It’s common to accidentally get the balance lead chopped off with spinning prop. But luckily, it’s also easily avoidable with some practical measures. Make sure to keep the balance lead of your LiPo battery away from spinning propellers before take-off. Having it dangling around can result in damage to the balance lead, causing a crash, electrical short in the air, and even fire! I will show you a few easy ways to secure the balance lead.
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Why Protecting the Balance Lead is Important?
If you unfortunately break the balance lead, don’t worry you might be able to replace it if the cells are still good. This article explains what “balance lead” is in a LiPo battery and what it’s used for.
With a broken balance lead you might accidentally short the cells in the battery. It’s dangerous! Also you might not be able to “balance charge” the battery properly afterwards. Therefore you want to protect it the best you can.
A Simple Solution: Rubber Banding LiPos
My personal solution to this problem is remarkably simple – rubber bands.
I use rubber bands on all my LiPo batteries. The aim is to secure the balance lead and keep it away from the props. This technique has proven to be effective in preventing accidental cuts to the balance lead.
Simply wrap the rubber band around the wire to securely hold the connector to the battery.
Rubber bands are cheap, but they won’t last more than a few bad crashes, so it’s a good idea to keep a few in your bag.
Alternative Method: Tucking it under the Battery Strap
When you have no other solutions available, you should absolutely tuck your balance lead under your battery strap. This is the minimum effort you should take to make sure your balance wires don’t get cut by props.
Conclusion
Issues like accidentally cutting balance leads or facing unpredictable flight behavior are not uncommon. However, with some simple solutions, such as rubber banding LiPos, such problems can be addressed easily.