ElectriFly has
been an industry leader in providing well matched components to
electric R/C enthusiasts for some time. The full line up
includes just about everything you need to get an electric
aircraft aloft, including batteries, chargers, brushless motors
and speed controllers, cell balancers, and even all of the
charge leads and connectors. One of the chief benefits of this
"one stop shopping" approach is that it makes finding compatible
components much easier.
ElectriFly
has taken note of the burgeoning electric helicopter market,
particularly in the 450 size models. Their latest product
is a battery designed for the Trex, Mini Titan, and other three
cell electric helicopters. With a 25C continuous discharge
rating and priced on the same level as their competitors, this
battery definitely shows promise.
New Trex 2200 Mah Lithium Polymer Battery
Pre-instaled Deans Ultra and balance connectors
The
first thing I noticed when I opened the unpacked the battery is
that it came with a pre-installed Deans Ultra female connector.
Since this is what many of the folks flying these size batteries
run, it eliminates the tedious chore of installing the connector.
Also, if done improperly, a person could ruin a brand new battery,
or worse, set something on fire. This point is driven home
by the safety precautions appearing in no less than 3 places!
The warnings are given on the back of the battery packaging, the
instruction sheet, and on a label on the back of the battery itself.
Speaking
of the included sheet, I took a few moments to read over it
and found it extremely thorough. The obligatory safety
precautions of course are there, but it also goes on to explain
many facets of proper battery handling. Such subjects
as balance connectors, proper charging, what to do if your battery
is involved in a crash, and battery disposal are discussed.
There is even an explanation of series and parallel battery
pack terms, complete with wiring diagrams.
An
examination of the battery itself shows it to be rated at 25C.
For a 2200 mah pack this equates to a continuous discharge rating
of 55 amps (2200*25=55000ma converted to amps by dividing by
1000=55). Since I am using a stock Thunder Tiger 40 amp
speed controller this is a good safety margin. 18C is
about the minimum you should try on this size helicopter, but
most serious pilots won't touch anything less than 20C.
There are some 18C 2500mah packs out there that work well because
when you do the math, you will see they can deliver 45 amps
(remember the C rating is based on capacity) which is still
5 amps more than the speed controller rating.
Eagletree Systems Datalogger
I may be a "bit" of a geek
Weight test
Battery testing could be either a very subjective or very scientific
process. I opted for a bit of both. I installed the battery
in my Thunder Tiger Mini Titan (click
here for review) and gave it a few short flights
to get a few cycles on the pack. Then I ran it through
a couple of 4 minute and 30 second 3D flights. While it
was cooling and charging I made a few lights on my trusty Flight
Power 2170 25C pack. My subjective impression was that
the packs were very similar in performance.
Now for the scientific analysis. I hooked up an Eagle Tree Systems eLogger
and made a few flights with each battery. The Eagle Tree
data logger hooks in series between the battery and the speed
controller and measures data and reports on several key variables
relating to battery performance. Mine has an optional
temperature sensor and a brushless motor RPM sensor. The
entire thing weighs very little and I had it installed on the
Mini Titan in just a few minutes.
The
software from the data logger allowed me to export the statistics
to a chart. To reduce the clutter, I omitted the motor
RPM and temperature data, but both batteries remained below
105 degrees throughout the testing. As you can see the
Electrifly battery held its own with what I consider one of
the better batteries in this application on the market.
The EF battery actually showed slightly better numbers, but
to be fair, the Flightpower pack has well over 100 cycles on
it.
From
the start of testing until the submission of this report, the
Electrifly 2200mah battery has 24 cycles on it. As of
this time, I have noticed no drop off in performance that I
am used to seeing on some of the lower priced no name batteries
on the market and Ebay.
Also
note that though it is labeled as a "Trex battery",
don't be fooled. This battery works just as well in airplane
applications where a 3 cell LiPo battery is indicated.
I have a Brio 10 that I use a couple of tired Thunder Power
2100mah packs in and performance is somewhat underwhelming.
I had considered getting rid of the plane but I decided to give
it another try with this pack installed. The airplane
came alive and it was a joy to fly.
I
really enjoyed my experience with this battery and would have
no problem buying one or two more. Also if you're looking
to learn more about electric flight, please see Greg Covey's
excellent AMP'D series of articles right here in the RCUniverse
Magazine. They are a treasure trove of information for
the electric or want to be electric pilot.
Weighing the competition
Electrifly 2200 data log report
FP 2170 data log report
Electrifly
Distributed exclusively by: Great
Planes Model Distributors P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826-9021
Website:
www.greatplanes.com
The comments, observations and conclusions made in this review are solely with respect to the particular item the editor reviewed and may not apply generally to similar products by the manufacturer. We cannot be responsible for any manufacturer defects in workmanship or other deficiencies in products like the one featured in the review.
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