Electric props which are best?

[Merlin spit]

i brought some tgy sport props and never really gave it much thought, other than they were well out of balance(are now balanced).But it suddenly dawned on me when reading some test data for a motor Ive got from another forum   ,these props pull a lot more amps than stated in the tests.

 Any way I was wondering what you guys found to be the most efficient make of props ?

 

 

[Mark R]

Well i use APC in my leccy stuff......not bad props, seem to work well and give good performance to battery time.....generally get an easy 7 min flight out of them

BIG downside is this time of year when its cold they do tend to break very easily.....

[Merlin spit]

most of my planes are belly landers ,i did try some cheap apc clones but they broke very easily  ,i hardly ever break  tgs sports props ,but as i said earlier they they pull more amps almost similar to a i.c prop.

i suppose the stronger they are the more current they'll pull?

ive got a setup that needs 10*6 prop but this pulls a few to many amps for the motor with the props ive got ,yet on several forums the same motor has been tested with bigger props and produced less current than im getting with a 10x6

Edited By austen rover on 20/03/2010 11:34:58

[Jonathan Lewzey]

I've got an APC clone on my belly land p-40. 50+ flights it had now and i've never broken one. The trick is to cut the power when landing and land slow. that way there's never enough force on any blade to break it. genuine APCs are also great - never had one break. GWSs are ok, but more flexy so good if you land hardly but bad for performance, efficiency etc. that said, my edge shockie on a GWS 8x4.3 went unlimited vertical on just over 1/3rd throttle

[birdy]

Posted by austen rover on 20/03/2010 11:11:56:

most of my planes are belly landers ,i did try some cheap apc clones but they broke very easily  ,i hardly ever break  tgs sports props ,but as i said earlier they they pull more amps almost similar to a i.c prop.

i suppose the stronger they are the more current they'll pull?

ive got a setup that needs 10*6 prop but this pulls a few to many amps for the motor with the props ive got ,yet on several forums the same motor has been tested with bigger props and produced less current than im getting with a 10x6

Edited By austen rover on 20/03/2010 11:34:58

 That isn't efficiency; that is where a blade is of different design - eg it had broader blades (more thrust), etc. I was under the impression that genuine APCs were most efficient, but they are ridiculously expensive in my eye for a small amount of moulded and balanced plastic. Also, you wouldn't want a grey plastic APC on a WW1 scale would you, I'd have to be one of those nice wooden JFX props or a master airscrew - much nicer.

[Merlin spit]

i suspect the best way to test props of the same size would be with a thrust tester and then compare the amount of thrust to the current each prop pulls.

[birdy]

But I suspect some props would be more efficient then others at different speeds. If a low pitch prop were traveling at high speed it might make no thrust at all whilst a small super high rpm high pitch prop would be far less efficient standing still, but would still make good thrust at that speed, Depends on the situation.

[scott cuppello]

I use Master Airscrew electric props mainly, APC for the sizes MA don't make [larger 14" + end].

[Andy Gates]

I generally use the APC ones, which I balance since they are normally slightly out.

 

Most of mine are the E variety, although for the slow stuff below 9" I will use the SF ones.

 

If I need multi blade props then I head for Master Airscrew.

 

Folding props I go for the Aeronaut ones.

[Bill Fleming]

What's a good source of large folding props in the UK?  I want a 18X11 inch beast for a large e-soarer.

[Simon Chaddock]

Bill

Try Giant Cod

18.5 x 10 - £3.63 a pair - Ally hub/spinner about £6.

 

Note orders suspended at the moment as they are moving premises.

[Bill Fleming]

Thanks Simon. Looks interesting and at a really low price.

[Terry Whiting 1]

Well guys for my two pennyworth I use GWS  props on models without UC,                   and   on my larger types with UC,  I have gone over to using JFX  Red Beech         wooden  E. ............Do not forget to check your props for balance.   

[Vecchio Austriaco]

After trying some stuff: APC -E - less noise - less vibration - very thin = more efficiency

Sometimes annoying as you hardly hear your plane - especcially if in combination with a good quality engine like Hacker.

 

[Tedder]

Variable Pitch is the answere, I wonder who will be the first to produce one, now here is a new line of thought. Tedder.

Edited By Tedder on 24/08/2010 20:59:49

[Aero120]

I have just built my first real electric model, a Ripmax Me 109 with a JP Ic40 brushless outrunner and 13x6.5 apc prop. This draws about 450w when bench run. In the air it flies very nicely with plenty of vertical performance. Not scale but it gives plenty of extra thrust for hand launching which is where the problem lies. It has enough power to pull itself out of your hand, but the the torque roll to the left is uncontrollable for a few seconds until airspeed has increased, causing it to almost roll inverted. Launching on reduced power doesn't seem to help. Would a prop with less diameter and more pitch reduce the torque reaction or is this a trait of electric motors as they produce power for 360?

[Andy Gates]

Aero

 

From the description you have posted, I would suggest you throw your plane a little harder to get some airspeed rather than allowing your plane to fly out of your hand on motor power only.

That should suppress the torque roll issue you are having

[Aero120]

I can assure you myself and several helpers have given it a good "lob" but the torque still seems to be the predominant force for quite a while. I think a dolly will be the way to go. My Os 32 powered Cambrian 109 fun fighter I used to fly in the early nineties had a greater power to weight ratio but I don't remember the torque being such an issue.