Propeller Balancing

Good day all

I had some vibration problems on my quad ( was discussed in another thread ) but the
vibrations was not causing any flight degradation. Actually I was somewhat socked to see
the logs afterwards because I was not expecting it, based on the nice and smooth maiden
flight !!! Anyway the evidence was there And I had to do something. I did 3 things:

  1. Made sure all nuts and screws on the frame was secure
  2. Balanced the props
  3. Added some dampening on the FC.

At that stage I did not have a prop balancer so I just used this method:

I have since obtained a prop balancer and I have so say the above method seems crude
but the results were not far off.

Anyway my question:
When balancing my props I added some tape on the bottom side (concave) of the prop.

But I also read about taking some material off. The doc I read refered to sanding the
bottom ( concave ) side of the prop. What if one would sand off from the tip of the prop?
Surely that must be an option as well ??

Would love to hear what you think.

Regards

I usually sand of the tip. It doesn`t take much to balance it when done this way.

I think there’s a better, easier way. The method the link leads you to is over complicating things, I think.
This works fine.
Run up each motor separately, of course, with the vehicle on a solid surface to a speed that maximizes the vibration if any. If none, move on. Use your very good sense of touch on the mount , and your hearing, to estimate the degree of vibration. Put a 2-3cm piece of office tape on the bottom of any blade, carefully trimming it to match the blade shape (good sharp small scissors work OK, with perhaps a light touch of sandpaper if you have fuzzies, and run it up. Vary speed as before, to maximize vibration. It will either be better or worse. The rest is obvious.
The beauty of this approach is you don’t need any hardware except the vehicle, and it balances the entire rotating assembly.
Trust your senses. They beat the tar out of most sensors, for this job.

1 Like

Just would like to thank Tore and James for your responses !

Always good to have other opinions !!!

Yes Tore, I think your comment is on the spot !! I’m refering to you mentioning that
“it does not take much” … the fact that it is on the furthest point, a small mass change will have a big difference on the balance.

Regards