your approach is complete bullshit.

Taking someone else's results and taking that for fact is not prudent. You have no idea what gear ratio/motor/spring I had in my gun...you have no idea if I shot semi mostly, or mag long full auto bursts. Both of those factors have a huge impact and the ability of your battery to keep up with that is directly affected by those factors. (or rather...the characteristics of a given battery is tested very differently in those setups).

Saying 1 shot per mAh...don't know about that. If I'm pulling a really stiff spring on a std ration gear with a so-so motor...I'll used up more energy than if I shot a light spring with a decent motor with the same gear set.

If I shoot exclusively semi...I'm making the motor start up to torque/speed with every shot, which will use a lot more power than if I just shot long full auto strings.

If my battery is small (and that one is) it might have decent start up power, but quickly start to lag on full auto with a stiff setup. A large pack might be better in having more than enough juice to start up a motor and sustain long bursts.

So....THE BEST THING TO DO IS:
1. Get a quick decent way to measure your pack...hobby/ebay shops have a little dongle you can plug into the balancing tap and it'll read each cells voltage and the total pack voltage. Takes about 5-10seconds. Check before the game, check periodically when you can, check after you're done for the day.
2. Start with a freshly charged LiPo every game...they don't suffer badly from a "memory effect"...so there's no harm in topping it up if in doubt of it's capacity. Besides...it sucks to start a game and run out of juice. Have a second LiPo ready to go. Number your packs and tag a questionable battery to check out later.
3. Learn the characteristics of your battery, in your gun....how many mags you can get out of it. You'll get this by measuring the pack throughout the game/day.
4. ABSOLUTELY...have a good charger that can sense/display what is going on with your pack and balances it properly. LEARN how to interpret what your charger is telling you.
5. STOP...if your battery seems weak or you ROF starts to slow down. Check your pack...swap it out if necessary.

LiPo's are great. Lots of power in a small package. But if you want to minimize your risks...and maximize the life/usage of them...you've got to understand what's going on when you use it.

Best of luck,

Tys