This is the ideal size and performance pack for the TP3 series and 3” light micro quads.
UPDATE:
Due to the HV versions total utter lack of popularity and interest, we have stopped carrying the HV version. We don't blame you for not wanting the HV. There's nothing that the HV does better than the standard voltage.
About HV vs non-HV:
There are many HV labeled batteries on the market. Many of these are falsely advertised as HV and for quite some time, many were unsure if HV was just marketing or if it was an actual physical or chemical change in the batteries. After our own testing, we have confirmed that at least these batteries actually have something different to support a wider voltage range. The overall capacity of the pack is realized across the entire 3-4.35v range and we are testing both packs capacity at about 430mah when operated down to 3.3v/cell. GNB engineers tell us these cells can actually be operated down to 2.8v per cell but we STRONGLY recommend not going below 3.2v per cell in actual flight or you risk reducing the lifecycle endurance of the battery. Charging the HV packs to only 4.2v will result in ~50mah lower capacity and shorter flight times.
This expanded voltage range DOES come at a cost. Historically, HV labeled packs loose their ‘zest’ very quickly and after about 15-20 use cycles, you kinda don’t even want to use them anymore because other packs are more powerful. This is still true of low quality HV cells or othrewise fake labeled packs but good quality cells will last longer. We’ve got a dozen of these packs both HV and non-HV past 40 cycles on all the packs with minor detectable degradation in performance and stable internal resistance. GNB themselves however tell us that the HV packs do not last as many charge cycles. They don’t have a measurement as to how many cycles either pack is rated for, but for sure the standard voltage packs last for many more cycles with consistent performance. The company's rationale for being okay with this is that the pack will be destroyed before the cycle age limit is reached.
Performance is a good thing to think about as well. What you get with the HV cells is really just a touch more voltage during the first 20sec or so of your flight. It’s almost undetectable but when compared side by side, you can just barely but consistently tell. At least that’s as far as we’ve been able to tell on our TP3 quads. Flight time of both packs are almost exactly the same. So close we cannot tell from normal flight use if one gives us more flight time.
The regular non-HV GNB 450mah packs with an XT30 on them are rare in the industry as the GNB company only makes them upon special request. We were very wary about the HV vs non-HV given our poor past experiences with HV packs so we decided to stock both and let you choose. We will continue to stock whichever one is more popular. Ultimately both packs work exceptionally well.
Overcharging non-HV cells to HV voltages:
This has become common practice among racers but it’s generally not recommended. If for nothing else, it’s just unsafe. Overcharged cells will result in the quad trying to pull the amps harder and the pack heating up faster resulting in swelling of the cells and potential explosion and fire. Of course this is exaggerated but can actually happen. So we’ve tested this as well. The non-HV cells actually seem to have no issues charging up to 4.35v/cell and we’ve got two packs that have about 30 cycles on them with no issues. However, the actual performance gain is next to nothing. You will have slightly more voltage for less than the first 10sec of flight and less than ten seconds more flight time. Even though all these packs are performing admirably, we are certain that the cycle life expectancy of overcharging a pack regularly will be significantly reduced and should be reduced far more than the HV packs being charged to HV voltages.
Pushing the limits:
We took a non-HV pack, charged it to 4.35v/cell then flipped the charger to 4S and charged with no balancing to storage voltage of a 4S pack which sets our 3S packs cells up at 5.06v/cell. It worked for one flight with the pack getting BURNING hot and puffing a little. We did get quite an increase in performance for about 20-30sec but the next charge up to normal 4.2/cell after allowing temps to return to normal resulted in drastically reduced performance from the pack. Another charge up to 5v/cell caused explosion but no fire. We did this with a second pack up to 5.1v/cell and it exploded with fire in the very first flight. The quad came down in a literal ball of flames. PLEASE don’t do it!
Specifications:
- 3S pack
- XT30 connector
- 9-12.6v operating range for non-HV (3-4.2v/cell)
- 9-13.05v operating range for HV (3-4.35v/cell)
- Recommended charge rate: Less than 4C
- 80/160C claims...it’s a good battery
HV pack:
- Size: 64.0x18.3x20.4mm
- Weight: ~42g
- Wire AWG: 18
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Wire length: ~50mm before connector
Non- HV pack:
- Size: 63.0x18.4x19.6mm
- Weight: 41.3g
- Wire AWG: 18
- Wire length: ~42mm before connector