4s or 6s on a 500

[Synister]

Ive been waiting, like many of you, for this thing to come out for a long time and my 450sa has been getting a workout in the mean time. I really like the 4s setup and since im only doing mild 3d, i dont really need the power of a 6s system at the sacrafice of flight time. However, am i correct in saying that the only thing you really have to do to switch between 4s and 6s is to change pinions on the motor? maybe have a separate throttle curve programmed as well but the pinion is really the only physical modification right?

[dalby]

Hi there, from what I've heard you can change pinion on motor from size 11-19 so i guess this will be the change needed as you suggest yourselves! Maybe a setup change in ESC aswell.

I just have an question to add in this thread, hope this is okay!

Shouldn't it be possible to get as much power from 4s setup as from 6S? Flying 4S would typically be lipos with higher capacity, which should deliver higher amps, so with the right motor/ESC this would give the same power/watts in my opinion. Is this correct?

I am asking because i Have 2 X-peak chargers which only can charge up to 5S, so the cheapest solotion for me would be to stick to old chargers and buy 2 new 4S batteries I think. My 450 batteries is of different brands so i guess it will be stupid to connect them together for 6S.

Kristian

[rotary65]

Power (Watts) = Volts * Amps. Yes, you can get the same power from 4S from 6S using an appropriately sized battery.

Of course, there are differences in the performance of various configurations - you need to match components to optimize flight performance. That's the holy grail.

[Pinecone]

But remember more amps means larger wires and higher capacity ESC is required.

You can also run 2 x 3S, so you can still charge using your existing equipment.

[dalby]

Yes I can charge 2 x 3 S on 2 different Xpeaks but that will take a lot of time and only give one flight! Also i guess they should be charged in series so all cells are exactly matched in voltage to avoid some cells working harder as others am I right?

[rotary65]

Oh I see what you mean. Hmm - can you charge 2x3S in parallel as a 3S2P pack?

[Pinecone]

They will be matched, all to 4.2 volts.

Another way to balance charge a pack is to charge each cell by itself to 4.2 volts.

[rotary65]

Yes, that should work. Charge as 3S2P and fly as 6S. That way you'll only need the charger you have to charge one set (2x3S) of packs. You'll need two different kinds of harnesses to do this (one serial, one parallel).

[aussiemick]

You will also have to have some way of balancing BOTH packs at the same time. If not one pack could get way over voltage as the charger see the average of the 2 packs.

Mick