What size mini quadcopter battery should you use?11:12

Having built a racing FPV mini quadcopter or drone, as the media call them, the next big question will probably be: “which lipo (lithium polymer) battery should I be using?”. In this video I talk about the options and discuss the importance of the battery’s C rating.

Category: Quadcoter Videos, Racing
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    1. Ben Smith

      Hey Bruce, once again great video!
      What cheap but good charger would you recommend for these types of
      batteries as I am very new to this stuff. Also, what does the stuff like 3s
      or 4s mean?

    2. Hugh Dinwiddie

      Another informative video, Bruce. Storing under partial load is a good
      tip, too. How about doing one on low voltage alarm strategy? Low C
      batteries under load tend to set off alarm and then on the charger aren’t
      discharged to the point you might normally run them. HK has a series of
      high capacity/low C batteries for multi-rotors. They are lighter in
      weight, of course and the alarm goes off well before they are truly
      discharged to a safe level if set for 10.8 or so on a 3s battery, for
      example.

    3. kozzie h

      Hey bruce you mentioned weight – but is there a formulae to factor this in
      too. Eg if i increase power by 20% (as per your formulae) but increase
      weight by 30% ,what is the overall effect on flight time? 

    4. kozzie h

      BTW I mean battery weight not auw of craft

    5. mrpeter81

      Get a new mic Bruce, please =)
      If you need money maybe we can start a collection on your behalf =)

    6. Fierceflyer55

      Did you see if the C rating is true?
      HK can print anything on their labels 

    7. juz70

      get some 4s packs Bruce =]

    8. Primož Doberšek

      Wow thanks a lot for telling me I spent 30$ on 3 new zippy compacts 1500mah
      25C. Well at least I know what all those number mean now. Could have made
      this video before the cheap miniquad build but better late than never.
      Great vid. Also You could make one about the smartieparts board, a
      programmer board designed for the 9X, show us how to do it, what are the
      benefits, is it worth it and what software to flash it with and what are
      the features of the aoftware. Regarts!

    9. Trent Murray

      +juz70 – what are your favourite packs for mini-quad racing?

    10. Alistair SUTHERLAND

      Thanks again Bruce for these yideos, most instructive! Question, on a
      2cell LiPo 800mah, a bloke suggested it can be charged at 3C– I thought
      1C was about correct remembering your instruction previously ???

    11. sirgeorgeboy

      I REMEMBER WHEN THIS WAS A GOOD SITE BRUCE YOU DID AIRCRAFT NOW ITS 93
      PERCENT QUAD ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I THINK I HAVE SEEN MY LAST
      TODAY AFTER 3 YEARS ITS A SAD DAY , UN’SUBSCRIBING

    12. mark mueller

      can i use the Turnigy nano-tech 1300mAh 3S 45~90C Lipo Pack with your low
      cost mini quad? im new to all this but am keen to build one, another
      question is im going to need to buy a charger, any suggestions?

    13. VideoSack

      This is where testing maximum current draw on the bench will guide one on
      the correct battery for the use.

    14. Bill Flynn

      I have likely watched all of your educational videos and with similar
      backgrounds I enjoy learning over again. It’s almost like when I used to
      fix TVs (in the ’60’s) and would first ask my client “is it plugged in?”

      Everything in this hobby is now connected to electrical power and that
      power is utilized by many components so it makes sense to use the highest
      rating you can afford just so you have ‘Headroom’.

      I am curious regard yours and my habit of bringing in the flight when my 3S
      battery is around 11.3-11.4 volts. My charger usually returns a value of
      50-55% usage though it should be safe to go to around 10.5 volts and 75% or
      so usage. Perhaps I’m just stuck on 6 minutes ……. Thanks!!!

    15. SirArghPirate

      I cheaped out with 20C, 1300mAh for my 250 miniquad. Is there still hope,
      or should I spike and soak them and throw them in the garbage?

    16. schmudge

      what about a LiFe battery showdown since there are getting better, or are
      they?

    17. rayikaikin

      im running my 1.5 nano-techs to 10.5v is that too low for long life?

    18. C M Mulders

      Questions on Battery Management: how long can one reasonably safely keep
      their LiPo packs at full charge? And does storing them in the fridge while
      fully charged help extend this? Example – charge one’s packs in the
      morning but then it starts raining and you won’t fly for another week or
      two. Is it better to discharge them to storage level or can one keep them
      fully charged in the fridge? Thanks.C

    19. gaptoofgranny

      C rating is only good for marketing. The REAL performance index is
      internal resistance. If you have a higher C stated battery, but it has a
      higher internal resistance, it’s actually a LOWER performing battery.

    20. worthingsteve

      I’d like to see a real life C rating demo, from what I can tell most C
      ratings are just made up by the manufacturer.

    21. RoboTekno

      Excellent little PSA towards the end.

      I used to discharge to 3.5 volts per cell think it’s enough (I’m sure even
      3.3 to 3.0 when I started) and I have noticed performance losses. Now I’m
      going to try 3.7 volts per cell after watching this if I get new batteries.

      Although this may only be about half the rated discharge capacity of a
      lipo, after using my old, sometimes puffy, batteries; I’d rather have half
      capacity, healthy, and punchy batteries than half capacity and poor sucky
      batteries.

      Thanks again Bruce.

    22. Brian Dodds

      Every Nano-Tech I have owned puffed when sitting on my desk at storage
      charge so I stopped buying them. No other brand that I have has failed
      like that. In fact all of my other brands of Lipos still work great even
      the ones that are many years old.

    23. Jack Johnston

      Great info :)

    24. supermattJD

      Hey Bruce… In the vid you say if you leave fully charged batteries in
      storage they will die quicker… Would I be ok charging them the night
      before or in the morning and leaving them charged in storage for say 8
      hours?

    25. 3000gtwelder

      You are spot on about the power and resistance. I find I get way more punch
      from running 4 1000mAh batteries in parallel then I do from running just 1
      4000mAh battery by itself on my Peace drone. I think Ed from Experimental
      Airlines, had a similar video, where he was explaining resistance. Great
      video Bruce.

    26. Wynand4

      Hi Bruce, thank you for all you time and effort with these educational
      movies. Im new to the whole mini quad thing and was wondering if you know
      someone in Christchurch that i can talk to re items i have for a build as
      well as to maybe test some fpv goggles prior to me investing? Many thanks

    27. 2bSurfing

      Yes, I too always set my voltage alarm to 3.8 v per cell & write the date
      of purchase on the battery. Surprised how long of a life I get out of a
      battery sometime.

    28. Clyde Brown

      Have you had any experience with lion power batteries from Banggood? such
      as this one that claims 40c? I’m in the process of building my first quad
      and i know the batteries are going to be the first thing i am going to want
      to upgrade. Wanted to know if this would be a waste of money.

      Also this one that seems almost too good to be true especially for the
      price.

      

    29. Jack Walsh

      Bruce, thanks so much for the vid! I currently use a 3s on my mxp230,
      cobra 2300 kv, 12A ESCs, and 5030 props. I’m strongly considering
      upgrading to a 4s config. (I just cancelled the order on my zippy compact
      4s 35C batteries from your vid. Thx). I know my ESCs and cobra motors are
      rated for 4s. Will I be drawing too much power if I upgrade to 4s battery
      and 5040 props? Should I be using a lower kv motor? What is a typical 4s
      setup? Are there other components I need to change? Your videos are the
      best. Thanks again!

    30. TheYowzerr

      Bruce, how will you be getting new batteries? Hobbyking Aus and
      International warehouse does not ship to NZ anymore, I have tried to order
      today but nah…

    31. Kurtis Towery

      Hey Bruce. I fly my batteries down to 10 volts and then the resting voltage
      comes back up to 11.2 volts. Am I pushing them to hard. If I quit flying my
      mini quad at 11.2 volts under a load I wouldn’t get a 3 minute flight in
      with my nanotech like the one in this video. 

    32. FPVX

      Thanks for your review Bruce . I appreciate how you explain the same thing
      3 different ways as it clears up confusion for the hard of learning. Your
      channel educates all . Those with a advanced knowledge will find it long
      winded because your telling them what they already know. Please keep your
      vids the way they are.

    33. Kastan Day

      what’s the difference between xt30 and xt60?

    34. jameslee522

      test the Turnigy Bolt 2400mAh 3S 11.4V 65~130C High Voltage from hobby king

    35. Matt Culler

      While the info in this video is correct, it doesn’t always translate in
      real life. I use 2200mAh 20c batteries on my 250 quad with 2204 motors,
      and I sure don’t hear my voltage alarm going off as soon as I lift off as
      this video suggests. Actually I get flight times of around 10 min on a
      2200 20C, and thats with full FPV setup and a GoPro onboard.

      The slight extra punch from the 45c 1300 is negated by the 6 min flight
      times I get…..

    36. gun smith (brushlessgimbal CA)

      Direct from factory lipo meany factory barns like kypom , horeson, AGApower
      and more!

    37. Melody

      Hi,

      Here is Melody from ONBO Power at onbopower com

      I would to highly recommend you to refer these following hot selling FPV Racers

      Lipo Battery as below:

      OP-1300mAh/60C-4S 29.0*34.0*72.0mm(T*W*L)
      OP-1500mAh/60C-4S 27.0*34.0*88.0mm(T*W*L)
      OP-1800mAh/60C-4S 27.0*34.0*105mm(T*W*L)

      Welcome to inquiry for more detail, Thanks.

      Best Regards,
      Melody

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