Cheap props?

[ExtraKim]

There´s a lot of different props out on the market/ebay. If you don´t buy DJI props, which props are good and which are bad?
1xCW & 1xCCW DJI props cost $19 in Sweden :shock:

 

[moe3754]

Why would you spend so much for a quad and then try and go cheap on what is most important to keep it in the air? :?

 

[ProfessorStein]

Why would you spend so much for a quad and then try and go cheap on what is most important to keep it in the air? :?

The question of a very wise man!
Perfect response.

 

[ExtraKim]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut. Paying $38 for a set are a rip off, I'm sure that you can buy the exact same props ( with or without the DJI logo) for a better price. You just need to find them and that's why I'm asking.

 

[WPSPETE]

So go buy the cheap ones and let us know. I'm with these guys. Why risk my pricy rig to save a few bucks on props. Plus in 26 flights I have only broke one and that was my first flight. Not a big deal IMO.

 

[ProfessorStein]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut.

If that's what you think, more power to you. But go ahead and buy a cheap set up props, with their inferior plastic, and unbalanced molding, and be sure to come back here and let us know how well your Phantom flies.

 

[UrAwFuL]

DJI Propellers all the way!

At $15/pair for myself, it seems reasonable. I don't change sets every flight so I just have a full extra set just in case something went wrong and so I don't have to wait for shipping. I understand that you're coming from a country that probably has to import all the parts so I get how you don't want to spend more money.

But IMHO, I would stick with the DJI Propellers because 1) they're built for the Phantoms and 2) DJI must stand behind their product. I'm pretty sure the other knock-offs are doing it just for quick buck and probably didn't put much into the engineering process unless proved otherwise. :lol:

 

[sidebox]

I would get the new props, made by DJI. I find them to be more responsive (just slightly).

http://www.allerc.com/dji-9450-thrust-b ... -9455.html

 

[cokeaddict]

Haven't read all the replies but from experience here is my bit.....
I bought some cheap props from china (2 sets) just to see how much worse they were. Funny thing is, when I run the p2 with the cheap props, I can find NO DIFFERENCE in either flight times or control issues OR vibration. The ONLY fault I found was that 2 of the 8 cheap props I got were a little tight to screw on but that was an easy fix by using a tap to clean out the threads.
I am very happy with them and I bought 8 props through ebay for a total cost to my door of $12.00 AU. It was just to see if they were as bad as I have read.
I still have the original props but they are my backup props.
I have read many comments on people buying them only to find they vibrate alot ( meaning they are not balanced) but again, I have fond them to be great.
Its worth getting them for backup just incase your away from home and you break original props.

 

[gunslinger]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut. Paying $38 for a set are a rip off, I'm sure that you can buy the exact same props ( with or without the DJI logo) for a better price. You just need to find them and that's why I'm asking.

Nope... not the case. You're more than welcome to pick up some cheapo XOXOXOXO props. The threads on the props are not exactly precision manufactured. The leading edge is not the same shape as the DJI props and you're going to need to pick up a prop balancer and very carefully balance them. IMHO... I want the manufacturers props keeping my bird up in the air...

-slinger

 

[ExtraKim]

Well to give you an idea why it mathers, as I said they cost $19 / pair in Sweden.
I will be doing a long holiday trip in the caribbean. I will be flying from Sweden to Newark and from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, you never know if some props gets bent on the flights. From Fort Lauderale I will be going on a cruiseship and will be doing 11 stops during 22 days in the caribbean. I need to hand over my drone to the security staff onboard during the days we sail. The only reason I bring my Phantom 2 is that I want to film the caribbean nature. I won't be able to buy ANY spareparts during this trip, this means that I need to bring spareparts with me. I will be needing a lot of props, if I don't want to take the risk to not be able to fly due to broken/bent props. Even if the cruiseline will be responsible if my Phantom gets damage during "their care" that won't help when we are in the caribbean since there's no spareparts availible.. Even if no props are damaged during the transport there's still the risk of having a crash and damaging the props.

The difference of four dollars between Sweden and the U.S isn't that big if you just need one pair but if you need 8 pairs, well then the numbers add up. Add to this that I need to buy at least two batteries, ( they are $129 in the U.S but in Sweden they are $205), new landing gear since I added the gimbal and GoPro, at least two more memory cards ( I want to be able to change cards after a week so that I at least have some fotos/films if I lose the camera). I have the GoPro only for my Phantom, I have a Sony HDR-AS100VR for normal "action cam use" and then I have a normal cam for stills = I need a lot of memory cards. All in all it adds up on the Visa bill..

If you think that I'm cheap well, I'm not made of money

Back to the props, I know well how it works in China when it comes to caraudio and the same factorys builds products for different brands and there's only small cosmetic differences between them but the pricetags are often miles apart depending on what brand you buy. This made me guessing that the same goes for props.

 

[OI Photography]

Back to the props, I know well how it works in China when it comes to caraudio and same the factorys builds products for different brands and there's only small cosmetic differences between then but the pricetags are often miles apart depending on what brand you buy. This made me guessing that the same goes for props.

While that logic certainly does hold true for many consumer products from China, I think you'll find that DJI's props are an exception to that rule. They've invested a lot of resources in both engineering the props as well as manufacturing them, and I have yet to see any copies that are as consistently reliable as DJI's.

Gunslinger's experience with one of the most common brands of knockoff DJI props proves that it's not always worth it to risk using a clone just to save a little money.

Remember too that a slight manufacturing defect in your car stereo won't send you plowing into the curb, but something that small could bring your Phantom crashing to the ground.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut. Paying $38 for a set are a rip off, I'm sure that you can buy the exact same props ( with or without the DJI logo) for a better price. You just need to find them and that's why I'm asking.

Then go ahead and buy the cheap ones and write back when you wreck your bird... :roll:

 

[ExtraKim]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut. Paying $38 for a set are a rip off, I'm sure that you can buy the exact same props ( with or without the DJI logo) for a better price. You just need to find them and that's why I'm asking.

Then go ahead and buy the cheap ones and write back when you wreck your bird... :roll:

The time and research behind the props might be rocket science, but the manufacturing isn´t. Do you realy think that just one factory in the whole world are able to make them? First of all, how do you know that DJI just use one factory? Second, it´s not uncommon that factorys in China makes both the "original" and the "fake" and sells the "fake" on the side.

I might be wrong, but why are people getting hostile? I´m just asking and trying to explain why I think that it might be alternatives to the originals.

Please keep in mind that english isn´t my native language and that I might be using the wrong phraseology and be perceived like I´m having a attitude.

 

[planedr]

If you're stopping off in the states run down to a hobby store and buy the stuff you need. Save some cash.

 

[ExtraKim]

Does anyone know if the Walkera TALI H500 use that same props as the Phantom 2? I´m talking about the H500-Z-01 props.

http://youtu.be/ot5glYjvOs0?t=22s

 

[rjstone]

Props are not rocket science, it's just some plastic with a built in nut. Paying $38 for a set are a rip off, I'm sure that you can buy the exact same props ( with or without the DJI logo) for a better price. You just need to find them and that's why I'm asking.

It sounds like you haven't seen all the software that NASA developed to design wings and other airfoils. Either that or you're just trolling. In a rotorcraft the "props" are actually "rotary wings" which are wings which are airfoils, which people still have to test with physical wind tunnels and smoke because they don't know enough about aerodynamics to write a perfectly accurate computer simulation of fluid (air) dynamics.

So no, they're not rocket science, they're more complicated than rocket science actually. You're more likely to get a working rocket purely with a computer simulation than you are to get a good wing, aircraft body, etc, with just a computer simulation.

If I buy any aftermarket rotors then I want to know 1) what software was used in their design (fluint? nastran? etc) 2) what physical wind-tunnel tests were performed on them to refine the design. Anyone who can't answer those things gets $0 from me and even if I got the rotors free I wouldn't risk destroying a $800 or so piece of equipment trying them out if they didn't come with this information.

 

[rjstone]

The time and research behind the props might be rocket science, but the manufacturing isn´t. Do you realy think that just one factory in the whole world are able to make them? First of all, how do you know that DJI just use one factory? Second, it´s not uncommon that factorys in China makes both the "original" and the "fake" and sells the "fake" on the side.

So someone spends at least 10s of thousands of dollars if not 100s of thousands to design something and they expect to have a patent on it so they can at least recover that cost if not make enough to justify the effort, not have all that engineering stolen. If people are angry then it's possible they do engineering work or other work they can only get paid for because of intellectual propety laws and now you seem to be saying that you effectively want to conspire with counterfeiters to steal all of that, even if only for your own personal use.

Even if we completely overlook your willingness to facilitate crime in a country that can ill afford it (China), you seem to be missing the fact that not all manufacturing is subject to the same quality control standards. In fact, the more QC you have the more expensive something is to produce. People who are stealing intellectual property from others generally don't care what quality of stuff you get so they're going to minimize or eliminate QC in order to make as much money off of you as possible. If you want to facilitate crime by buying stuff from criminals, don't be surprised when the criminals rip you off as well.

 

[ExtraKim]

Well since the DJI Phantom 2 battery are:
1. Original DJI
2. Expensive
3. Of questionable quality
4. Dead long before the 300 cycles that DJI claim

Looks like DJI tries to make as much money off of me as possible, then the criminals might be DJI ?

* Before you get mad, take a look at the smilie.

 

[tanasit]

This may not be exactly what the PO looking for but I have the flight time and sound level for several props:

I just want to see the differences of the flight time using different props. I chose: Phantom stock; Graupner e prop 8x5; GWS 3 blade HD-9050x3; Master Airscrew TB2318 (cut tip); APC 10x3.8 (cut tip). I tried to keep the other factors the same so I used the Phantom stock 2200 mAh pack charged until the light was solid green (Phantom charger) and let the pack sit to stabilize the voltage surge about 30 minutes or so. I let the pack cool down after each test before another charging. The pack was used earlier about 5 cycles. The room temperature was about 40F throughout. The flight time started when it lifted off and I hovered at eye level with ATTI mode until it landed under the fail safe condition. I also recorded the sound level at 2 meters. And here are the results:

Prop time (min:sec.) sound (dB)
Stock 12:48 83
Graupner 12:40 84 adjust throttle a few times
GWS 13:39 83
MasterAS 8:33 84.5
APC 10x3.8 cuttip 13:54 84
Gemfan 9x4.7 14.06 86 stable, hold atti well
APC 9x4.5 oscillation!
FC 3-9x4.5 11:31 92 adjust throttle 2 times
FC 9x4.5 11:42 90 stable, hold atti well
Gemfan 9x4.7 14.22 86 stable, hold atti well Nano-Tech A-Spec 65-130C
Carbon 9x7 13.29 90 slight oscillation (reduce Pitch & roll to 80%)

Carbon 8x4.5 with Contour cam weight = 2.25lbs or 1020.583 g. 8:40 minutes.

Stock 19:45 (2x2200 mAh)

I have some other electric props but they all have too small hub to take the 8mm bores out and be strong enough. The Master Airscrew props tips were cut for the test in my Y6 as the lower props. As for the APC 10x3.8 at first when I turned on the motors, I heard the noise which I thought came from the prop tip hitting the body but later found out that the tips hit each other