Just a little Poll to get an idea of whats going on with the cracking issue

Sprtbkryder · May 13, 2017

Just bought a Dubro #499 balancer and all 4 of my props were out of balance. Got them all balanced now so I'll see what kind of difference It makes. Maybe this is the root of some of the cracking who knows.

Sprtbkryder · May 13, 2017

Just got done flying a little bit and man is this thing quite! I can tell a huge difference in the noise level while it's in the air now. Much quieter now than it was for sure. I may just go ahead and send my P4 in for exchange and see if this does in fact have something to do with the cracks.

Mackie · May 14, 2017

Just wondering if guys with the cracking issue are using cleaning preparations that the plastic doesn't like......plastics such as polycarbonates,which are normally bulletproof, can decompose when coming in contact with certain common cleaning and lubricating products. Cracking usually appears first at stress points.
Not sure if the Phantom body is polycarbonate, but likely would be for strength.
I use only a wet cloth for cleaning, no cracks after 9 months. So far!

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

I've never put anything on mine other than a dry cloth.

jsposito · May 14, 2017

oc1doc said:
I wonder how flying style impacts the risk of cracking. I have 160 flights and no cracks but I rarely fly in sport mode. I suspect sport mode involves more stress on the airframe.

yes, , but I suspect if it is sport mode then flying backwards in sport mode is the factor where the weight of the drone i( rear of the craft) s the heaviest part of the drone is.

jogforfitness · May 14, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Just bought a Dubro #499 balancer and all 4 of my props were out of balance. Got them all balanced now so I'll see what kind of difference It makes. Maybe this is the root of some of the cracking who knows.

How do you balance a plastic P4 blade? With sandpaper? I never did it before. I don't trust myself personally to keep a blade aerodynamic. Think if they were out of balance I'd just buy new ones.

If you could shed a little light on this I'd appreciate it.

On a different note, I wonder if the new blade mounts will help minimize cracks? Not sure anyone really knows that answer.

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

jogforfitness said:
How do you balance a plastic P4 blade? With sandpaper? I never did it before. I don't trust myself personally to keep a blade aerodynamic. Think if they were out of balance I'd just buy new ones.

If you could shed a little light on this I'd appreciate it.

On a different note, I wonder if the new blade mounts will help minimize cracks? Not sure anyone really knows that answer.

Yeah just hit the back of it with some sandpaper until you get it balanced. Don't take that much sanding usually. Even new props need to be balanced.

jsposito · May 14, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Please vote so we can get an idea of just how bad or not the shell cracking issue really is.

It's a vert good poll. Shame we have to come to this what is really is a mfr.error assembly line issue.
DJI should/could replace our batteries with the encasement having a thin polyurethane foam to absorb most of the heat because it gets so hot ( plastics) and there is expansion.

Anyway, it's just a guess by me and maybe we could gauge whether something else altogether. Asking who of us pushes the battery in until it clicks or holding down the button and insertine the battery then release the buttins,

Sprtbkryder said:
Just bought a Dubro #499 balancer and all 4 of my props were out of balance. Got them all balanced now so I'll see what kind of difference It makes. Maybe this is the root of some of the cracking who knows.

less that $25 from what I saw.

jsposito · May 14, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Please vote so we can get an idea of just how bad or not the shell cracking issue really is.

It's a vert good poll. Shame we have to come to this what is really is a mfr.error assembly line issue.
DJI should/could replace our batteries with the encasement having a thin polyurethane foam to absorb most of the heat because it gets so hot ( plastics) and so there is expansion? Hmmmm

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

Well I never let my batteries go in and click. I always hold the buttons down until the battery is all the way seated and then release the buttons.

jogforfitness · May 14, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Just bought a Dubro #499 balancer and all 4 of my props were out of balance. Got them all balanced now so I'll see what kind of difference It makes. Maybe this is the root of some of the cracking who knows.

Did you have to buy a balancing rod as well? If so, which one?

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

Yes Dubro makes a rod just for the Phantom 4 but I found out that the rod that comes with the kit fits them just fine. You can find all of it on Amazon.

jogforfitness · May 14, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Yes Dubro makes a rod just for the Phantom 4 but I found out that the rod that comes with the kit fits them just fine. You can find all of it on Amazon.

I'll trust your findings and just order the kit and not the P4 balancing rod. The comments on Amazon say you need to purchase the P4 rod separately.

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

The included rod fits the P4 props just fine. You'll be ok with using it. It's a "friction" fit so it will just stick into the hole on the prop.

Sprtbkryder · May 14, 2017

Here's a pic showing my prop setup on the stand using the included rod. Other pic shows the two rods. One on the left is the included rod.

DarkDrone 1 · May 14, 2017

jogforfitness said:
How do you balance a plastic P4 blade? With sandpaper? I never did it before. I don't trust myself personally to keep a blade aerodynamic. Think if they were out of balance I'd just buy new ones.

If you could shed a little light on this I'd appreciate it.

On a different note, I wonder if the new blade mounts will help minimize cracks? Not sure anyone really knows that answer.

I use Insta-Dry clear fingernail polish. I'm not really fond of the idea of sanding my props either.

If I make a mistake with the nail polish I can easily remove it and redo.

Here's a good vid on balancing:

jogforfitness · May 16, 2017

Sprtbkryder said:
Here's a pic showing my prop setup on the stand using the included rod. Other pic shows the two rods. One on the left is the included rod.

View attachment 82243 View attachment 82244

Received this today in mail. When balancing my P4 props, I'll insert the provided balancing rod snugly into the hub hole. It may show a prop perfectly balanced. But then I'll take the balancing rod out and insert again after a slight rotation and the prop often shows it's slightly out of balance. This is quite tricky.

Sprtbkryder · May 17, 2017

If it's balanced properly the prop will stay at any position that you set it and it will not move. So rotate it around and stop at different positions and see if it stays there. If it does it's balanced.