Prop balancing.

[cheddarman]

I'm sure this has been covered before but no harm in raising it again.
One of the biggest destructors of any rotating equipment is vibration, usually caused by unbalanced rotating parts.
On a Drone not only could out of balance blades cause motor bearing and other component failure but will almost certainly lead to blurred photographs.
So, do you regularly check your blade balance? What do you use?

I have a Tru Spin pro balancer from DuBro but don't have the 6mm left/right thread shaft for the Phantom blades and am wondering if it's worth the £20 investment.

 

[sar104]

I've given up even checking the balance - since I started with the P2 over 5 years ago I've never found an out-of-balance DJI prop.

 

[cheddarman]

Great, just saved £20! However any slight damage from foreign object contact could upset the balance. Important to keep edges smooth, no nicks and dents.

 

[sar104]

Great, just saved £20! However any slight damage from foreign object contact could upset the balance. Important to keep edges smooth, no nicks and dents.

That is certainly true.

 

[Oso]

I have a Tru Spin pro balancer from DuBro but don't have the 6mm left/right thread shaft for the Phantom blades and am wondering if it's worth the £20 investment.

A quick hack is to use the handle of a common x-acto knife if you have one. It fits perfectly in a P3 prop hub. Remove the blade of course, insert the handle into the hub. It will stop before the threads. I've used one for 4 years now, though as @sar104 said I also stopped worrying about it when over time I repeatedly found DJI props to very well balanced.

 

[cheddarman]

I like that!

 

[JeffreyS]

DJI props are injecting molded in molds that are made very precisely. I can't see how one would be out of balance right out of the box.

 

[cheddarman]

I'm not saying "out of the box" but with a lot of use dust can erode the surfaces, little dings from catching a twig? All sorts of things can put them out of balance both mechanically and aerodynamically.

 

[sar104]

I'm not saying "out of the box" but with a lot of use dust can erode the surfaces, little dings from catching a twig? All sorts of things can put them out of balance both mechanically and aerodynamically.

You might catch mechanical imbalance due to damage by checking balance, but aerodynamic issues will only show up in flight. And stop using your Phantom to trim vegetation.

 

[solentlife]

I use the O-Day balancer which is a direct copy of the Du-Bro and just as good but lot cheaper price.

There is no need on the Du-Bro or O-Day to use a special shaft and especially 20 quid price !!!

The O-Day and I know Du-Bro did supply it or started to supply similar ... a brass smooth tube that slides on to the long shaft and this is a press fit into a P3 hub. There is also a silicon tube piece that slides on behind it to keep it in place on the shaft ...







20 quid ... ?????

On balancing ... even Master Airscrews .... APC .... JP .... they all advise prop balancing and THEY are reputable premium prop manufacturers ... so why would DJI be any different ? Moulded GFN props can be out of balance even with the best of injection gear.

 

[sar104]

I use the O-Day balancer which is a direct copy of the Du-Bro and just as good but lot cheaper price.

There is no need on the Du-Bro or O-Day to use a special shaft and especially 20 quid price !!!

The O-Day and I know Du-Bro did supply it or started to supply similar ... a brass smooth tube that slides on to the long shaft and this is a press fit into a P3 hub. There is also a silicon tube piece that slides on behind it to keep it in place on the shaft ...







20 quid ... ?????

On balancing ... even Master Airscrews .... APC .... JP .... they all advise prop balancing and THEY are reputable premium prop manufacturers ... so why would DJI be any different ? Moulded GFN props can be out of balance even with the best of injection gear.

Have you ever found DJI props to be out of balance?

 

[gingerbloke]

I found nearly all of my (8) P3 props were out of balance brand new - easy enough to fix (I have a balancer threaded at each end).

With my P4 props I've only had one prop from 12 that needed balancing out of the box.

 

[msinger]

About half of my P3 props were always out of balance by just a bit. For my P4s and beyond, I've stopped checking the balance. I don't think the small imperfections I found will ever make a huge impact when flying.

 

[cheddarman]

I use the O-Day balancer which is a direct copy of the Du-Bro and just as good but lot cheaper price.

There is no need on the Du-Bro or O-Day to use a special shaft and especially 20 quid price !!!

The O-Day and I know Du-Bro did supply it or started to supply similar ... a brass smooth tube that slides on to the long shaft and this is a press fit into a P3 hub. There is also a silicon tube piece that slides on behind it to keep it in place on the shaft ...







20 quid ... ?????

On balancing ... even Master Airscrews .... APC .... JP .... they all advise prop balancing and THEY are reputable premium prop manufacturers ... so why would DJI be any different ? Moulded GFN props can be out of balance even with the best of injection gear.

THAT I like and didn't think of! Yep, on the DuBro Try Spin one of the brass collars fits exactly into the unthreaded part of the prop and the little plastic retainer actually screws into the thread, so job done!

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Seems like a pretty controversial subject...( propeller balance )... seems like a lots of yes's and No's very interesting to watch and read too...Thank you all.

 

[solentlife]

Have you ever found DJI props to be out of balance?

Yes is the simple answer. Maybe not by much - but because I prefer to have balanced props on ALL my models - I check and adjust.

But again I answer - Yes ... at least 10 out of my 12 with at least 4 of them more than the others.

 

[solentlife]

THAT I like and didn't think of! Yep, on the DuBro Try Spin one of the brass collars fits exactly into the unthreaded part of the prop and the little plastic retainer actually screws into the thread, so job done!

Saved you 20 quid ... and now you can balance all your props ....

Cheers

 

[msinger]

Seems like a pretty controversial subject...( propeller balance )... seems like a lots of yes's and No's very interesting to watch and read too...Thank you all.

I don't think it's a secret that some props aren't perfectly balanced. The real question is how much does that small imbalance matter?

 

[3rdof5]

I dont own a prop balancer, but out of curiosity i checked all 8 of my props balancing on the tip of a tiny screwdriver and only 1 was out of balance and that was one that was marked up from a tip over on takeoff and I don't use it anyway.

 

[cheddarman]

I dont own a prop balancer, but out of curiosity i checked all 8 of my props balancing on the tip of a tiny screwdriver and only 1 was out of balance and that was one that was marked up from a tip over on takeoff and I don't use it anyway.

Sorry, that's not "balancing"!