Wire AWG

[BadBob]

I just got my 3300 mah, 60C, 4S Turnigy battery packs from HobbyKing and noticed that they have these weird plugs on them. They have a male on one side and a female on the other. What the heck is this? I want to match Deans on them to my BEC's but I'm told by my local hobby shop that the wires on these batteries are rated at 10AWG and the Deans could overheat. Deans wiring is rated at 14AWG. What about it guys, a little help here.

[OV10]

Hello Bob,
I don't know how you could not have seen that 4mm HXT plug in the picture when you purchased it. HK also shows the specs for it which tells exactly what it is.
Your LHS was pretty much telling you straight up on the Deans. That Turnigy battery you got per the math is capable of a burst discharge of a 180 amps which is some damn serious current and those Deans would fail. If your ordering high C rated batteries like these then you should seriously consider using mid to high power capable connectors. If your power system is using only a third to half of that battery C rating then you are spending way more than you need on a battery when a 30-40C would do the job.
Anyways, every electric RC consumer out there has their own personal choice of preference on the type of connector they prefer to use. I personally detest Dean (T) connectors because the wire is only mechanically held to the flat spade on the connector with solder and will fail (solder melts and wire falls off spade) under high amperage loads. I advise folks in our club not to use on anything above a 3S power system.
Your next best option to use on the low to mid power range would be EC3 or XT60. These have cups that capture the wire/solder.
On the mid to high power range would be the EC5, HXT, AS150.
I personally have recently standardized my fleet using Anderson Powerpole Connectors due the fact that no soldering(mechanical crimp) is required and the full range of power required in 4S thru 8S systems is covered by the same size connector shell using two different contact sizes: PP30 - 14 & 12 gauge wire; PP45 - 10 gauge wire.
These connectors also have virtually zero insertion force required when mating together.
My low range EC3 connectors require more force to insert and separate than these Anderson's do.
Hope I've helped and best regards,

[xviper]

Those Turnigy packs are called "Heavy Duty", however, HobbyKing tends to be a bit optomistic when they rate their batteries. I've seen 10g wire on high C batteries and I've seen 12g or even 14g wire on low C batteries. The trouble with Dean's is you never know if you're getting "clones" or the real thing. I've melted Dean's before and I don't trust them on anything can draw high C, 4 cells or more. I try to go with EC5 with those. It also depends on what type of motor you're running. If you're flying the P-38, I consider that plane to be a "medium to low draw" plane and Dean's are fine. If you're flying EDFs, I consider those to be "high draw" applications and heavier connectors are in order. Just remember that the motor will only draw what it needs. Having a heavy gauge connector on a high C battery doesn't mean the plane actually needs it. Always "feel" the temp of the battery, ESC, connectors as soon as you land until you are confident that all is well.
This might be a good time to start learning how to solder. If not, you can always buy adapters. I have several of those batteries with HXT connectors. I also have HXT to EC3 (female), to EC5 (female), to Dean's (female), whatever is on your ESC. This will save soldering.
I've got adapters for almost every battery to every ESC. Now that HobbyKing is using XT90 plugs, more adapters will be needed.

[BadBob]

Hello Bob,
I don't know how you could not have seen that 4mm HXT plug in the picture when you purchased it. HK also shows the specs for it which tells exactly what it is.
Your LHS was pretty much telling you straight up on the Deans. That Turnigy battery you got per the math is capable of a burst discharge of a 180 amps which is some damn serious current and those Deans would fail. If your ordering high C rated batteries like these then you should seriously consider using mid to high power capable connectors. If your power system is using only a third to half of that battery C rating then you are spending way more than you need on a battery when a 30-40C would do the job.
Anyways, every electric RC consumer out there has their own personal choice of preference on the type of connector they prefer to use. I personally detest Dean (T) connectors because the wire is only mechanically held to the flat spade on the connector with solder and will fail (solder melts and wire falls off spade) under high amperage loads. I advise folks in our club not to use on anything above a 3S power system.
Your next best option to use on the low to mid power range would be EC3 or XT60. These have cups that capture the wire/solder.
On the mid to high power range would be the EC5, HXT, AS150.
I personally have recently standardized my fleet using Anderson Powerpole Connectors due the fact that no soldering(mechanical crimp) is required and the full range of power required in 4S thru 8S systems is covered by the same size connector shell using two different contact sizes: PP30 - 14 & 12 gauge wire; PP45 - 10 gauge wire.
These connectors also have virtually zero insertion force required when mating together.
My low range EC3 connectors require more force to insert and separate than these Anderson's do.
Hope I've helped and best regards,

Well, I guess I've still got a lot to learn about batteries and such. I did see the HXT plugs on the web site, but intended to replace them as soon as they came with deans. Now I see that was a bad choice of batteries. So! It's time for some agonizing reappraisal! I never realized that there was a significant difference in wire gauge and how that can effect the type of plug on them. Being new to electric flying, I've always done nitro or gas, I see I've got a lot of researching to do. Thanks for the info guys.

[WintrSol]

Do yourself a favor, and get a Watt meter, it will pay for itself, soon enough. If you know how much power your current setup is drawing, you will be better informed for future purchases, and, if you choose to change parts of the power system, like props or cell count, you will know if it will blow up on you.

[BadBob]

Do yourself a favor, and get a Watt meter, it will pay for itself, soon enough. If you know how much power your current setup is drawing, you will be better informed for future purchases, and, if you choose to change parts of the power system, like props or cell count, you will know if it will blow up on you.

Did just that! The sudden strange bumps on my head caused me to scratch and then I saw the light! 1st lesson of the day. Thanks, WintrSol!