Ics l85a3

[thewalkerdead]

Hi guys! My friend bought a brand new ics l85a3 about a month ago and he can’t find a way to get either a battery into the hand guard where the connection is located, a small enough battery for that space, or an external battery box (PEQ) with a battery that will fit. What are your guys experiences with the gun? Or what external battery boxes do you guys use? Thanks in advance

[Duff Beer]

I haven’t got the A3, but a 9.9V LiFe 1100mah fits in the Madbull Daniel Defence on my A2 which is super tight on space.  Looking at the A3 foregrip it looks like there’s similar space

Edited May 14, 2023 by Duff Beer

[thewalkerdead]

I don’t suppose you have a link to the specific one you use do you?

[Duff Beer]

Tell a lie, it’s a 1000mah.  
 

https://www.vapextech.co.uk/99v-1000mah-lifepo4-battery-vapextech-crane-20c-airsoft-1leg

 

I also changed the motor to a Warhead Black (Standard) which did wonders for battery life and trigger response, as the standard motors very thirsty and not the fastest.

 

I probably get through about 2000-3000 rounds in a day, and I’ve never had the battery drop below 50%.

[kasaran]

57 minutes ago, Duff Beer said:

Tell a lie, it’s a 1000mah.  
 

https://www.vapextech.co.uk/99v-1000mah-lifepo4-battery-vapextech-crane-20c-airsoft-1leg

 

I also changed the motor to a Warhead Black (Standard) which did wonders for battery life and trigger response, as the standard motors very thirsty and not the fastest.

 

I probably get through about 2000-3000 rounds in a day, and I’ve never had the battery drop below 50%.

 

now this is of major interest.  though i have not used Life batteries. do they differ from lipo/nimh? i know my smart charger has an option for them.

[Colin Allen]

2 hours ago, kasaran said:

 

now this is of major interest.  though i have not used Life batteries. do they differ from lipo/nimh? i know my smart charger has an option for them.

I use them a lot.  The biggest difference is that, in use, they very rapidly drop from from their full charge voltage (3.60V per cell) to around 3.3V per cell and sit there for ages before dropping off a cliff.  It is a significantly different discharge curve from LiPo batteries.

[Duff Beer]

9 hours ago, kasaran said:

 

now this is of major interest.  though i have not used Life batteries. do they differ from lipo/nimh? i know my smart charger has an option for them.

LiFe batteries are easier to live with.  They don’t do any of the negative things LiPo’s do if they’re over-discharged or punctured.  I went with LiFe purely because I can charge it in the foregrip without worrying about fire as it would be impossible to get it out in time.

 

At 9.9V it sits between a 7.4V and 11.1V for RoF and trigger response.

 

The major downside of LiFe is the energy density as LiPo’s will give more power for the same size, but 1000mah on a 9.9V is more than enough to have acceptable RoF and endurance

[kasaran]

3 hours ago, Duff Beer said:

LiFe batteries are easier to live with.  They don’t do any of the negative things LiPo’s do if they’re over-discharged or punctured.  I went with LiFe purely because I can charge it in the foregrip without worrying about fire as it would be impossible to get it out in time.

 

At 9.9V it sits between a 7.4V and 11.1V for RoF and trigger response.

 

The major downside of LiFe is the energy density as LiPo’s will give more power for the same size, but 1000mah on a 9.9V is more than enough to have acceptable RoF and endurance

i see, so the one you linked, if i pull out the fake gas tube, i guess it fits in there ontop of the barrel?

[Duff Beer]

I’ve got mine sitting under the barrel at the bottom of the foregrip with the wires and connectors around the gas tube (so I can flip the cover up to access them).  If it fits where the gas tube is on yours then there’s no reason to not put it there.

 

The issue you’re going to have whichever way you go is where to put the connectors and how to access them.  

[gavinkempsell]

I bought some of these, more than I need but They're cheap enough & I can use them in most of my AEG's including my L85A3 grip.

 

https://www.vapextech.co.uk/airsoft-7-4v-850mah-30c-lipo-battery-with-case-lp007-vapextech

[kasaran]

16 hours ago, gavinkempsell said:

I bought some of these, more than I need but They're cheap enough & I can use them in most of my AEG's including my L85A3 grip.

 

https://www.vapextech.co.uk/airsoft-7-4v-850mah-30c-lipo-battery-with-case-lp007-vapextech

 

in the top or bottom part of the grip? assuming its the DD A2 rail on your L85?

[gavinkempsell]

On 02/06/2023 at 09:41, kasaran said:

 

in the top or bottom part of the grip? assuming its the DD A2 rail on your L85?

Fits in the grip but 7.4's

[Dan Robinson]

7.4's?  I ran mine for the first time this weekend and the ROF was awful - put 11.1 in there and it was much happier.  Although still lethargic.

 

Anyway - I'll start a different thread about that once I have had a bit of time to accustom myself to the pew.

[gavinkempsell]

46 minutes ago, Dan Robinson said:

7.4's?  I ran mine for the first time this weekend and the ROF was awful - put 11.1 in there and it was much happier.  Although still lethargic.

 

Anyway - I'll start a different thread about that once I have had a bit of time to accustom myself to the pew.

I'm sure 11.1 is recommended but 7.4's is all I could find in the right size, I bought an 11.1 but was too big for the grip. so got the 7.4's

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, Dan Robinson said:

7.4's?  I ran mine for the first time this weekend and the ROF was awful - put 11.1 in there and it was much happier.  Although still lethargic.

 

Given the lethargic nature of the gun (my neighbour's ICS L85 is as slow as molasses on a 7.4v - around 9-10rps) and the very limited battery space - I would be looking at what could be done to fit a warhead motor personally. Lower current draw and a very decent bump in performance over the stock ferrite ICS unit should help with overcoming the gun's shortcomings. 

 

I do enjoy taking ICS L85s apart though -  they are a doddle to work on compared to some. 

 

 

 

[Dan Robinson]

5 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

I do enjoy taking ICS L85s apart though -  they are a doddle to work on compared to some

 

I just seem to have bad luck when it comes to lining up the selector arm with the gearbox doodad....  The boy's A2 doesn't reliably sit in auto mode since I took it apart to tighten the pistol grip that had come loose.

[gavinkempsell]

1 hour ago, Dan Robinson said:

 

I just seem to have bad luck when it comes to lining up the selector arm with the gearbox doodad....  The boy's A2 doesn't reliably sit in auto mode since I took it apart to tighten the pistol grip that had come loose.

Pfft, my L86 has never worked since I tightened the spring, sure I nipped a wire putting back together.

 

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, Dan Robinson said:

 

I just seem to have bad luck when it comes to lining up the selector arm with the gearbox doodad....  The boy's A2 doesn't reliably sit in auto mode since I took it apart to tighten the pistol grip that had come loose.

 

Interesting - I don't recall having such problems when I re-wired and serviced my neighbour's poorly ICS L85 last year. 

 

He wants me to upgrade his hop soon (I think he wants an EnglishKiwi hop unit) so I will pay attention to the selector gubbins. 

 

 

 

[Duff Beer]

7 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Given the lethargic nature of the gun (my neighbour's ICS L85 is as slow as molasses on a 7.4v - around 9-10rps) and the very limited battery space - I would be looking at what could be done to fit a warhead motor personally. Lower current draw and a very decent bump in performance over the stock ferrite ICS unit should help with overcoming the gun's shortcomings. 

 

I do enjoy taking ICS L85s apart though -  they are a doddle to work on compared to some. 

 

 

 

Seconded on the Warhead Motor.  I’ve got a Black Standard in there and it really made it come alive.  

[Dan Robinson]

Holy shit balls - £120 for a motor.....  Was kinda hoping for something nearer the £30 - £50 mark. LOL

[kasaran]

Funny, mine also has a fire selector fault, mines unreliable on semi, just doesn't always fire. Full auto works fine though 

Edited June 6, 2023 by kasaran

[RostokMcSpoons]

52 minutes ago, kasaran said:

Funny, mine also has a fire selector fault, mines unreliable on semi, just doesn't always fire. Full auto works fine though 

 

That could just be the gearbox locking up in semi, and then getting cleared in full auto (that's a thing with some gearboxes - if you spam semi fast enough... someone please jump in to verify)

[Duff Beer]

Mine did not like fast gears (12:1) and would lock up on semi unless I absolutely made sure to pull all the way back on the trigger and reset, which slowed down my semi ROF to the point a standard set of gears made more sense.  I’ve got to check my ROF with the Warhead motor, but I reckon it’s somewhere around 18rps which is more than adequate for what I need.  In Semi it goes fast enough and is only marginally slower than my GBB MP7. 

22 hours ago, Dan Robinson said:

Holy shit balls - £120 for a motor.....  Was kinda hoping for something nearer the £30 - £50 mark. LOL

The normal Warhead (the bronze ones) are excellent too, I was just being a tart

[Speedbird_666]

2 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

That could just be the gearbox locking up in semi, and then getting cleared in full auto (that's a thing with some gearboxes - if you spam semi fast enough... someone please jump in to verify)

 

It could also be the trigger pack - it's quite a complicated Heath Robinson affair with a long connector rod to disconnect the trigger.

 

There's a few reports of them wearing out, or just flat out not working in semi. I replaced my neighbour's trigger pack as he was having some issues with the trigger reset. I have his old one on my desk at the moment.

 

 

[gavinkempsell]

Never mind all this technical stuff... My cocking lever fell off & It's never even left my Mancave(not a euphemism).