- Joined
- Feb 24, 2017
- Messages
- 2,997
- Reaction score
- 3,185
- Location
- Central Florida
- Website
- copperdawg.com
The other day I was speaking with another Plus owner and we were contemplating which direction we would go in terms of battery replacement. My Plus is coming up on a year old in a couple months and I have seen a steady decline in their capacity; they can still fly around 14 minutes but I have been reading reviews and discussions about the pluses and minuses of LiHV and I am seeing that while they have a lot of potential early in their life cycle, they do not hold up over time as good as a LiPo.
I know many are using the 480 batteries in their Plus, but I have to date, not as I have three Plus batteries and they are working but I can see a time when I will need to replace them. So today, I took my 26 month old Ultrax battery that will fly my 480 for approximately 14 minutes, gave it a charge and slapped it into the Plus for a test. Now since the ST-16S readout is in 'percentage', I expected to see it start out somewhere in the low to mid 90's - especially since this is an old worn out battery but; it was at 100% initially - and for a fleeting 11 seconds.
The test flight was in mild winds, 85 degrees F, and with light humidity and was simply at hover for the duration. I decided to push it all the way down to the second battery warning - I got 12.5 minutes. Hmmm. ? After a cooling off period, I slapped it on the charger to take it to storage mode as I felt this test had pretty much sealed the deal that I was going to replace my current batteries with those designed specifically for the Plus. As I was walking out of the garage, about 15 seconds after starting the storage process, the charger called out the 'Finished' jingle. . . . . . the low battery warning on the Plus is not the same by a long shots as that of the Typhoon H. Indeed I then flew a Plus battery all the way down to the second warning (in the Plus also), let it cool and then put it on the charger an you guessed it - 15.2 volts - there abouts.
So the obvious says that I can time the duration between seeing 14.8 volts on the ST-16 (Typhoon H) which will normally rebound to 15.2 - and when the readout is at 14.4 volts to get an estimate of how far past the first warning one can fly his Plus with a 480 battery. . . . .
Or I could just ask those of you who do fly 480 batteries in your Plus; how long you do fly past the warnings?
The only thing that would bother me is upon the third warning, the Plus will begin to climb to RTH altitude - and I know I can disable that by flicking the flight mode switch to Sport and back to angle or visa versa but; that seems like a lot of hassle every thirty seconds.
So as it stands now, I guess I would just like to know what a brand new 480 battery like an Ultrax can do in a Plus in terms of duration. If I can get sixteen minutes (or there abouts) before the second warning, and be at a price point very near a three to one ratio well; my mind is made up. I think.
What say ye Plus and 520 flyers? ?
I know many are using the 480 batteries in their Plus, but I have to date, not as I have three Plus batteries and they are working but I can see a time when I will need to replace them. So today, I took my 26 month old Ultrax battery that will fly my 480 for approximately 14 minutes, gave it a charge and slapped it into the Plus for a test. Now since the ST-16S readout is in 'percentage', I expected to see it start out somewhere in the low to mid 90's - especially since this is an old worn out battery but; it was at 100% initially - and for a fleeting 11 seconds.
The test flight was in mild winds, 85 degrees F, and with light humidity and was simply at hover for the duration. I decided to push it all the way down to the second battery warning - I got 12.5 minutes. Hmmm. ? After a cooling off period, I slapped it on the charger to take it to storage mode as I felt this test had pretty much sealed the deal that I was going to replace my current batteries with those designed specifically for the Plus. As I was walking out of the garage, about 15 seconds after starting the storage process, the charger called out the 'Finished' jingle. . . . . . the low battery warning on the Plus is not the same by a long shots as that of the Typhoon H. Indeed I then flew a Plus battery all the way down to the second warning (in the Plus also), let it cool and then put it on the charger an you guessed it - 15.2 volts - there abouts.
So the obvious says that I can time the duration between seeing 14.8 volts on the ST-16 (Typhoon H) which will normally rebound to 15.2 - and when the readout is at 14.4 volts to get an estimate of how far past the first warning one can fly his Plus with a 480 battery. . . . .
Or I could just ask those of you who do fly 480 batteries in your Plus; how long you do fly past the warnings?
The only thing that would bother me is upon the third warning, the Plus will begin to climb to RTH altitude - and I know I can disable that by flicking the flight mode switch to Sport and back to angle or visa versa but; that seems like a lot of hassle every thirty seconds.
So as it stands now, I guess I would just like to know what a brand new 480 battery like an Ultrax can do in a Plus in terms of duration. If I can get sixteen minutes (or there abouts) before the second warning, and be at a price point very near a three to one ratio well; my mind is made up. I think.
What say ye Plus and 520 flyers? ?