Phantom 1 Lipo battery advice?

[Rastus]

What is a popular Lipo battery that will fit the Phantom 1 battery compartment? I'm still learning about the different characteristics of Lipos, 3S, 25C, 35C 2400mAh, 2700mAh etc.
I bought a couple of the Mad Dog 25C 2700 mAh. The fit was tight to begin with. They've since expanded a little and will no longer fit the battery compartment.
Thanks...

 

[IflyinWY]

What is a popular Lipo battery that will fit the Phantom 1 battery compartment? I'm still learning about the different characteristics of Lipos, 3S, 25C, 35C 2400mAh, 2700mAh etc.
I bought a couple of the Mad Dog 25C 2700 mAh. The fit was tight to begin with. They've since expanded a little and will no longer fit the battery compartment.
Thanks...

With a little bit of sanding or carving, however you choose to do it, the 2700 may once again slide into the compartment. Seems to me the opening is the smallest part of the compartment.

I've taken my Dremel to the FC40 and can fit the swollen Multistar 4000 with a bit of effort. Looks like my P1 is in the same shell, I haven't gotten around to grinding on it yet.

Some folks have poked a hole in the case of the battery and then carefully resealed it after letting the extra gas out. I have not tried doing that.

The they's say the battery swells because we mistreat them. I've drained some of mine a bit too much every now and then. They still work good and have lasted a long time.

 

[Ti22]

For direct P1 replacement pack (brick) I use Hobby King Turnigy 20C 2200mAh. They can ship from USA and usually cost me about $10ea. Last 2qty were a little over $26 shipped.

https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=59014

Great battery for the money and fits P1 with plenty of room to spare. I dunno about all the battery compartment mods. I just run stock P1 with 2.2Ah bricks for now.

I’m new to P1 but very experienced with RC Lipo and here’s my thoughts about longevity:

Puffing is never good and I don’t recommend pricking the pouch to remove the Hydrogen gas. Remember the Hindenburg? Same stuff inside puffers. I’ve done it and it’s worked but there’s just so many ways a person can go wrong I can’t recommend doing it.

If mildly puffed, try placing it in the freezer (around storage charge or lower will help) and it should improve puffiness? If it does, while it’s cold wrap the brick with fiber reinforced packing tape. Use layer of clear (Saran) plastic wrap underneath the tape.

In fact, applying reinforced packing tape when new is not a bad idea either. It can help maintain compression which is inherently difficult with any pouch cell format.

However, you can do a lot to prevent puffers by avoiding deep discharges and being mindful of storage charge.

Deep discharge - we all wanna fly as long as possible but when RC Lipo is @ low SOC (state of charge) you easily can cause/waste a lot of excess heat which = irreversible damage. My personal habit is to best minimize current draw after about 1/2 normal flight time.

Know your flight times with various payloads. Better yet, ditch the little toy charger that comes with these birds and buy a real RC Charger so you can actually know how much capacity your packs consume per average flights.

Once you have those numbers established set a timer whenever you start the motors. Don’t hesitate to bring the bird in and swap out for a fresh pack when you’ve reached a conservative flight time.

Another advantage of a real RC charger is that you can recharge at much higher rates. High rate charging is nowhere near as bad on the cells as over discharge and storage @ full SOC. You can safely recharge a healthy brick in almost the time it takes to empty 1-2qty in flight. 4-5qty bricks and you can fly all day if you want.

Storage charge should definitely be applied if you won’t be using the bricks in an upcoming 24 hr period. It’s not too bad to leave ‘em full SOC for a day but any longer you should drain them down to around 50%. Leaving RC Lipo @ nearly full SOC for more than 24 hrs is asking for significant cell deterioration. This is often a reason for puffing, IMO.

Here’s the safety deal about puffing. If/when they swell up like a balloon or inflated rubber glove there’s a very real risk of cell tabs shorting and creating sparks which then causes internal heating, more puffing and can quickly result in very nasty consequences.

Dramatic puffing is most likely how Lipo fires get going in storage with no equipment draining or charging them. I’ve taken a lot of 5Ah bricks apart and reworked them - it’s easy to see how the cell tabs can short once the pouch goes balloon shape.

Take puffers seriously and remember the Hindenburg? Now imagine the Hindenburg with it’s own source of ignition (sparks) and hot Toluene solvent to keep burning after the hydrogen is quickly consumed?

Yeah, they’re awesome cells and revolutionized the RC world but take them very seriously. Store only where you would build a fire. Get some good charging equipment and better understand what all the voltage, amperage, IR parameters really mean. You’ll be glad you did….

 

[Rastus]

Excellent reply Ti22.
Thank you!

 

[Brady]

I have the multistar 4000 in mine too. Requires minimal cutting or sanding. And costs less than some 2200s. I recommend it

 

[JKDSensei]

The BlackMagic 2700 mAh battery did not increase my flight times at all. May have just been the one I got. Dunno.
It was also a but of a chore to get everything inside and the door closed.
I haven't tried a 3000 yet.

 

[gianni_BT]

The BlackMagic 2700 mAh battery did not increase my flight times at all. May have just been the one I got. Dunno.
It was also a but of a chore to get everything inside and the door closed.
I haven't tried a 3000 yet.

My experience with the BlackMagic2700 and 3000 is different:compared with the stock 2200mah, I got about 1min 50sec to 2 minutes more flight time with the 2700mah and 2 minutes 30 sec.to 2min 40 sec more with the 3000mah. With all batteries I increased of about 2 minutes the flight time mounting the 9043 propellers. These results are with Phantom 1.1.1 with propeller guard , a SJ4000 camera mounted on the stock fixed support and a programmable low voltage battery monitor mounted on the quad.

 

[JKDSensei]

Thanks for posting that info gianni.

I also have a P 1.1.1 with an SJ4000.

I tried getting my BM 2700 to give a bit longer flight but never could. Always the exact same flight time as the OEM 2200. Probably just the battery I got.

How did you close the battery door? I have one of those extra large doors and still have a time getting bigger batteries to fit and close the door. I have not opened the battery opening at all.

 

[gianni_BT]

Thanks for posting that info gianni.

I also have a P 1.1.1 with an SJ4000.

I tried getting my BM 2700 to give a bit longer flight but never could. Always the exact same flight time as the OEM 2200. Probably just the battery I got.

How did you close the battery door? I have one of those extra large doors and still have a time getting bigger batteries to fit and close the door. I have not opened the battery opening at all.

I made 2 small cut (about 0.8cm) on both sides of the stock battery door in the 2 bottom corners where the door is rotating: in this way I can insert the battery with wires on the front(exactly like the stock battery): on the left side I pull out both battery main wires and the battery connection wires to the quad, so I can connect the battery leaving the XT60 connectors outside. On the right side I pull out the balance cable of the battery, in order to connect an external programmable low voltage alarm buzzer. It is a small modification that does not change the appearance and the structure of the quad.
About the BM 2700, I confirm that all mine are giving something less than 2 extra minutes of fliing time.

 

[JKDSensei]

I made 2 small cut (about 0.8cm) on both sides of the stock battery door in the 2 bottom corners where the door is rotating: in this way I can insert the battery with wires on the front(exactly like the stock battery): on the left side I pull out both battery main wires and the battery connection wires to the quad, so I can connect the battery leaving the XT60 connectors outside. On the right side I pull out the balance cable of the battery, in order to connect an external programmable low voltage alarm buzzer. It is a small modification that does not change the appearance and the structure of the quad.
About the BM 2700, I confirm that all mine are giving something less than 2 extra minutes of fliing time.

Gianni,
If you ever get a chance and could post a photo of the set up with the battery connected that would be nice. I can visualize what you said but the internal main battery wire must be shorter in my P1 because I can't seem to make that work that way?

Thanks

 

[gianni_BT]

Gianni,
If you ever get a chance and could post a photo of the set up with the battery connected that would be nice. I can visualize what you said but the internal main battery wire must be shorter in my P1 because I can't seem to make that work that way?

Thanks

I can do for sure: the only think I do not know is how to add pictures to these posts.
Do you know how to?

 

[gianni_BT]

Gianni,
If you ever get a chance and could post a photo of the set up with the battery connected that would be nice. I can visualize what you said but the internal main battery wire must be shorter in my P1 because I can't seem to make that work that way?

I hope you can understand.

Thanks

 

[JKDSensei]

Thank you SIR !!

Pictures are worth a lot of words.
Looks from the photo that you also modified the lower corner of the Phantom?

 

[gianni_BT]

Thank you SIR !!

Pictures are worth a lot of words.
Looks from the photo that you also modified the lower corner of the Phantom?

On the left side yes. But it is not mandatory; the about 2 mm modified on the lower part of the frame can be achieved making a bigger cut on the door itself. My choice was to remove a little bit of plastic on the frame.