Maximum weight a Tello can carry

[sgruschkus]

My 4th grade son used our Tello drone in science project on the effects of weight on a drone's battery life. Just wanted to report that the Tello performed well carrying weight less than 60 grams. At 60 grams of added weight the Tello drone hovered in place for a couple of minutes and then started acting crazy and landed. This occurred when the battery was still at 50%. I've attached a pic of the Tello carrying precisely 60 grams.

 

[Ansia]

You should've removed the Propeller guards. Would have shaved a few grams off the weight.

 

[Louis08]

And how does the weight affect battery life?

 

[sgruschkus]

And how does the weight affect battery life?

He ran 3 fully charged batteries for each weight and took the average of the 3 runs.

RESULTS:
No weight (drone, battery, and prop guards only): average hover time was 10 min 35 seconds (shorter than I had expected)
20 grams of added weight: average hover time was 7:58
40 grams: average hover time was 5:40
60 grams: Tello hovered for approximately 2 minutes and then started spinning, acting erratically, and landed before the battery was fully depleted

 

[Mike Shock]

The extra weight should shorten down the motors life...

 

[Pete162]

Might have been an overheating problem of the engines!?

 

[SleepyRobo]

this was my solution to overheating problem with motors, I super glued some pieces of a aluminum CPU heatsink all the way around the exposed motors, total weight of pieces was around 1-2grams. It's a passive cooling system and allowed longer flight times in 90F temps outside in the sun. I could get close to 14min without any accessories but before in same heat of same day I could only get 10-11min of flying, not just hovering.

 

[SleepyRobo]

As the motors heat up, they have a higher resistance in the motor so it takes more power to spin the motors at the same speed, this causes higher amp draws on the motherboard and in turn the battery drains quicker, if you can help the motors maintain temp with less fluctuations in temp you will see better flight characteristics. Also as you add accessories, switching out to a different propeller and pitch can regain proper motor speed and flight endurance. Those stock props have greatest efficiency with no accessories added to the drone.

 

[JohnnyPyro]

View attachment 5054this was my solution to overheating problem with motors, I super glued some pieces of a aluminum CPU heatsink all the way around the exposed motors, total weight of pieces was around 1-2grams. It's a passive cooling system and allowed longer flight times in 90F temps outside in the sun. I could get close to 14min without any accessories but before in same heat of same day I could only get 10-11min of flying, not just hovering. View attachment 5054

where you find heat sinks that fit? good work!

 

[IlayGu]

My 4th grade son used our Tello drone in science project on the effects of weight on a drone's battery life. Just wanted to report that the Tello performed well carrying weight less than 60 grams. At 60 grams of added weight the Tello drone hovered in place for a couple of minutes and then started acting crazy and landed. This occurred when the battery was still at 50%. I've attached a pic of the Tello carrying precisely 60 grams.

View attachment 2800View attachment 2800

Hi, does the weight you report include in it the propellor guards' weight?

 

[tuliofotos]

But the superglue of the heatsinks can transfer the heat? Because you might end up with the oposite result, since the breeze from the propellers now is blocked, you could be adding a layer that holds the heat into the engines and, besides, it's probably more susceptible to wind drag...