E7 battery tray

[whytlotus]

My Hyperion 12s sticks will be doing double duty with my TDR and E7. I like the silicone tubing on the frame spacers that serve as the battery tray in the TDR. That with Scorpion non slip straps works really well. I did some searching for non slip material and found this. Width is 1.7 inches and 6.75 long. Looks like a good fit for the battery tray with some minor trimming and should work real well with the non slip straps. Will update when they arrive.
http://geckostrips.com/#ecwid:catego...roduct=1457625

[heli21]

As another TDR owner I came to this idea when I built mine about a month ago. I just used rubber sheet from Mcmaster-carr, it is working perfect.

Rob

[4cyclic]

keep us posted wit these strips. I like the idea.

[whytlotus]

Well I got the Gecko strips today and they definately live up to their name. The pic below was taken in my bare hand with the strip still on the sheet. This is a 1413gram 12s lipo being held at close to near vertical. I will be cutting out the larger holes on the tray because it does have a sticky back and would likely be a dirt magnet. It fits fine in between the button head screws on the tray and is slightly wider than the larger cutouts. Even with the larger holes cut out, I doubt it will diminish the holding power much. I'll still use non-slip straps. Just a quick caveat. I just mounted one strip using the cutouts to fill in the front of the tray. If your packs are wide enough to rest on top of the button head screws, it will decrease contact with the material and would not recommend using using a regular strap. I'm going to see if the other stick strips sticky side will stick on top to make a double thickness. A slightly thicker strip might be a better way to go.

[whytlotus]

Well the verdict is in on this particular product. One layer works good if your batteries fit in between the the button head screws and makes good contact with the material. I tried putting a second layer on top of the first. While the adhesive bottom does stick to the non stick surface, if you catch the edge right the top layer it will peel back. I wouldn't recommend this for wider packs. If your packs fit in between the button head screws, you'll be ok. I found another product with a .062 thickness which should be near ideal. Have to talk to the vendor to answer some questions on it tomorrow.

[4cyclic]

Can't you make circular cut-outs for the button heads to assure a positive contact of the pad ?

[whytlotus]

Originally Posted by 4cyclic

Can't you make circular cut-outs for the button heads to assure a positive contact of the pad ?

That might help some, but the problem is the heads raise the battery enough to where it doesn't make good contact with the material on the tray. There is some material I found that is nearly as thick as the button heads are tall which I think is the right stuff. It is .062" thick. Also found some 12x12 sheets that are .125 inches thick, but is quite expensive. Ideally, you need something thats almost or as tall as the buttton heads to make good contact and the battery straps will seal the deal. I noticed good improvement when I added the second layer. I'm not staisfied the top layer will stay put when you're dragging batts in and out. Thicker is the way to go. This is with 2 layers. I'm going to look into something else today.

[heli21]

I used Double sided tape to attach my Rubber Sheet to the bottom place. Between the double sided tape and the rubber it is thick enough to get the batteries above the bolt heads. I just made cut outs for them.

I've flown some pretty hard flights and I have not had them move yet.

Rob

[4cyclic]

my packs clear the button heads, not so wide as to interfere, so I should use these sheets.

[4cyclic]

Just ordered some Gecko strips.

[vanillagorilla]

let us know how it turns out....been considering this instead of velcro...I'll be using TP 4400 65c stick packs (clear shrink)

[whytlotus]

I've got a 12 x12 sheet of some thicker non slip textured silicone on order. Should be here any day. I'll make a post with my findings. If it works out I'm going to have more than what I'll need. I should be able to get about 8-10 strips 1.5" x 7" which will cover the tray utilising the cutouts at minimal cost. It'll cover the tray as shown in the pic I posted.

[Magneto]

I used the gecko material on the bottom plate and used scorpion large straps and made 12s packs out of my 6s 4400s with a piece of carbon a( trex 500 bottom plate) and 4 inch shrink wrap loading is alot easier now.

[halfcab]

You're heat shrink wrapping the battery's and tray together...Yes?

[Magneto]

Yes thats correct I use double side tape on the plate mount the batts then install the heat shrink and cut holes for the balancer and wires and heat it, You can get the heat shrink @ esprit model the 4inch size is what you need for 4000-5000 size packs.

[vanillagorilla]

where did you buy the gecko material?

[whytlotus]

Originally Posted by vanillagorilla

where did you buy the gecko material?

http://geckostrips.com/shop#ecwid:ca...roduct=1457625

[4cyclic]

just installed gecko strips on both E6 and E7, works great, When I shrunk wrapped my 12s packs, I put a strip full lenght of thin carbon fiber board under the packs, so gecko has good grip on a flat surface.

[whytlotus]

I finally got the thicker non slip textured silicone sheet I ordered almost a month ago. I think the Gecko has a slight edge on grip, but this stuff is going to work well for me. It's thick enough to be as tall as the button head screws on the battery tray, so my packs have great contact with the material. I strapped a pack to the tray with 3 Scorpion non slip straps and the pack was solid in place. I have six 8 1/2" x 1 3/4" strips with adhesive back that I can part with for $10.00 to your door in the cont. US if anyone is interested. They will ship in a blister envelope. Packaging and postage will likely be a good $3.50 of the $10.00. If anyone wants the name of the place, pm me. It's $38.00 for a 12 x 12 sheet plus $8.00 to apply the adhesive. They also charged $15.00 shipping and handling...so it's not a cheap deal. But it's also 6-7 times thicker than Gecko strips. I cut mine short, but the 8.5 " length will cover all three big holes by almost a half inch and is wide enough to cover about half of the recessed screws. The hole cutouts fill the rest with a small section left over. The adhesive should tolerate lifting a couple of times if need during placement, but I wouldn't be sure beyond that.

[4cyclic]

looks good, nice install. I have some of that red rubber foam, it's good stuff.