You won't need nearly 4AH for the Maximatics... 1AH should be fine for a whole morning (if not a whole day) of battling. I have converted Baden to Maximatics but have not done the testing yet. But they draw minimal power. I also use the ones with bigger outlets and then put in reducers to the small barbs on the outlet side, that way I can run 1/4" tubing all the way to the valve. Hooah.
Agree w/ Tugboat. The Richelieu which currently uses the Clippards has a old 10 cell, sub-c NiMH battery pack for power. Not even sure how many ah it is anymore ... probably around 2ah. Anyway, I usually charge once before the battle and don't have to worry for the rest of the weekend. That said, the Clippards are coming out of the Richelieu this winter for a set of 6v Spartans. Most likely the Clippards will go into a 1/96th scale ship slated to run on 13.2v LiFE power.
'Amp draw is not the problem with the Clips.' I was just pointing out that a smaller battery can be used. If its not SLA then it would have to be LIFE, nimh would be too many cells. I like the 9V diposable idea as I have seen it in action in the Westfalen, its small, cheap, and simple.
Unless you're rediculously overvolting a solenoid, it's pretty hard to hurt the coil with a few extra volts. 7.2V wouldn't hurt a 6V solenoid a bit, nor would 14.4V hurt a 12V solenoid.
I run my 6 volt kips on 12 volts and even when locked up they haven't failed yet and it's been 25 plus years on them. If I lock them on they get pistol hot but have never failed yet.
