Does balancing props really make a noticeable difference? Because personally I think you are more likely to shift the centre of gravity then anything else.

I only use my balancer when i cut down my 5" props to make 3" ones

Shift COG? You're talking about different things.

Balancing props is always effective. However on mini-quads it's not as common as it's not as much of a concern due to the small diameter and weight of the prop.

On large prop platforms balancing props is essential and a must.

You can use a balancer but overtime I've learned to dynamically balance everything. Meaning with props on motors and holding the arm I can feel the added in balance and do it all by feel/sound....only on my large quads I don't bother with my miniquads.

(01-Jun-2016, 10:14 PM)cche Wrote: Shift COG? You're talking about different things.

Balancing props is always effective. However on mini-quads it's not as common as it's not as much of a concern due to the small diameter and weight of the prop.

On large prop platforms balancing props is essential and a must.

You can use a balancer but overtime I've learned to dynamically balance everything. Meaning with props on motors and holding the arm I can feel the added in balance and do it all by feel/sound....only on my large quads I don't bother with my miniquads.

I know but by sanding the props or adding tape shifts the CG

(01-Jun-2016, 10:15 PM)thomasFPV Wrote: I know but by sanding the props or adding tape shifts the CG

That's what balancing is....you're adding or removing weight from one side making the weight on each end of the prop even.

When a prop spins, the COG should be in the very middle of the motor shaft. If its not balanced, it shifts the cog slightly off center of the very middle of the motor shaft which causes the vibrations.

But really, on Mini-quads it's not really necessary. Yes it will help but not significantly....however it all depends on what props you order aswell and how poorly balanced they are from factory. Generally you won't need to.

Good topic. In years gone by I used to balance my props, a long winded time consuming waste of time really, for as soon as you clip a branch or a crash you can chip or dent a blade and I dare say 99% of us continue to fly with said prop. Not only that, but you are balancing a prop on a supposedly balanced balancer, and as such you could put said balanced prop onto your motor which may not be perfectly balanced anyways.

Increasingly the prop makers are producing pretty much well balanced props ready to go. and even if there is a tiny amount of "out of balance" I highly doubt the majority of us would ever notice it in flight.

So I do not balance my props anymore. So I have to agree with MacFly90 and say generally you won't need to balance them.

I was balancing my props on 1806 DYS motors, but stopped on 2204 Cobras. I think 1806 are more prone to resonate with unbalanced prop because they are taller and slimmer. This is just my theory of course

When I started last year with my 450mm quad with 9" props, I balanced them and definitely noticed an improvement. I've since moved to 250mm FPV quads. I started with balancing them, but very quickly stopped as I was crashing and breaking 3-4 props each time I went out for a fly. Spending 3-4 mins balancing each prop before a flight and then breaking them almost immediately was not worth it.

Recently, I started using DAL props which are extremely durable, but I don't think I will start the balancing again.

As far as I know, no one bothers to balance props unless you are running a bigger frame. With so much crashing and bending of props anyway, it would take far too long to balance every prop. If you buy decent props and they come balanced enough for our magic firmware to deal with!

I think it makes sense to balance them only if you want to record the best HD footage you possibly can, other than that I wouldn't bother...

There are many factors that will either make balancing worthwhile or a waste of time. I won't go too much into detail but heres my take on this topic. Props while spinning will only be efficient if the cog is in the middle of the prop shaft. The weight is spread out to the end of the blade of the props while in rotation so they are only performing there best when balanced and the true cog is centered in the middle of the hub. I've seen many people come up with pseudo science theories as to why you don't need to balance but the fact remains that regardless of size or number of blades or setups, balancing will always have a positive effect. To put the theories of not needing to balance for smaller props to rest, think of it this way. The smaller the prop, the faster they will spool up and spin. They are reaching speeds of 30,000-40,000 rpm (depending on motor/kv). What would your car tires do and feel like on your car if it was wobbly and unbalanced at those kinds of speeds? What kind of short/long term damage will it do to the mechanical parts? Now I'm not saying it is a must, we've all flown with unbalanced props just fine. I'm sure there's even pro pilots who don't balance so it comes down to whether you want the best possible performing machine or your happy with what your current setup flies like unbalanced. I for one have seen and felt the difference of balancing so I just always do it. Some brands are worse than others and they are not all created equal so I make it a habit to quickly check them. When I'm in the field, I just use a piece of stiff wire by sliding the prop on it and spinning it to find the heavy side. I apply a small piece of tape underneath the blade shifting further or closer to the hub till it stays horizontal on the piece of wire. Just keep in mind, for the majority of us balancing isn't going to be the aha! fix to make our quads fly better. Most are still learning to perfect there flying skills so until you've reached that point then there are greater things to be concerned with than having perfectly balanced props. There's no real right or wrong. Do you have to, no. Does it help, yes.

I started flying "quads" with an Aton from Traxxas. The 2 blade props were often out of balance, and when you're trying to get AP footage, it's a mess. I bought a balancer, and then about a week later got my first taste of a FPV Quad, and never really went back to the Aton.

I find, Like  Biggles mentioned, I hit too much stuff to balance each flight. HOWEVER, my QAV-R with Kiss demands clean props. One dent, nick, or bend, and it flies poorly. My friend with a few KISS quads agrees. So, I dont balance, but I do throw new props on each time I eat the dirt.

(02-Aug-2016, 04:43 PM)NewbPilot Wrote: I started flying "quads" with an Aton from Traxxas. The 2 blade props were often out of balance, and when you're trying to get AP footage, it's a mess. I bought a balancer, and then about a week later got my first taste of a FPV Quad, and never really went back to the Aton.

I find, Like  Biggles mentioned, I hit too much stuff to balance each flight. HOWEVER, my QAV-R with Kiss demands clean props. One dent, nick, or bend, and it flies poorly. My friend with a few KISS quads agrees. So, I dont balance, but I do throw new props on each time I eat the dirt.

On FPV, Freestyle/Race quads you are spot on, Put a set on, and fly it, when you nick something or crash and have a bent prop, limp home and ditch them straight away, You can tell straight away by the sound the props make that it is bent or unbalanced and can also see the effects in your goggles.  a New set is the way to go.