 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
ZEUS Battery Products 150mAh 3.7V 15C Battery Review
Mini battery, mini review. A longtime industrial battery manufacturer gets into the R/C hobby market in a "small" way.
Introduction
|
|
| Voltage: | 3.7V |
| Capacity: | 150mAh |
| Weight: | .21 oz (6g) |
| Length: | 1.46" (37mm) |
| Width: | .55" (14mm) |
| Thickness: | .25" (6.5mm) |
| Maximum Burst: | 7.5A |
| Maximum Charge Rate: | 2C |
| Maximum Charging Rate: | .3A |
| Maximum Continuous Discharge: | 25C |
| Manufacturer: | ZEUS Battery Products, 191 Covington Drive, Bloomingdale, Illinois 60108 USA |
| Price (USD): | $5.95 |
If one had to pick some of the most influential electric model aircraft of the last few years, a really strong argument can be made for the E-flite and Blade Helicopters lines of ultra micro helicopters and fixed-wing craft.
These marvelous little models have given rise to an aftermarket industry, including batteries.
Enter the new ZEUS Battery Products 150mAh 3.7V 15C battery designed just for these same marvelous little models.
ZEUS Battery Products of Bloomingdale, Illinois USA is a sponsor here at RCGroups and I took the initiative to contact them regarding their batteries. Their main page may be found here.
My e-mail was quickly responded to by the delightful and friendly Jenny Wright of the company's sales department.
After a brief flurry of e-mails describing what I had model-wise, Jenny was kind enough to forward both the little li-po we'll discuss here and a 1300mAh 11.1V 3S 25C pack which will see review duty in some previous review models.
I tested this affordably priced battery with its anti-puffing technology in real world situations through ten full cycles. Since it's impossible for we of the "review crew" to provide detailed, lab-quality specs of the batteries we review on occasion, this review will be purely subjective and I'll post ZEUS's detailed technical specs from their own labs.
My numbers will reflect the time it took to charge prior to flight, the voltage reading prior to and after each flight and the time of the actual flight.
This isn't to say that I didn't give this little battery a big workout, so kindly read on for the results.
Test subjects
The model which will put our example through its paces will be the incredibly fun E-flite Blade mSR RTF ultra micro helicopter. My example is the Bind-n-Fly version (EFLH3080) which binds to Spektrum or JR 2.4GHz transmitters. I fly the helicopter with a Spektrum DX6i transmitter (SPM6600, transmitter only).
I've had this model for more than a year and a half of very frequent flying both indoors and out and it's needed very little in the way of maintenance and repairs. It received a new swashplate and feathering shaft kit shortly before the start of the review and it has a relatively new main motor, so the helicopter is about as close to new as possible.
The ZEUS battery's official dimensions were a bit greater than those of the E-flite battery, but in reality, it's a perfect fit in the confines of the mSR.
Although I could have used the charger which came with the mSR, I wanted real numbers. All charging was done with an ElectriFly Triton EQ charger (GPMM3155) and a Common Sense RC Mega Charge charging adapter (#MEGA1) with its fourteen charging plugs, including one for E-flite micro packs and aftermarket versions. The battery was, of course, allowed to cool between charges.
Flying
Flight performance on a new battery is always terrific, but it's all too easy to run a small battery like this right down to the maximum discharge level.
The mSR averages just under 6:30 per flight before the li-po protection circuit kicks on, so after I topped off the ZEUS with the Triton for the first time (sounds like some clash of mythological gods, doesn't it?), I set the timer on the DX6i to count down six minutes. In nearly every instance, the mSR landed with power in reserve. The only times it didn't were when I ran it down to the cutoff point for the first time during flight number five, when I tried to fly when the pack was discharged prior to flight number eight and during flight number nine when my wife Lilli took some pictures and I hadn't started the timer. My wife and I had gone away for a weekend jaunt prior to that eighth flight, I thought the battery was charged on our return...and it wasn't. No matter, since the battery came back in just under an hour.
-
The ZEUS lights up the mSR's motherboard in preparation for its first flight.
-
After ten flights, I was really getting used to this view of the battery.
Speaking of which, that charge time and those voltage readings were amazingly consistent throughout the tests. There's a lot happening on board a flying mSR with its two high-speed coreless motors, two linear servos and its electronics all dependent on one tiny little battery the size of a piece of sugarless gum.
That little "sugarless gum stick" took all I could throw at it including some rather severe changes in throttle. I let the mSR settle toward the ground and punched it to full throttle just before touchdown. Normally, that would result in a tail blowout, system brownout, early activation of the li-po cutoff or one badly overworked battery at flight's end.
Not so here. The little ZEUS responded with muscular, perfectly controlled climbouts. No tail blowout, nothing. It simply responded even when close to the six-minute flying mark and even after repeated cycles.
Flight times, charge times and voltage readings
| Charge Time Before First Flight/Recharge Time: | 34 minutes/57 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.73V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 56 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.73V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 57 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.65V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 57 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.68V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 57 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.50V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17 |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:25 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 53 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.71V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 55 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.72V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 59 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.29V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.19V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 54 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.74V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.17V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
| Charge Time Before Flight: | 59 minutes |
| Voltage Reading Prior To Charge: | 3.73V |
| Voltage Reading After Charge: | 4.19V |
| Time Of Flight (min/sec): | 6:00 |
Is This For a Beginner?
Given the types of aircraft this battery is intended for, it is indeed useable by a beginner in a beginner's model. The Blade mCX and mCX 2 coaxial helicopters will accept the ZEUS. On the other end of the performance spectrum, so too will the wild mSR X, the flybarless successor to the mSR.
Photo Gallery
Downloads
-
A pair of the 150's pose in this factory promotional photo.
-
This is my sample right out of the shipping bag. Note the Velcro strip which can be used depending on the application.
-
Midair action shot showing the battery in place.
-
It's a good thing no one was at the front door. Thanks go to my darling wife LIlli for this shot.
-
This is an even better reason why no one at the door was a good thing. Thanks again, Lilli.
Conclusion
The ZEUS Battery Products 150mAh 3.7V 15C li-po powered my Blade mSR through ten full cycles coupled with every maneuver I could toss at it and did so flawlessly. Here is the smallest in a series of new hobby-grade lithium polymer batteries made by a company with extensive experience in batteries for medical devices, emergency power systems, wheelchairs and other high-powered applications and it appears to be made to the same sorts of rigorous specifications. If a little 150mAh single-cell pack can perform this well, I'm looking forward to seeing how well the 1300mAh 3S will perform.
Two thumbs way up for this little battery for its combination of performance and affordability.
Thanks galore go to Jenny Wright of ZEUS Battery Products for making the review sample available for testing. She's clearly proud of the products she represents and that was obvious to me both via her e-mails and the results I got testing this battery.
RCGroups.com administrator Angela Haglund makes sure that we reviewers cross our T's and dot our I's. She's the driving force behind all the reviews our readers enjoy.
Thanks for swinging by!
Pluses and minuses
Pluses galore for this little pack:
- Magnificent performance
- The anti-puff technology lived up to its billing
- Affordably priced
No minuses were noted.
Last edited by DismayingObservation; Aug 13, 2012 at 03:04 PM..Discussion
|
| Thread Tools |
Aug 15, 2012, 10:38 PM
|
|
United States, CA
Joined Jul 2010
3,895 Posts
|
Nice review on the lipo battery! How does this compare to the hyperion and thunderpower 1S in the mSR? How come the label says 15C but in the specs the continuous discharge was 25C?
|
|
|
|
Aug 15, 2012, 11:44 PM
|
||
Southern California
Joined Feb 2006
1,942 Posts
|
Quote:
I haven't flown either the Hyperion or the Thunder Power, but the ZEUS has noticeably more "oomph" than other brands I've flown in that little eggbeater. Even after ten cycles, it still flew like new. My guess regarding the 15C vs. the 25C discharge is that the 15C is probably about the max an mSR or an mCX can throw at it, but it lab tested at the higher rate. |
|
 |
Latest blog entry: A great day had by all!
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2012, 11:40 PM
|
|
United States, CA, San Bernardino
Joined Feb 2010
551 Posts
|
it seems that you didn't purchase the batteries, they sent them to you, foc.
do you test any products from an "off the shelf" scenario, where you would receive the same product as a regular consumer and not something picked by a manufacturer that may be higher than "normal" quality? michjael clyde |
|
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2012, 03:20 AM
|
|
|
United States, CA, San Bernardino
Joined Feb 2010
551 Posts
|
i'm not looking for your website this question was for the op not somebody promoting his or her products
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2012, 03:40 PM
|
||
|
Southern California
Joined Feb 2006
1,942 Posts
|
Quote:
This battery is, as near as I can figure, directly off of the shelf as are pretty much all of the products we review. |
|
|
|
Latest blog entry: A great day had by all!
|
|
|
Aug 30, 2012, 07:43 AM
|
|
Tarcutta
Joined Aug 2009
78 Posts
|
What charging rate was used during the tests?
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 30, 2012, 10:23 AM
|
||
|
Southern California
Joined Feb 2006
1,942 Posts
|
Quote:
|
|
|
|
Latest blog entry: A great day had by all!
|
|
|
Aug 30, 2012, 11:40 AM
|
|
|
North Wales, PA, USA
Joined Jan 2001
90 Posts
|
I picked up some Zeus 2s 350mah 25C packs recently. I am running them in a micro pylon racer at up to 10A, no sweat. A good product.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| Discussion Testing a 3.7v 150mAh LiPo | bobmixon | Batteries and Chargers | 9 | Jul 23, 2012 07:40 AM |
| For Sale E-flite 150mah 3.7v Lipo | verkair | Aircraft - Electric - Batteries & Chargers (FS/W) | 1 | Jun 28, 2012 06:09 AM |
| Discussion e-flite 150mah 3.7v vs thunder power 160mah 3.7v | electricrc68 | Batteries and Chargers | 0 | Aug 09, 2011 09:00 PM |
| Discussion Alternate Batteries for HZ Champ 150mAh 1-Cell 3.7V 12C | oldtoys1961 | Micro RTF | 7 | Jun 07, 2010 07:53 AM |
|
|