How many people actually balance their props?

[Phantom751874]

133 flights across two P3's I have never balanced. Probably should but it keeps working.

 

[iAm]

I always check and balance new props.
I think the vibrations from unbalanced props cause hairline cracks. Especially if the plastic is cold.

 

[Rich53]

How do you balance a prop?


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[impilot51]

With a Dubro prop balancer. Here is a video explaining the process.

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[Bob Thacker]

I've never heard of balancing props until seeing this thread. Is it bad that I've never done it?

 

[m0j0]

I've never heard of balancing props until seeing this thread. Is it bad that I've never done it?

Probably not. Unless you are getting vibration I wouldn't be overly concerned. I do balance mine. It just me compulsion to get things as close to perfect as I can.


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[Bob Thacker]

Probably not. Unless you are getting vibration I wouldn't be overly concerned. I do balance mine. It just me compulsion to get things as close to perfect as I can.


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And by vibration do you just mean vibration in videos and pictures?

 

[Vertigo]

Jason, here's the thing about your statement. The prop hub can be out of balance and it won't matter much at all.

Why?

Because it is right on top of the motor. Right in the center of the spinning prop. What makes a HUGE difference is the further out you go from the center of the hub, the more imbalances affect the performance of the prop. At the hub, if the outer surface of the prop blade is spinning at 9,000rpm, the hub speed is CONSIDERABLY lower. At the center of a hub, it might be spinning at 200rpm while at the outer edge of the prop, it might be spinning at 9,000rpm.

Check out full sized helicopter blade balancing for a more complete explanation of how this effects props on a Quad.

This isnt quite true (and Im not talking about your rpm mistake). If you cant balance a prop so it stays still horizontally and vertically on a balancer, the most likely cause is that the the thread is slightly off center. If that is the case, the resulting inbalance will impact the tips as much as the hub. You can statically balance the hub, like with hot glue as someone mentioned, and that will help, but the prop will never balance well dynamically, because the problem is not just weight distribution, its also geometry: if you where to plot the position of the propeller tips throughout the turn, they wouldnt align 100% perfectly.

 

[Alex Baxter]

Apologies are extended in advance.....
It's perfectly feasible to balance statically, but there's a whole can of worms to open here, a perfectly statically balanced prop can still be dynamically unbalanced, and what about pitch imbalance (one blade having a higher angle of attack than the other, perfectly feasible in a badly made injection moulding die, rushed ejection of propeller from the die, or poor heating and cooling techniques)
Just playing devil's advocate here, and joining all the other pedants that seem to thrive in these forums.

 

[N017RW]

Not 'pedantic' enough to balance here. Never have.
My P2-NV props are nearly two years old.

 

[captainmilehigh]

Not 'pedantic' enough to balance here. Never have.
My P2-NV props are nearly two years old.

"Pendantic" huh? Yes, you made me google it. [emoji12]

Now I know too. Old dog....new word.!! Thanks.


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