| Thunder Power 3S 2000mAh Pro-Lite Lipo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The following is a brief overview of the Thunder Power 3S 2000mAh 12C pack. My thanks to www.tppacks.com for the supply of this pack for testing. |
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| The pack has the following specifications : Connector : none Size : 50x65x20 (mm) Weight :120g In terms of size the pack fits snugly in the canopy of the T-Rex, the fit is a little loose as the pack is not very thick and therefore I would recommend the use of a velcro strap to hold it in place during flight. The pack is quite wide and will definitely not nestle between the frames of the T-Rex like it's predecessor the TP2100. The pack does not extend far into the nose of the canopy so in the unfortunate event of a crash it is not as exposed as some of the long and thin lipos such as the TP2100. The pro-lite pack is rated as 12C continuous current, which gives it a max continuous current of 24A. The pack will be labs tested as per usual on T-Rex Tuning but as I had two of these packs I have also been flight testing and generally using this pack as my day to day flight pack. So far I have been impressed with this packs capability. It clearly has some strong cells as it holds it's voltage very well under load, similar in fact to the Kokam 3S 2000mAh pack recently tested. However the pro-lites do get noticeably hotter than the Kokam pack.even for fairly basic hovering and forward flight where they aren't being stretched. The Thunder Power pack is rated to 20C peak discharge, so it should handle up to 40A in short bursts without any risk of cell failure. Whilst the Thunder Power Pro-Lite cells may not be the most chemically capable available they are certainly lightest. The pro-lite pack tested here is only 120g, this is the lightest 2000mAh pack on the market and a whole 53g lighter than the previously mentioned Kokam pack. In flight this is very noticeable in the performance of the T-Rex, the machine has much faster climbout and generally feels a lot more agile. Given the focus on weight in a T-Rex this is a very big advantage for the pro-lite pack and should not be under estimated when considering the overall performance you are looking for from your machine. This introduces an interesting trade off of performance versus power delivery and longevity when making a purchasing decision. Cool running cells are less likely to go out of balance and the pack will stay healthy for longer, here the Kokam has the advantage. The pro-lites run hotter, so the risk of going out of balance (certainly for the center pack) is much greater and the longevity of the pack could be impacted if not properly managed using the provided balance connector. However, when it comes to flight performance in a T-Rex the pro-lites win easily with the shedding of 53g being very noticeable in the flight characteristics. This pack has the weight of what would traditionally be a 1600-1800 mAh pack, so longer flight times can be had with similar performance to those normally lighter packs. The lab test will provide some more detail on the chemical capability of this pack but for those not willing to wait the lab test for the 4S pro-lite is already available on the lipos page and I'm not expecting the 3S cells to perform very differently. In flight the Thunder Power pro-lite provides plenty of headspeed and due to it's ability to hold voltage (close to 10 volts under load) punchout is extremely good.Balance of the T-Rex is also extremely good with the heli not being nose heavy as is often the case with other packs of this mAh rating. Overall I like the direction Thunder Power have taken with this pack. This is very much a performance focused pack from every aspect, size, weight and chemical capability to deliver power. If you are looking for very good power to weight performance coupled with good flight times then the Thunder Power 3S 2000mAh is very hard to beat. |
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