DURALITE 4000mah pack and getting only 4 1/2 flights

[inkspot1967]

DURALITE 4000mah pack and getting only 4 1/2 flights

full charge i get 8.32 no load 7.65 1a load
after 4 1/2 flights i check it at a 1a load and its 6.93

this is a new pack and i have charged it 4 times with same results and cant figure out why

my heli is a r90se with all 94758 airtronic servos and gy601 / 9251 and revmax

duralite 5.1 reg

[WillJames]

You running push-pull linkages on any of thos Airtronic servos?

[TerryBelanger]

I get anywhere for 15 to 20 Flights on my Raptor 50. Futaba 149 Rx, all 9252 Servos, Gy 601/9251, Revmax 5.1 Reg, and 4000Mah Dlite Pack


Were you checking with the dlite tester or another tester that can place a 1 amp load on the batteries between each flight? Is the volage dropping off at any particular number of flights? You could have a bad cell? The Dlites are wired in parrallel so if 1 cell fails you loose capacity.


Call Dlite. If something is wrong they will make it right.

[DavidH]

Those particular ATX servos draw a lot of current when operating. Talking with Alan Jr. he gets less flights than others with different servos also.

David

[inkspot1967]

im not using any push pull , and i have the duralite checker...

[timebandit]

I'm having the same problem with 3 new Duralite 4000Mah batteries I have bought.
Have sent them an email

[frankg11]

I have Rappy 50, DS811's 601, RL10. I am getting about 10-12 flight of 12 min each out of my duralite 4000Mah. I am mostly doing 8's, stalls, rolls and loops. Not too taxing on the rig at the monent.

So BDIS what are you doing to get the 15-20 out of our pack?

[Shortman]

I would advise you to return your pack. A fully charged pack should not be 8.32 volts, that is low. It needs to be 8.4V, so your pack is already showing signs of some premature wear and there is a good chance it could fail. Send it back, let them know your pack is a dud and ask for a replacement, then report back and see if that made any difference.

[DavidH]

From the instruction sheet that comes with the Duralite 7.4 volt Li-Ion packs

7.4 Volt Li-ion Battery Pack
• Plug the male end of the supplied 7.4 volt battery charging cord connector
into the female port on the top of the charger. This port is marked REC
and is set at 7.4 volts.
• Stop fly voltage is when you reach 6.9 volts as checked with a
one-amp load lead.
• Check the battery with the DURALITE Digital Load Tester™. If fully
charged the battery will read 8.2 volts or above with no load and above 7.5
volts with a one-amp load. The measurement should be taken on the black
lead. If your set up requires you to measure voltage on the yellow lead note
that it will read .2 volts higher.
• Discharging the Batteries below 5.5 volts will damage the pack.


David

[agoodman]

I too am getting only 4 flights out of my 4000 pack. I had a brand new Raptor 50 with JR 811 servos, fut 401 gyro w/9254 and only got 4 to 5 flights. Raptor crashed because of my lack of experience and not equip. failure. So I bought a Gohbee Stinger 50. With a new 401 gyro w/ 9254 servo new 4000 pack I still have the same problem. I sent everything back to the factory and they checked it out. All was reported to be ok :arggg: Folks there were great, can't say enough about the help. But still having the problem. I am still just learning with hover down packed and just getting into forward flight. My flight are 13 to 15 min. flights. Am I asking too much? I do not think I am tasking the servos that much! Any thoughts from you experts out there. #1 thought I am having a great time and that is what counts. :D

[frankg11]

Ok, I had one duralite pack fail on me.

It read low voltage after a fresh charge, something less than 8.4, I dont recall the exact number. The voltage fell off to 7.1 or so ( 1 amp load) after 4 or so flights.

The pack was a year old and I didn't want to ask for a replacment since I had got a years worth of use.

When I tore apart the pack I found two cells had leaked and failed so I was only running on two cells.

So if you assume that I lost half the pack and it was a 2000Mah Pack 4-5 flights is about right.

You should find some way to check the individuals cells in the pack for voltage after a full charge and see if they are still good.

[Rudy]

How tight are linkages on your controls. I was at an event and a guy was having the same problem with a new raptor he had built. The RX battery was running down very quick. A check of the linkages found all the ball links way to tight. A amp meter was used to test the system and it showed what when the servos were moved like in a normal flight they would draw up to 3.5 amps. Using a set of needle nose pliers the owner was able to free up all the ball links so the linkages were free to move. Retested again and current draw was now way under a amp.

Fight time for the pack inproved to what it should be.

[Havoc]

Seems I get less than a year out of mine before I notice a large drop off in the number of flights. But at that time it is also noticed after a fresh charge. An 8.4 no load will go to 7.2 under 1 amp load right off the charger when I see this problem. If yours is is fine right off the charger it must be related to something on the heli.

[SGUNN911]

I would say (if you haven't done so already) to do as said above and make sure your linkages aren't binding. Some times the linkage can be a tad short and put a lot of extra stress on the servo from being tight.

Check your endpoints on the radio to make sure they aren't binding at the end positions, that drains quite a bit.

I also read a pretty good article about servo drag in a recent heli mag. Check and make sure the servo arms are not touching the servo case. It shows some servos with that problem (i believe one was an Airtronics) They put a small washer between the servo gear and arm to space it away from the case.

Most problems I have ever had with battery run times has been because of binding/linkage issues, which are sometimes hard to know about unless you have problems.

Just my 2cents. Hope it gets fixed

[HELIKID]

The best way to check the amps when flying is with a watts up meter. this will tell you if your electronics is drawing to many amps or if the batteries are not holding up.

[Dr.Tim]

I'm getting about 4 to 5 .. 10 minute flights on my Super Puma! That with 4 futaba 9206's gy502 gyro, Retracts and Full lighting! Thats DOUBLE what I was getting with my 3800mah Nicad packs!! Make sure nothing is binding and causing high current draw ... I also understand talking with Alan Szabo that the Super Servos he uses draw High Power ..... The way he flys though ... go figure :)

Dr.Tim

[Shortman]

I wouldn't be surprised if you have a bad cell and your only running on 2 cells. There is no reason even running the Airtronics servos and with binding (if you did) that it would reduce your flight time to 4-5 flights. A 4000mah Li Ion should give you 8+flights easy on your 90. It sounds to me too since its reading 8.32V fully charged that one of your cells isnt quite up to par. My li ion packs, EVERY SINGLE one that I have had finishes and HOLDS a charge at 8.40V on a triton and Thunderpower 425 charger under no load. If your seeing 8.32 it could also be one of your cells in unbalanced.

[WillJames]

I wouldn't be surprised if you have a bad cell and your only running on 2 cells. There is no reason even running the Airtronics servos and with binding (if you did) that it would reduce your flight time to 4-5 flights. A 4000mah Li Ion should give you 8+flights easy on your 90. It sounds to me too since its reading 8.32V fully charged that one of your cells isnt quite up to par. My li ion packs, EVERY SINGLE one that I have had finishes and HOLDS a charge at 8.40V on a triton and Thunderpower 425 charger under no load. If your seeing 8.32 it could also be one of your cells in unbalanced.



Don't count on it Steven. I have seen on my own heli, ONE binding 9252 drain down a fully charged DL pack in a 20 minute gasser flight to the point where the gyro reset due to low voltage.

[KenChoo]

Double check your Duralite tester as well. Some people over here have had slightly malfunctioning units that read voltages lower than what they actually were. There isa simple fix for it (but I'm not sure what it was). Maybe use the same tester on different packs? I doubt that's the cause of your problem, but just to be sure...

Ken

[dogg5306]

Guys...

That's frightening... I was about to order some 4000mah packs (to be delivered in Europe)... but it seems that there are so many unreliable packs, you're not even 100% sure to get a healthy one and getting them back to US from Europe is an issue...

Aren't those batteries supposed to be tested before leaving the factory :arggg:
Is the Duralite voltage checker... the only one that is considered as "reliable" with Duralite batteries :?:

[DavidH]

There is a lot of Duralite users here in the USA . Nothing unreliable about Duralite batteries. I have been using them a few years now. In that time I have had one pack that had one cell go bad. I still used the pack till Duralite sent me a pack to replace it. Only way I knew the cell was bad I was not getting as many flights as I had previously before it went bad.
You can use any voltage checker that will put at least 1 amp load on the batteries when checking them.
I also have a Fluke volt meter I use that has a 1 amp load resistor plugged into it. I use the Fluke to see if my Duralite tester is reading correctly.
Go ahead and order the Duralites.

David

[roy voss]

i half to agree with david, i have been using them few over 2 years . the only problem i had was that the charge circuit went bad on one pack. i used the pack to fly, i just could not charge it. called duralite, jack sent me a new pack no questions asked. great people do deal with.

[Wa11banger]

I have been using them for just under two years.. I have had one pack go bad in that time and it was a direct result of a ATX 94758 locking up on me.. I took from the time I turned it on and started to the time I put in the grass to drain and kill the battery. Can't blame the battery for that one. It gave its all to that servo.. I have never had any other issues with any Duralite battery. I was getting terrible run times out of my evo 20 1800 but that was discovered as a way to tight belt :D :D

Duralite puts out the best you can buy, the product and the support staff are top notch, I can only suggest what the others have, go over that models linkages again. Look for any binding, and look for tight links.. Another thing to do is feel one of them 94758's after a flight.. They are very high current draw.. But shouldnt be working as hard as your tail servo.. If they are hot at all there is something wrong with that servo or the control linkages for it.

Rick