Airsoft Batteries LiPo &NiMH Pros and Cons
Airsoft Batteries LiPo & NiMH Pros and Cons
The type of battery that you use in an Airsoft gun can make a difference in performance and maintenance. Paintball USA uses NiMH nickel metal hydride batteries in our rental guns. We prefer to keep our rentals in great condition especially because beginner players like to get out on the playing field knowing their gun will not become inoperable while taking shots from the opposing team. https://www.paintballusa.org/
Airsoft Birthday Parties are a lot of fun when everyone’s gun works great in a game. If you choose to use your own rental gun, hopefully it will be as easy to operate as our classic Army M-4 style rifles. https://www.paintballusa.org/pricing
NiMH batteries are safer when charging, more reliable, and easy to use for beginner players. They are more affordable too. They are safer than lithium batteries, less likely to catch fire if accidentally overcharged or exploding if mishandled, and easier to plug in your gun if your old battery runs out of power. They are easily charged with either a smart charger or one that simply plugs into the wall. No danger in overcharging them.
Nickel batteries hold a steady and constant voltage output while charged and they do not require a special storage mode while charging. They are sturdy enough not to get damaged during general games, if dropped, and aren’t as delicate as LiPo batteries.
While LiPo batteries provide a higher rate of fire and quicker trigger action, they require a lot more attention in the charging mode. Definitely not for beginner Airsoft players. More for the advanced player. If you aren’t planning to babysit your lithium polymer batteries while charging, here’s what might happen.
Chemically unstable cells may cause fire or explosion if over charged, dropped, or accidentally punctured.
When running the battery on low voltage and the battery becomes completely drained, it can become destroyed.
Your Airsoft gun needs either a low voltage cut off or an inline MOSFET to keep the gun from breaking the battery.
Unlike the nickel battery charger, you need a dedicated, smart LiPo charger.
Store the charged battery in a LiPo safe bag.
LiPo’s high discharge rate will strip the gears, and burn out the trigger mechanisms on older Airsoft guns.
As mentioned above, a MOSFET or Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor is an electronic switch that reroutes high-power electrical current from your LiPo battery to the motor that prevents the charge from burning out and damaging the trigger. These are usually added or already installed in more high-end Airsoft guns.
In short, LiPo batteries should be charged only up to 80% and to 100% for a full discharge cycle, however, you shouldn’t discharge the battery lower than 20%. Importantly, never use a nickel charger to charge an LiPo battery.
Do not store a LiPo battery anyplace where the temperature exceeds 80 degrees, such as in the sun, your car, a garage. Battery wires positive and negative should never cross one another or touch.
It takes about 3-6 hours to fully charge a nickel battery on a wall charger. A smart charger should take half the charging time. A charged battery usually lasts about 1,000 – 3,000 shots.
Whether you want to have a Paintball or Airsoft party, choose Paintball USA Palmdale and give us a call. We will be happy to answer of your questions. Our phone lines are open seven days a week from 9am-5pm. 661-210-6206. https://www.paintballusa.org/welcome-information
