How to Secure the Battery?

beacon

Member
I'm building a profile plane, so the battery is hanging right out there. It's not enclosed in a fuselage, with nothing keeping it from getting loose other than a strip of Velcro. Any better ideas?
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Depends on the size of battery. If you don't think a strip is enough, use a Velcro strap.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
My normal method of securing a battery that can move around, (not a tight fit in place), is to use a strip of velcro which is used to stop the battery from sliding forward or rearward, combined with the use of a velcro cable strap which stops the battery from rolling off of the velcro and also stops the battery lifting up or falling from the velcro during high "G" maneuvers.

When using both I have not had a single battery move in flight or come loose from the plane. The only time I suffer a battery separation issue is when I break my own rule!

Just what works for me!

Have fun!
 

Hondo76251

Legendary member
I use the 3M "Dual Lock" on almost everything these days, even my lager planes.

Its a bit like Lego and Velcro got together and had a baby... :LOL:

the stuff holds so tight I don't even use the straps anymore, even on my 6s 4000 Mah batteries
 

Flite Risk

Well-known member
I would like to add, orientation matters for the longevity of the batt.
For example look at the "Crash Test Hobbies" Assassin. Fifteen times into a brick wall. To this very day that same plane flies. I spoke with Led a week or two ago.

In the Assassin the battery is positioned so the cells are flat and the length of the batt is perpendicular to the center line of the plane.

One would assume its because the batt is surrounded by EPP that the battery has such a high rate of survivability. Les mentioned the battery ought be mounted as per the instructions for the benefit of the batt.

Good luck!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
My normal method of securing a battery that can move around, (not a tight fit in place), is to use a strip of velcro which is used to stop the battery from sliding forward or rearward, combined with the use of a velcro cable strap which stops the battery from rolling off of the velcro and also stops the battery lifting up or falling from the velcro during high "G" maneuvers.

When using both I have not had a single battery move in flight or come loose from the plane. The only time I suffer a battery separation issue is when I break my own rule!

Just what works for me!

Have fun!

This is what I've done. I know on the Versa Wing, I've used a battery strap that wrapped around two popsicle sticks glued down in the battery compartment area, and velcro on top of that. The velcro stops the battery from sliding; the battery strap holds it down to prevent it from pulling off during inversion. Even though I have velcro that's heavy duty, I still like to have the strap to hold it down.
 

Bricks

Master member
On my profile EPP planes I use just Velcro in sudden earth contacts the battery Velcro will let loose and save damage to the plane, I have never had a battery get wrecked or damaged this way either. Normally if I have battery damage it comes from a battery inside a fuselage and the battery ends up against the firewall. Batteries in a fuselage get locked down as tight as I can get them Velcro and straps so it will not move.
 

Hondo76251

Legendary member
... "Velcro will let loose and save damage to the plane..."
^ absolutely...

This is also why I take the time to build so many twin motor planes too. The battery is the bulk of the weight and in a twin its in the nose. Even on rough impacts the worst you get is some wrinkled foam. Only ever killed one battery and that was on a 50mph low pass into the side of my tractor! Lol.

In the first part of this video you can see how much I care about battery security most of the time... Its just stuffed into the hole I cut in the little gliders fusalage along with all the extra wires for fpv gear! :LOL:

 

nOtyRmOm

Member
I will but tape around them and hot glue them to a piece of foam board and then make a hatch and secure the foam board with rubber bands
 

checkerboardflyer

Well-known member
At a recent club event a friend was telling me about a fellow club member who was flying his model when suddenly the battery came loose and was just dangling from behind the motor. Something to avoid. Here's how I secured the battery on my Old Speedster using velcro straps from FT. Should work on any FT model that has a power pod. More tips at: https://foamboardflyers.com/
 

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earthquake

Member
The only way I could get my Tiny Trainer to balance out easy was to mount the battery on the deck in front of the wing, I used Velcro and a #64 rubber band to hold it in place. I like it up on top because where I am trying to fly there are a lot of rocks and this way I don't damage the battery.

Casey
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rcgreaves

Member
My .02 is that on a profile with battery encased in the structure some designs just dont take well to a 2200 being driven forward at 10+ g...Wood fuse on a profile Mustang had a rectangle cut out that in my mind should have been marked " this is how you shatter the nose of this plane on maybe the first abrupt landing. I use velcro sparingly and a velcro strap that can seperate at 10 g. My trick on anything other than epp is a diagonally mounted battery tray that allows the battery to exit forward without taking the front fuse section with it. Elapor designs like the Parkmaster 3d ( a profile design)-take the load without fuse damage.
 

mayan

Legendary member
The only way I could get my Tiny Trainer to balance out easy was to mount the battery on the deck in front of the wing, I used Velcro and a #64 rubber band to hold it in place. I like it up on top because where I am trying to fly there are a lot of rocks and this way I don't damage the battery.

Casey View attachment 135304 View attachment 135305
I’ll just add something about mounting the battery on top it might effect your balance and make the plane want to flip inverted. Kinda how a bread with jam will always land on the side with the jam :).