Thanks to Acehe for sending us their latest LiPo batteries – the Formula 4S 95C 1300mAh and 1500mAh for testing. In this review we will put them on a mini quad and see how they perform.
Get your Acehe Formula batteries from
- GetFPV: 1300mAh | 1500mAh
- Amazon UK: 1300mAh & 1500mA
Acehe Formula LiPo – Spec and Features
The Acehe Formula comes in a cardboard box with a LiPo strap, nicely packaged. Quality just looks Impeccable with the shiny yellow wrapping.
One interesting feature is the wires coming out of the middle of the pack rather than from the side as we normally see on other LiPo batteries.
Another feature is the shortened balance lead (20mm long), which minimizes the risk of chopping by spinning propellers. Don’t worry if it’s not long enough :) It comes with an balance lead extension for charging (55mm long).
The discharge lead uses 12AWG wires (70mm long). Each pack comes with a XT60 rubber cap.
Table of Contents
Comparison table of the batteries I am going to test
The size, weight and price of all the batteries I have on hands for this test. They all have under 20 cycles.
| Brand/Model | Weight | Dimension | Price |
| Formula 1300mAh | 166g | 79 x 33 x 32mm | $33 |
| DroneLab Chaos 1300mAh | 154g | 74 x 34 x 31mm | $20 |
| Dinogy 65C 1300mAh | 150g | 69 x 35 x 20mm | $29 |
| Formula 1500mAh | 189g | 87 x 34 x 31mm | $39 |
| DroneLab 50C 1500mAh | 157g | 75 x 33 x 30mm | $24 |
| Tattu 45C 1550mAh | 178g | 72 x 36.5 x 33mm | $31 |
I pay very little attention to C Rating these days. I think they are an useful performance rating for batteries from the same brand, but kind of meaningless when you compare that between different brands. Every manufacturer seems to have a different standard and definition of C Rating these days :)
Internal Resistance of Acehe Formula LiPo Battery
Here is the Internal resistance I got off my charger at the end of a charging cycle. It’s not measured with precise equipment, so take it as a grain of salt. I am only showing this as I have been asked to.
We can see the Formula 1500 has noticeably lower IR. However with the Formula 1300 there seems to be quite a difference between cells. The values are in mOhm.
| LiPo Batter | Cell 1 | Cell 2 | Cell 3 | Cell 4 |
| Dronelab 4S 50C 1500mah | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.3 |
| Tattu 4S 1550mah | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.3 |
| Acehe Formula 4S 95C 1500mah | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| Dinogy 4S 65C 1300mah | ||||
| Dronelab Chaos 4S 75C 1300mah | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 7.4 |
| Acehe Formula 4S 95C 1300mah | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 4.5 |
Learn about the basics of LiPo battery: LiPo Battery Beginner Guide for Drones and Quadcopters
Performance Testing
Same as usual, I will be testing these LiPo batteries on a mini quad with current sensor and OSD, so I can record voltage and current during the flight. I will fly around a course a few times, simulating a race where you have punch-outs and slower cruising. Data was collected at different points of the course. (By the way, the punchout is about 4 seconds.)
The test was separated into 2 groups, 1300mah and 1500mah. Detail of the batteries in this test can be found here:
Voltage Sag
In punch-outs or high throttle, voltage of the battery would normally drop due to heavy load. This is one of the factors that sets apart a good battery and a bad one. Batteries that have less voltage sag feels more “punchy” and agile, and hold up better to full throttle abuse.
Hers is the result from the 1300mah test group. The Formula 1300mah seemed to performed best in terms of voltage sag in the first half, but it quickly loses punch toward the end of the pack.
This is the 1500mah result. The performance of Acehe Formula 1500mah totally blew my mind! As you can see in the graph, the formula’s voltage was consistently holding up above 13V at 100% throttle punchouts most of the time. The difference is night and day comparing to the batteries I have been using personally.
Power
Taking into account the current draw, we have power, which is simply the product of voltage and current. For a battery with high discharge rate, should be able provide consistently high current at each punch-out.
In the 1300 group, similar to the the voltage chart, we can see the Formula provided better power at the beginning but wasn’t able to keep up in the last 2 laps. Regardless the consistency, the performance is still pretty good comparatively. It was the only pack that hit the 1000W mark in output power.
And for the 1500 group, as expected from previous results, the Acehe Formula 1500mah outperformed other tested batteries. It was able to hit the 1000W-mark most of the times in our punch outs testing.
Capacity
I can confirm the capacity is roughly right as advertised on the package.
I landed when it reached 3.5V per cell in the air, then see how much “mah” is recharged back into the pack. I have 1310ma for the 1300mah, and 1460ma for the 1500mah.
Conclusion
From my testing, I think the Acehe Formula 95C 1500mah LiPo makes a great performance LiPo batteries for high power builds. It provides consistently great punch throughout the flight. However it’s a bit on the large and heavy side.
Where to get these batteries? Here is a list of dealers for Acehe LiPo’s: http://acehe.co/index.php/wtb/index
Finally, one thing I found Interesting was how max power at punchouts increases from 1st and 2nd lap and even it has higher voltage at those laps. Temperature plays a big part in voltage sag and max discharge rate. Full discussion: http://intofpv.com/t-temperature-affects-battery-s-power-and-max-discharge-rate
10 comments
It’s a pity you don’t try in this test some gaoneng 120c or infinity 90c pack, I think they are good lipos and would have been great to have the comparison against acehe. Otherwise, nice review!
I’m not an expert, but isn’t it hard to test battery performance just based on voltage sag during punch outs? For example, if a battery just doesn’t deliver the power to max out the drone’s motor’s performance, it is logical that it also doesn’t sag as much, simply because it doesn’t deliver the power. If this battery doesn’t deliver the same power at less sag, but simply less power with less sag, it isn’t a better battery per se, just more suitable to steady flying. The age old car comparison: a modern 1400cc motor surely consumes less fuel than a supercharged 3200cc v6, but since it simply does not deliver the same power, it is not a ‘better’ motor, just a more efficient one if you want a large action radius. Nobody would use the 1400cc consumer motor in a race car. Endurance vs speed…
TL;DR: Only when the drone generates the same (or better) thrust (and same or better flight time) with a given battery, but with less sag, is it a better battery per definition. If another battery sags more, but is the only one that ‘unlocks’ all of the drone’s power, which is ‘better’ then?
If a battery doesn’t deliver the power the quad is asking, voltage just sags… and that’s why check voltage sag is useful.
More sag = less capable of providing high current.
And you are talking about the best battery being the one “with the highest capacity per gram”, or “gives the longest flight time”… it depends on your application, if you are looking for max flight time then this test doesn’t tell you that You might be interested in : this article
This test is meaningful to mini quad racers, who punch throttle really hard throughout the whole flight, so max discharge rate is a very important factor.
Have you tried the dinogy ultra (orange ones) 1500mah 4s’s? Based on Bardwell’s spreadsheets they look kinda nuts. I’m looking for some personal feedback before buying any. Problem is no one reputable has given their two cents.
No I haven’t, I will test them when i have a chance.
Any suggestion website or web store to get lipo in SEAsia?
Now HK cant ship lipo due to airline always playing the regulation.
check the link I shared at the end of article, it’s a list of distributors all over the world.
Check reviews of older 75C series, quality should be up standard.
But only time can tell
Thanks, good review! I wonder what consistency is like for the brand. Does every battery perform that well, was that just a particularly good one, etc?
you can ask that question about any products :)