Fresh from Power Edge RC is their new line of 30C lipos. We put one to the test!
The Power Edge lithium polymer batteries are made from a new high density formulation that is designed to put out a lot of power over the duration of your flight. The battery we received for testing is a 3s 2200mah 30C variant, but other sizes are available. We tested in conjunction with the Eagle Tree eLogger V3 to record flight data between a Brand X pack and the Power Edge.
Our test model was a Align Trex 450 SE V2 with the following setup:
•Blades: Align 325mm CF
•Paddles: Align CF
•Tail Blades: Align “Batwing” plastic
•ESC: Kontronik 40-6-18
•Motor: Neu 1107/2Y 2.3mm shaft, 3100kv 12 slot/4 pole
•Pinion: 13t
•Servos: Hitec HS-65MG
•Gyro: Futaba GY401
Since I was testing two batteries against each other I ran two flights, one per pack, each with a regimented schedule consisting of 30 seconds of hovering, 30 seconds of figure-8s and 30 seconds of vertical pitch pumping all performed for 3 cycles for a total of 4.5 minutes of flight.
The model had never been tested before and we didn’t have any baseline idea on how it was performing. With the first pack, we produced the following graph:
In this graph we can see the Brand X battery pack temperature plot along the top gradually rising to a safe peak of 113.2F. If it rose close to or beyond 140F then there would certainly be cause for concern, but this pack was operating well within safe limits.
The yellow plot indicates the headspeed through the flight. During hovering the headspeed ran around 2900 RPM, during pitch pumping early in the pack the headspeed varied between about 3000 RPM and 2500 RPM, so about a 500 RPM deviation under heavy pitch use. This Brand X 3s 25C pack provided marginal performance in that regard.
Also note the sequential drop in headspeed during the pitch pumping over the course of the flight. This indicates that the battery is losing power. However, a high quality battery will provide more power over a longer duration, thus creating a smaller deviation from the beginning of the pack to the end of the flight. In this pack’s case, the deviation was about a 100 RPM drop.
The pink plot shows pack amperage. During hovering the model was pulling about 12 amps, through forward flight there are peaks in the turns of the figure-8 where it jumps to 14 amps. During the pitch pumping you really get an idea on what the system is drawing under full load with this model maxing out at 28 amps. The Neu motors tend to be very efficient and drawing low current given a particular application. The current draw in this case is quite economical.
In the case of the Power Edge 30C pack, it produced the following results:
At the top of the graph we see the yellow headspeed plot. The headspeed increased by nearly 200 RPM, and deviation during pitch pumping was limited to about 170 RPM. This is about 300 RPM less than with the Brand X 25C pack, showing that the Power Edge is giving the Neu motor plenty of juice to keep a more consistent RPM during head loading!
You’ll also notice that the overall temperature rise of the pack is lower than that of the 25C pack by 16*F at it’s peak. The pack stays pretty cool through the flight and is certainly within safe limits.
Next plot down is the amp draw. We averaged about 13 amps, and pulled a max of 33 amps during out pitch pumping. The amperage increase results from an increase in headspeed that was drawing more current. If you lowered your throttle curve to obtain the same average headspeed that the Brand X pack produced your current draw would drop accordingly. This means you can either take advantage of the additional headspeed for more zip or reduce your curves or regear the model to more efficiently achieve the headspeed you desire. This will put less load on the pack allowing the entire system to work more efficiently.
The next graph incorporates Wattage readings with the Brand X pack:
We averaged 118 watts and peaked at 290 (0.38 HP).
The next graph shows the wattage data plot with the Power Edge 30C:
This system put out an average of 149 watts, with a peak of 372 watts (0.49 HP)! That’s a difference of 82 watts, or equivalent to a 0.109 horsepower increase, or 28% increase in power!
So far this pack has performed fantastic! Now to some weights and dimensions:
The Brand X pack and the Power Edge pack were within 2 grams of eachother, so not much to have an distinct advantage. However, based on pack size, the Power Edge is quite small given it’s abilities. It’s composed of a very dense, new generation chemistry of lithium polymer.
Pack Size: 23mm x 34mm x 102mm
Additionally, these batteries can be charged up to 3C, or in this pack’s case, 6.6 amps. Maximum discharge is 66 amps.
The battery is also available with your choice of connector, either the Dean’s Ultra, Anderson PowerPole or EC-3. It uses a JST XH – Align style balance connector.
Power Edge also has one of the best warranties available, with a 30 Day Satisfaction warranty, 1 year defective warranty and 1 time 50% off crash replacement warranty (1 time).
Overall, I was impressed by the pack’s performance and it’s compact size. It produced discernable positive results, operated at a safe temperature and can be quickly recharged. The pricing is very reasonable especially given the quality of the pack and the warranty.
I highly recommend Power Edge lipos and suggest you check them out when you’re considering what brand lipo to go with.
For more information and pricing, check out Power Edge RC’s website!
We have worked with these batteries and they work very well as test have shown. we build many helicopters for our customers and these are one of the batteries we recommend. for an Align 450, align 600 and other helis, they will give plenty of punch for basic to 3d flight.