Blade 230S V2 battery

[bolus60]

Requesting recommendation for battery options and websites to purchase from

Thanks

[BrokeDad]

The Nanotech 950's and the Turnigy 1000's are my favorite. Usually get them from Amazon but a bit cheaper on Ebay.

[xoexoe]

I use Tattu 3S 1050 mAh from Amazon. Both the 45C and the 75C fit just fine. They have XT-60 by default, so you’d have to change the 230 S ESC to XT-60 connector (which I did) or switch the batteries over to the red JST (I wouldn’t).

[Aerobat66]

I am a huge fan (also) of these on my V1. As far as I know, they would work on a V2 also. I haven't searched for better prices on them lately, and have gotten all of mine from here:


https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...lipo-pack.html


I don't fly 3D, and I get 9.5 - 10 minute flights out of mine, with a CF tail rotor. 8.5 - 9 minute flights with a plastic tail rotor.

[Psycho_dad]

Originally Posted by Aerobat66

I am a huge fan (also) of these on my V1. As far as I know, they would work on a V2 also. I haven't searched for better prices on them lately, and have gotten all of mine from here:


https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...lipo-pack.html


I don't fly 3D, and I get 9.5 - 10 minute flights out of mine, with a CF tail rotor. 8.5 - 9 minute flights with a plastic tail rotor.

I use the same batteries but never ever would I fly them 9 - 10 minutes...it will definately decrease their life-expand; my timer is set to 5 minutes max and I don't fly 3D either (some inverted flights but no hardcore 3D).

[Aerobat66]

Originally Posted by Psycho_dad

I use the same batteries but never ever would I fly them 9 - 10 minutes...it will definately decrease their life-expand; my timer is set to 5 minutes max and I don't fly 3D either (some inverted flights but no hardcore 3D).

Maybe different flying styles between us. 9-10 minutes uses up the whole charge, with a tiny margin left, before it hits LVC. I have tested it. And I get hundreds of flights out of a battery.

[Allan114]

I use Gens Ace batteries and they have been very good and reliable for me. You have to change the plugs to the smaller connector or make up an adapter lead.

As for flight times I have never got 9 minutes. My timer is set at 6 minutes and that's about the limit on my 1000mAh batteries. I'm not into 3D either.

[BrokeDad]

I set my timer a 6 minutes also. So far several seasons on all my lipos for this except the Eflite ones which eventually puffed and had skyrocketing IR's.

The graphene ones are nice too but I've only invested in those in my bigger helis that use 6S 5000's.

[Aerobat66]

For further reference, with the Turnigy 950's, my timer is set to 9:30. I normally land and shut it down at about 9:20. I know that once my timer expires, I can hover for 30-45 more seconds before LVC cuts motor power. I am using pretty much all of the charge, but with a little safety margin left. I fly on average, about 5 flights per week, which is roughly 250 flights per year. Getting at least 2 years out of a battery (500+ flights), I don't think I'm hurting them at all by flying for 9.5 minutes.

My flights are a mix of hovering and forward/backward/sideways flight, with no inverted flight or 3D. Some moderately fast forward flight, with lots of zooming around the trees in my front yard. I'm not working the collective pitch very hard.

[LongTimeRC]

You would be very happy with these. The reviews speak for themselves. Come with the correct connector also. Worth a look. In fact, take a look at ANY of the Admiral lipo reviews. Good luck.

https://www.motionrc.com/collections...-battery-w-jst

[bolus60]

Thanks for all the options

[RCFred]

At what voltage does your LVC cut power? What is the bat V upon landing? Conventional wisdom says 3.75-ish, as a rule, is ideal.

[smitty400]

I fly with Glacier 3S 800-mAh batteries. I've had good luck with these batteries over the last season.

BUDDY RC

[Aerobat66]

Originally Posted by RCFred

At what voltage does your LVC cut power? What is the bat V upon landing? Conventional wisdom says 3.75-ish, as a rule, is ideal.

With the Turnigy 950, here are my voltages:

@9:30 (my normal countdown timer setting):
3.59V
3.65V
3.62V

@LVC (@10:00):
3.14V
3.47V
3.34V

I balance the cells during every charge, and I normally store them with a Storage Charge on them.

I don't recall lowering the LVC level a long time ago, but I that is possible. Not likely, though. I don't even currently know how to change that setting.

And even though I may be using these batteries too hard, the extra flight time is worth it for me, especially considering that I get roughly 2 years and 500 flights out of a battery, using them this way. I don't really care if I have to buy a new $10-$11 battery every 2 years.

[ridge-runner]

Originally Posted by RCFred

At what voltage does your LVC cut power? ...

From the factory, the Blade 230S-V2 heli ESC is running the open source BLHeli "main" firmware version 14.4 on the main motor (and BLHeli 14.4 "tail" on the tail motor). The main motor low voltage cutoff voltage is set to 3.2V. Here are the factory ESC settings for the main motor:

[Thunder Fighter]

Originally Posted by Aerobat66

And even though I may be using these batteries too hard, the extra flight time is worth it for me, especially considering that I get roughly 2 years and 500 flights out of a battery, using them this way. I don't really care if I have to buy a new $10-$11 battery every 2 years.

Which is fine if it is working for you, it may be because of the relative low current discharge that the cells are not dieing much sooner on you.

You are seeing them go quite a way out of balance due to the over discharge and this will add to your charge time, but if you are not recharging during a session it might not be that important to you.

But if you move to something bigger and with more expensive Lipos you will want to manage the discharge better to end your flights with around 3.75v per cell minimum and for longer life 3.78v per cell at rest. On the bigger helis with packs costing hundreds of dollars it is worth managing the packs better.

//Dennis

[Allan114]

After you land and disconnect the battery then the no load voltage will recover a little. I find if I have hit the LVC my batteries show about 3.5v per cell on the battery doctor. I normally stop flying at about 3.7v per cell.

[Psycho_dad]

Originally Posted by Thunder Fighter

Which is fine if it is working for you, it may be because of the relative low current discharge that the cells are not dieing much sooner on you.

You are seeing them go quite a way out of balance due to the over discharge and this will add to your charge time, but if you are not recharging during a session it might not be that important to you.

But if you move to something bigger and with more expensive Lipos you will want to manage the discharge better to end your flights with around 3.75v per cell minimum and for longer life 3.78v per cell at rest. On the bigger helis with packs costing hundreds of dollars it is worth managing the packs better.

//Dennis

the above info is spot on

[Me_How]

Originally Posted by bolus60

Requesting recommendation for battery options and websites to purchase from

Thanks

It is hard to give recommendation for a best battery as it very much depends on your needs.
Short answer is:
If you need performance get a light pack if you need practice time go heavier.

Long answer is:
I recently acquired a new pack and hope to give you some ideas how to choose.


I fly 230s v1 night version with regular blades when not dark. Love the light kit.
After almost five years of flying I'm no pro. I do light aerobatics with flips, rolls, loops, inverted hovers, stall turns and such.
For my needs I selected light battery for better performance and high capacity battery for longer practice times.
For completeness my ACRO TC is 100-80-75-80-100 and PC is 0-25-50-75-100. My practice TC is 0-25-40-50-90 and PC is 30-37-50-75-100


Over the years I learned not to trust battery open circuit voltage too much for it's performance assessment. Therefore first few test flights I've done were with low voltage alarm (extra 9g or 0.30oz) plugged in balancing port set to 3.7V per cell, then 3.6V and 3.5V. In the end I chose my desired flight times for two flying styles I do keeping battery safe and avoiding Low Voltage Cut-off.


Gens Ace 800mAh 40C (32A continuous discharge rate)

Charging from 3.0V to 4.2V per cell (using proper charger/discharger) these do take about 860mAh charge. At 71g or 2.50oz this pack gives me 5:00min in Acro and 7:00min in practice mode. I typically use about 500-560mAh in flight.
I like how agile the model feels with it. There is enough pop to it and practice time is almost right. I can see why Blade chose this capacity as default.
These do not perform all too well when cold. At 10C (50F) I must drop a minute off my timer or I hit LVC. Flying near freezing temperatures is just pointless with these.
This one has 204 flights on it (3y old) and cells Internal Resistance is 14/13/12mO so these will last few more seasons for me.
Would I recommend it? Yes, but only if you don't intend to fly in cold weather. Where to buy? Depend on your location - use the force of the internet.

Conrad 1200mAh 30C (36A continuous discharge rate)

Charging from 3.0V to 4.2V per cell (using proper charger/discharger) these do take about 1400mAh charge. At 114g or 4.0oz this pack gives me 10:00min in Acro and 15:00min in practice mode. I typically use about 1070-1200mAh in flight.
The model feels really heavy with these. It has limited pop, but it would not be fair to say that it is all gone. Flight times are unreal almost to the point where I want a break before timer runs out.
Only tested at 10C (50F) so far and very happy with performance for my needs. I was surprised how much better my model flies with this obese pack in windy conditions. It is incomparably more stable and not being tosses around like it is with a light pack.
This is only a new addition to my collection intended to be my practice and winter pack and has only 8 flights on it. No wonder that cells Internal Resistance is 10/10/9mO. Life span of these is TBC.
Would I recommend it? Only if you need long practice times, or you fly when it is cold or windy. Where to buy? Depend on your location - use the force of the internet.

[RIngrey]

I run Overlander Supersport 900mah Lipos and manage comfortable 8 minute flight times. This leaves me with roughly 30% charge remaining which is a nice discharge and has served me well over the years with my fixed wing models. Not too sure what that relates to in voltage but I will check following my next flights. My batteries always last me well, always balanced when charging and always left with a storage charge when not in use.