With the release of our SEED08 LiPo power supply, you have ultimate flexibility over how you power the lights and effects in your model.  You can select from a variety of battery capacities and sizes available from several international suppliers.  Because of international shipping regulations for LiPo batteries, we made the decision not to stock these ourselves and to leave the shipping to companies with lots of LiPo shipping experience.

To use our LiPo power source, you need to purchase two additional components:

1. A tested model of LiPo battery
2. A LiPo battery charger

We have tested batteries from several suppliers:

• Adafruit (see here for Adafruit's international resellers)
• SparkFun (see here for SparkFun's international resellers)
• Hobby King (warehouses located globally)

Here is a list of batteries we have tested:

From Adafruit

• Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 500mAh
• Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 1200mAh
• Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7v 2000mAh
• Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh
• Lithium Ion Battery Pack - 3.7V 6600mAh
• Lithium Ion Cylindrical Battery - 3.7v 2200mAh
• Lithium Ion Battery Pack - 3.7V 4400mAh

From SparkFun

• Lithium Ion Battery - 850mAh
• Lithium Ion Battery - 1Ah
• Lithium Ion Battery - 2Ah

From Hobby King

• Turnigy 1200mAh 1S 1C Lipoly w/ 2 Pin JST-PH Connector
• Turnigy 2000mAh 1S 1C Lipo w/ 2 Pin JST-PH Connector

We have tested the following LiPo chargers from Adafruit and SparkFun:

From Adafruit

• Adafruit Micro Lipo - USB LiIon/LiPoly charger - v1
• USB LiIon/LiPoly charger - v1.2

From SparkFun

• SparkFun LiPo Charger Basic - Micro-USB

Which Battery Size?

So which battery size should you buy?  It depends on how much room is available inside your model.  Many of the batteries above are made with a flat configuration, which makes them ideal for use under vehicles or in tight spaces.  Other battery configurations use cylindrical batteries-- if you have room inside your model, these batteries will keep your model running longer because they are available with larger capacities.

Which Capacity?

LiPo batteries are listed in terms of their capacity, measured in milliamp-hours (mAh) or amp-hours (Ah).  In general you should buy the largest-capacity battery that will fit inside your model.

It is difficult to determine the actual run-time of any specific lighting configuration using a specific battery, but here are some guidelines that may be helpful:

• If you have been powering your model using our USB cable and a rechargeable USB battery power bank, you can compare the capacity of the power bank (which will always be listed on the back of the power bank) to the batteries above.  USB power banks use the same measures of power capacity as the LiPo batteries above (mAh or Ah), so if you know how long a particular USB power bank keeps your lights on, you will be able to make a direct comparison to the LiPo batteries above.
• In general, AA batteries (also called LR6 batteries) have a capacity of between 600mAh (NiCd chemistry) and 2700 mAh (alkaline chemistry).  This means that if you have used our 3AA battery pack to power your lights, you are getting between 600 and 2700 mAh of power from that pack.
• In general, AAA batteries (also called LR03 batteries) have a capacity of between 800mAh (NiMH chemistry) and 1200 mAh (alkaline chemistry).  This means that if you have used the LEGO Power Functions AAA battery box (part #88000), you are getting between 800 and 1200 mAh of power from that pack.

Again, these comparisons are just approximations, and we are not able to answer specific questions of "how long will <x> battery power <y> lights?"  Our recommendation is to go with the largest-capacity battery that will fit inside your model.

Only Use Tested Batteries!

We strongly recommend using one of the batteries above.  We have not tested other batteries, and some batteries use the same plugs but have different polarities, which means that while you may be able to physically connect a battery with reverse polarity to our SEED08 supply, reverse polarity will damage the battery and charger, and may create a dangerous situation where the battery may catch fire or explode.  We are not responsible for outcomes or any damage that arises from the use of a battery not listed above.