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Hi, and my Typhoon G battery 'upgrade'

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Dec 3, 2020
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I recently came back to RC after a break of about 6 years, while I am building a drone I decided to buy a RTF and the Typhoon came up on ebay.
Hermes failed to deliver, although they had a signature from someone no one had ever heard of, but it turned up almost two weeks later hidden in bushes behind our flats.

Anyway, when it turned out that the battery was as blown up as a party balloon I looked around for a replacement. Apparently I need to sell a kidney for an original battery or take a chance on a massively hyped aftermarket one with about 70,000mAH.

I looked at various options like fitting one outside with an overpriced kit, saw one on YouTube that had a 10,000mAH on an external platform which gave less flight time than the original, didn't seem like a good options, to be honest.

Instead I went with a tried and tested Turnigy Nano Tech 6000mAH as the dimensions were very similar to the original and only a few grams heavier. I didn't have one but the 6 other Nano Techs I had from 6 years ago, all dated and numbered, were all in good condition, still with a charge and none swollen. They have always given me good service.

Once the new battery arrived I set about fitting it.

The hardest part was the tedium of removing hundreds of tiny screws but even that turned out to be less of a chore than I expected and the lid was off in about 10 minutes.

There is a huge amount of space inside and a few minutes of jiggling revealed the best option.

I removed the internal battery connection and the battery bay, neatened a few tangled wires, rerouted the connection and put it all back together with the plug relocated to the front of the bay. No irreversible modifications, no cutting or drilling, just moving the connection and putting a bit of foam tape under the battery bay 'bridge' as the new battery is a few mm lower. I may leave the plug loose or I may mount it on standoffs if I can see a good position.

The pictures show how simple it was. An hour tops.
pic 1. As was.
pic 2. As is now, plug moved to the front.
pic 3. With lipo in situ.
 

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We look forward to hearing how it flies, flight time/duration, etc.
Good, clear pictures!
 
We look forward to hearing how it flies, flight time/duration, etc.
Good, clear pictures!
Thanks. If the weather is good I'll be out at the weekend.
What is usual duration for these with a Hero 3?
 
Thanks. If the weather is good I'll be out at the weekend.
What is usual duration for these with a Hero 3?
Depends on the condition, wind, how cold, how you fly, ie grandma or son-n-law? Make sure you monitor your drones battery % and or voltage.
 
Depends on the condition, wind, how cold, how you fly, ie grandma or son-n-law? Make sure you monitor your drones battery % and or voltage.
Thanks, a quick google search shows that around 15 minutes is a reasonable expectation, much less than that in calm conditions usually points to a battery problem.

If I'm getting 15 minutes I'll be happy for now.
 
Hello great to see you got it together,
Nice easy mod you did there.
So how did your test go and how are you holding the battery in place now with out the battery bay door?
Thanks for any updates.

Lennythumbnail (84).jpg
 
Hello great to see you got it together,
Nice easy mod you did there.
So how did your test go and how are you holding the battery in place now with out the battery bay door?
Thanks for any updates.

Lenny

Had a bit of a problem, it wouldn't connect to start with. Tried for about 10 minutes before I realised I still had the simulator selected!! ?
Selected the correct model and it connected in seconds.

Anyway, the bay door shuts with no problem, (I think I forgot to say that the battery bay was replaced once the connector was moved) the new battery is the same length as the old one and with the connections not protruding from the far end there is room to spare.
Even with the fairly long battery leads coiled up inside there is still plenty of room, the battery doesn't move, it is a nice snug fit.

Only flew for 8 minutes, not because battery ran out, not even close, but because I was called indoors for a minor crisis, I'll do a fully charged test tomorrow.

And tomorrow I have some 5000mAH 21700 li-ions arriving, I'll probably build a 3s2p into the old battery case, 10,000mAH for the same weight as the current lipo. (needs to be 2p as these li-ions can only supply 10amps)

ps do you fly yours at night:? Very Alien or Predator with that red light.
 

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Lol
 

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Yep just love those days when I can laugh at myself when that happens,
At least you figured It out right away.
Okay so the door stays,
Keep an eye on the temp of the battery not sure if the C rating is high enough for the amps the drone may draw.

And yes I love flying at night nothing like that Eerie feeling you get flying in the dark night sky.
 
The li-ion battery can supply a constant 20amps (2 X 10amp cells) and I think the motors draw less than 18 as the ESCs are 18amp. (Different sources have from 18amps to 30amps so might have to do more research)

I'll give the night flying a try.
 
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The li-ion battery can supply a constant 20amps (2 X 10amp cells) and I think the motors draw less than 18 as the ESCs are 18amp. (Different sources have from 18amps to 30amps so might have to do more research)

I'll give the night flying a try.
Okay good info because I did not know what they pulled,
Just knew the factory batteries were very low grade and way overpriced.
I spent a lot of time on modifying Fe boats and they pulled lots of amps with constant drag from the water,
So I spent a lot of time checking temperatures so there were no Viking funerals in the water.?
 
Okay good info because I did not know what they pulled,
Just knew the factory batteries were very low grade and way overpriced.
I spent a lot of time on modifying Fe boats and they pulled lots of amps with constant drag from the water,
So I spent a lot of time checking temperatures so there were no Viking funerals in the water.?
Exploding boats, like crashing quads, are impressive for onlookers but not so much fun for owner/pilot.

Given the conflicting evidence I am finding I'm not really certain what the ESCs are rated for, before I build a pack from the li-ions I'll do some more research.
Might even have to do some maths, daunting thought, to work out what the motors draw.
 
Exploding boats, like crashing quads, are impressive for onlookers but not so much fun for owner/pilot.

Given the conflicting evidence I am finding I'm not really certain what the ESCs are rated for, before I build a pack from the li-ions I'll do some more research.
Might even have to do some maths, daunting thought, to work out what the motors draw.
I found a video of a prop and thrust and amp draw test that may give you some of the information we are all looking for,
If you would like I will try to post it here just did not want to muck up your thread more than I did already.Lol
 
That would be great, thanks,
Wasn't a good day to go flying today so will be the weekend.

This was meant to be just a stopgap while I built my other quad, it's turning into a project if it's own. ?
 
I also found a video on a yuneec tech doing a Q500 ESC swap out but apparently they have no clue either of what the amp rating is,
Sort of takes the tech out of the tech. ?
 
I also found a video on a yuneec tech doing a Q500 ESC swap out but apparently they have no clue either of what the amp rating is,
Sort of takes the tech out of the tech. ?
Thanks, cant beat a real world test.
Looks like on standard props it peaks at almost 25amps.
That's probably ok for the 21700s, they can supply 10amps continuous (20amps for 2p) and almost 15amps max (30amps for 2p).
25amps is full throttle, so assume the Escs must be 28amp or more, and I doubt I'll be doing a lot of full throttle.
Definitely will be building a pack.
 
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Glad to help,
I was looking for a good new local battery myself but was not sure if I should trust reviews I see on eBay.
It's like when you ask a question about C rating and burst rate and they don't know the answer and they're the seller, That's a bad sign.
I was thinking of this one.
6000mAh 11.1V 60C 3S Deans Plug LiPo Battery for RC Car Truck Helicopter Boat 463565032181 | eBay
It's not a name I'm familiar with but I've been out of this for a few years.

Mine came from Hobby King, (Turnigy nano-tech 6000mAh 3S 25~50C Lipo Pack w/XT-90) cost £46 with shipping and arrived in two days, in stock now at the UK warehouse. I've used the brand before, for a few years, and the half dozen I had dumped in a box 6 years ago are all fine. They weren't on any particular charge but none are swollen. I have checked capacity on 3 of them, all but 1 has better than 80% of rated capacity.
 
Do you have a charger that can do Battery internal Resistance Checks?
Because none of my other chargers can do that check,
so I'm thinking of getting one or the other of these to do that.

This one is always out of stock in usa warehouse.

 
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