Hey all, Im getting only 3min 30sec on a 5000mah 3s and only 2min 20sec on a 2200mah. My quad has Tarot gimbal, 28 26 1100KV motors and 8 inch plastic props. I have just bought FPV gear and I fear that extra weight will render the quad unless. Any ideas? The total weight with gimbal, gopro and 5000 3s is 1620g (3.57lb). Please help me figure out what to buy to fix this! Thanks.
Horrendous flight time!!
- Thread starter cliofreak
- Start date
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
How are you measuring flight time? How many mah are you putting back into your lipos? (think 20% rule).
Hi, Im measuring with a stopwatch on my iPhone. I hover at about 40% maybe. Definitely not over 50%. Its got loads of power to lift. Im not sure what you mean about how much back in...if you mean charging then 12.6v is when the charger beeps.
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
Ah, sounds like you might be new to lipos?
If you are relying on the default voltage limits on your flight controller then these have a tendency to kick-in too soon. For a 3s lipo when the voltage gets down to around 11V it is probably about time to land. Depends on the voltage drop during flight though. 10.8V is probably normal.
Does your charger tell you how many amps you've put back into a lipo? That's what I mean by mah (milliamp hours). It's the best way to tell how long you can fly your lipos for.
What flight controller are you using?
If you are relying on the default voltage limits on your flight controller then these have a tendency to kick-in too soon. For a 3s lipo when the voltage gets down to around 11V it is probably about time to land. Depends on the voltage drop during flight though. 10.8V is probably normal.
Does your charger tell you how many amps you've put back into a lipo? That's what I mean by mah (milliamp hours). It's the best way to tell how long you can fly your lipos for.
What flight controller are you using?
Well, I'm using a kk2.1
Ive got the board set to beep at 10.8 so its definitely using all the power. You mentioned amps. When I try to charge my 5000, the charger shuts off if I select anything more that 2.5A So, I just charge at 2.5. I though that was the rate but maybe its the amount of Amp going in as it charges for empty in less than an hour and id expect it to be 2 hrs!!
Ive got the board set to beep at 10.8 so its definitely using all the power. You mentioned amps. When I try to charge my 5000, the charger shuts off if I select anything more that 2.5A So, I just charge at 2.5. I though that was the rate but maybe its the amount of Amp going in as it charges for empty in less than an hour and id expect it to be 2 hrs!!
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
No, I don't mean the amps you charge it at. The lipo had 5000mah in it, that's it's capacity. There is a 20% rule for lipos where you should always leave 20% of the capacity in it to preserve the life of the lipo. For a 5000mah lipo you should put back in 4000mah.
I'm guessing your charger doesn't have a digital display?
Charge times vary between lipos. My 5000mah ones take 20 minutes to charge at 8amps.
I'm guessing your charger doesn't have a digital display?
Charge times vary between lipos. My 5000mah ones take 20 minutes to charge at 8amps.
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
Here's the manual for your charger:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uploads/777025440X5574X59.pdf
It displays the 'charged capacity' whilst charging. This is how much you are putting back-in. When charging look to see how much you put back in. It should be about 4000 (for the 5000mah lipo). I suspect you are putting back in more like 2000.
And yes, you should always balance charge. Good for the lipo.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uploads/777025440X5574X59.pdf
It displays the 'charged capacity' whilst charging. This is how much you are putting back-in. When charging look to see how much you put back in. It should be about 4000 (for the 5000mah lipo). I suspect you are putting back in more like 2000.
And yes, you should always balance charge. Good for the lipo.
Benjamin Kenobi
Easy? You call that easy?
Also, a fully charged 3s lipo should be around 12.5V.
Bartman
Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
there is also this for understanding LiPo batteries
http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?12819-Understanding-Lithium-Polymer-batteries
http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?12819-Understanding-Lithium-Polymer-batteries
Thanks guys for your help. Im still trying to figure this out. I can't seem to change how much goes into the lipos, it just automatic. These 3 pics might help. One is right after the quad beeped and I was loosing powers (forward to keep it level i had to push all the way forward then even that didn't work...this was inches off the ground). If you count up the V is more like 11.4 left in the battery but the quad beeps at 10.5 and i felt the power dropping. The other two pics show the lipo at almost full charge. It balancing and one cell is catching up. This charger is a mystery to be honest. Its shutting off and beeping now when it says 12.09V and it charged from beeping quad to beeping charger in 7 1/2 mins!! Weird!
Attachments
Isn't 4.37V way too high? I though they're all suppose to be 4.2V!
Im going to try to balance them all to 4.2 and then run the timer again to see if I get more that 3min 30secs flight time. The quad lost power when the cells read -
3.2 4.11 4.11
That does not look right to me!
Im going to try to balance them all to 4.2 and then run the timer again to see if I get more that 3min 30secs flight time. The quad lost power when the cells read -
3.2 4.11 4.11
That does not look right to me!
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