Props for F450 (APC / Gem Fan / stock)

[waterhouse75]

So I've only had my quad a week or two at this point. I ran the stock props for a bit, but had some strange 'buzz' on video that made me think a prop was unbalanced or otherwise odd.

I put APC's on it (10x4.7) and it seemed to fly better. I was ordering a prop balancer from GotHeli and figured I'd pick up some of the new GemFan DJI keyed props (10x4.5) in the nylon / carbon mix.

Figured I'd throw them on the balancer and see what was up.....

New GemFan right out of the gate:

I was super optimistic at this point. Unfortunately it wasn't to be, as none of the other Gemfans balanced like this out of the bag.

So I threw on a new APC:

With one exception, all of them (new ones, both APC and Gemfan) were out of balance right out of the bag. Probably not surprising?

I also thought people might want to see the hubs - APC / DJI / Gemfan.

As a note - I wasn't able (so far) to balance ANY of the props yet. If I hold them horizontal and let go, they fall one way or the other - and it's not repeatable so far.

 

[bigmoebbq]

I have had a similar issue, I am running the stock props since I just got my quad. My videos have some jello I suspect is mostly due to props not being balanced. I have some Guapners ready to slap on but I am still bashing a little bit. Having real fun flying this thing so I figured when I run out of stock props ill upgrade. Guapners are fairly expensive

 

[waterhouse75]

Spent some time balancing today. Short version of the story:

ALL of my APC props
ALL of my DJI props
ALL of my Gemfan props

had serious hub balance issues. Most didn't take much to get them 'blade balanced' (I don't know the real term) but the hubs all needed a TON of weight added.

On the upside - it flew a LOT quieter and smoother after balancing.

 

[waterhouse75]

Here's what it took to balance my new DJI keyed gemfan carbon mix props:

They all needed similar work on the hubs.

 

[Hartz]

Hey waterhouse,

Can I ask what type of LED stripping you used there? It looks sealed in plastic tubing as opposed to being the open flexi-board type stuff you normally see.

 

[waterhouse75]

Hey waterhouse,

Can I ask what type of LED stripping you used there? It looks sealed in plastic tubing as opposed to being the open flexi-board type stuff you normally see.

It's the waterproof kind from GotHeliRC:

http://gothelirc.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=188&cat=LED/Lights

 

[abonto]

Here's what it took to balance my new DJI keyed gemfan carbon mix props:

They all needed similar work on the hubs.

What does the glue do on the hubs though? I balance my prob just by adding tape on both side.

 

[waterhouse75]

If you're only adding tape on the blades, you're only barely doing half the balancing. Getting the blades right is easy, getting the hubs right is much harder - especially on these props...

 

[abonto]

Can you show me how? Or, if you have a link that can guide me? I use a gemfan blades and I pretty much just bore it with an 8mm drill. Sorry this is the first time I've heard of hub balancing.

 

[DucktileMedia]

I personally feel that slow flys and other similar props with such a small hub don't need to be hub balanced at all. Unlike a wood prop or apc thin that have a huge mass at the hub.

 

[Hartz]

Can you show me how? Or, if you have a link that can guide me? I use a gemfan blades and I pretty much just bore it with an 8mm drill. Sorry this is the first time I've heard of hub balancing.

I am no expert but the fella in this video seems to know what he is doing...

 

[waterhouse75]

This is the 'howto' that I follow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N02NHYrpA0g

There are a bunch of others on YouTube, but this guy is even doing gray APC's, so it was good. I will say that my quad sounds totally different with the balanced.

I also use the 'Vibration' app on iPhone and can see a huge difference before and after.

 

[abonto]

Wow! Thanks guys! Now I understand it, this means I can still minimize my quads vibration. Awesome!

 

[abonto]

One more question though. How do you balance the DJI stock prop or the new 1038, it has that flat hole that will only fit the DJI motor. I bought the Dubro balancer. I would appreciate all your thoughts on this.

 

[mrbonk]

I am no expert but the fella in this video seems to know what he is doing...

Nice find....good to see someone take the time to put this up for the benefit of others who don't know how important it is to have your props balanced *correctly*.

 

[waterhouse75]

One more question though. How do you balance the DJI stock prop or the new 1038, it has that flat hole that will only fit the DJI motor. I bought the Dubro balancer. I would appreciate all your thoughts on this.

On my cheap balancer, I'm able to mount it without the flat part mattering. I don't know how the Dubro mounts the prop...

 

[RuralFPV]

One more question though. How do you balance the DJI stock prop or the new 1038, it has that flat hole that will only fit the DJI motor. I bought the Dubro balancer. I would appreciate all your thoughts on this.

I have the Dubro and on one end of the blade hub the flats are inset a bit. It's just enough to allow the cone of the balancer to fit in there and allow it to center without riding on the flats. The other cone I just turn over so the flat part is against the hub. Of course, this assumes that the flats are evenly spaced from the center...

 

[FourFiveOh]

I can see the horizontal blade weights being out of balance, but the hub weight (vertical) could just as well be a problem with the prop shaft hole could be out of center.

 

[mrbonk]

I can see the horizontal blade weights being out of balance, but the hub weight (vertical) could just as well be a problem with the prop shaft hole could be out of center.

Correct, but it still needs to be corrected in order to eliminate vibration. Doesn't matter *why* it's out of balance, unless the hole is also not perpendicular to the plane of the prop (as the video points out).

 

[linter]

Where r u getting ur gem fan composite props? I can't find any in stock right now and I need a bunch of them!