One weird trick to doubling your battery pack discharge rate and never getting confused about C rating again. Battery configuration particularly around C rating can be confusing, it confused me until I understood one simple rule that is easy to remember.
The rule is the C Rating never changes and is a measurement that only belongs to one individual cell not the entire battery pack. It’s that simple you never have to think about it again. It just never changes…
Lets get back to the important stuff
The discharge rate is the number we need to look at when we consider the current draw of an electronic device or the amount of AMPs like your drone draws at full throttle.
When looking at the current ratings of your batteries there will be two ratings. Max and continuous discharge rating. For max will will call this MDR for short.
Connecting two identical batteries in parallel will double your capacity as well as MDR. If you connect three batteries in parallel you will triple your capacity and MDR and so on.
Make sure not to confuse parallel with series. When you connect identical batteries in series you increase the output voltage of the pack but do not gain anymore capacity or MDR. See the examples below for parallel vs series.
If you want to spend less money and fly a lot more it’s crucial that you choose a battery pack that delivers more current than your device needs so you can assure the maximum amount of cycles out of your flight packs.
The harder you push your battery packs in terms of charge and discharge will equal less life and performance out of your flight packs. This is why it’s always better to give yourself enough padding in terms of MDR when choosing a flight pack for your particular flying style and application.
A good rule of thumb here is to use a flight pack that will supply your drone with enough current at full throttle where you use 80% or less of the continuous discharge current rating not the max if possible. Sometimes it’s not possible and we’ve smoked a few batteries over the years. No one likes seeing their drone burn up or hit the ground or worry about the bomb proof bags filled with puffed packs in the garage. Hopefully they never catch fire and that shiny silver bag does it’s job well.
When choosing a battery unfortunately gets even more confusing because not all but many manufacturers and brands over rate just about everything they sell especially battery packs. Remember when choosing a brand of battery that the brand doesn’t usually make the cells their packs are assembled with. They assemble their packs and many slap a sticker on them with what ever rating they feel will sell the best with the cheapest possible cells.
Some will sell you a 5000mAh flight pack but use cells with a capacity far less than advertised. I don’t know about you but when I use my hard earned money to buy something, I like to know what I am paying for. I make sure the brands that I buy from honestly rate their products with proof.
Want to double your flight times without putting your drone on a diet? check out this article >>>