I received a couple of packs of Gemfan 6045 carbon nylon props in the mail in the last couple days😀 I tested them today on the 2212/6 2200 kv, Racerstar BR2406 2600 kv and RC Timer FR2306 2650 kv motors. If you want to skip straight to the test numbers, you can go to my motor test spreadsheet.
As these props were designed for quads, they come four to a pack, two of each rotation. Lots of prop rings including ones that fit on most park jet motor shafts. Not a bad deal for $3.79 USD.
The props are quite light, it was hard for my less than accurate kitchen scale to get a good result, but I'm sure they weigh about 4 gr each, the same as a 6x4 APC gas prop, so pretty light. rcplanepirate has already tested some of these on the bench with very good results. After watching his tests and having a couple discussions with him, I thought I would pick some up to help boost some more power out of the lower Kv (less than 2700) motors I am currently using. I figured the little bit of extra pitch with a stiff prop should hopefully give more power at lower RPM and hopefully not drive the amp draw up too high.
Please check out RCPP's YouTube channel, tons of great test and educational info.😀
These props are very stiff, even stiffer than the 6x4 APC gas props, but I am a bit concerned they might be a bit brittle, or perhaps this was just one prop. As I was trying to get a grip on one of the quad racing motors I tested today to tighten the prop nut, I must have pushed against the prop blade a bit too firmly and it broke cleanly almost right at the hub as you can see below.😒
I compared it's length to the 6x4 APC gas prop and it is 3/16" longer as you can see in this picture below.
There is also a bit more prop blade surface area as you can probably see in the picture above and below.
I know it might be hard to see in these following pictures, the blade thickness seems to be a bit thinner on the Gemfan prop and the pitch is not as aggressive at the hub compared to the 6x4 APC.
The prop blade also seems to have a bit more of a curve or "under camber"(?) compared to the 6x4 APC. Due to the blade shape and it's stiffness, it is certainly as quiet as the 6x4 APC and again while difficult perhaps to see in this pictures, I can definitely see the increase in pitch down the length of the blade.
Test results discussion
The biggest improvement in power with this prop showed up in the 2212/6 2200 kv motor which is the most popular park jet motor around currently and the Racerstar BR2406 2600 kv. There was a noticeable increase of mid range power with the RC Timer FR2306 2650 kv motor, but not a big increase in top end, although it did break 1000 gr of thrust on the bench with all three motors which always gets my attention😉 I will focus mostly on the 2212 2200 and Racerstar motors for the rest of the discussion. I have found in field testing that the RC Timer motor doesn't quite have the torque to continue pushing good power to the top of the throttle range compared to the other two.
I tested all the motors with both the Turnigy Plush 40A and Turnigy AE-45A ESCs (links for these are on the spreadsheet linked in the first paragraph). For the Plush, everything was left at factory default. For the AE-45 I used different settings depending on the motor based on experience from my previous testing. Below I am listing what I think would be the best setup for each motor. Gens Ace 2200 3S 45C batteries were used for all the testing.
2212/6 2200 Kv motor
I found the mid range power to be best with the Plush ESC, not much difference (5 gr) at top end thrust, so I would probably choose the Plush unless I find another custom setting that would work best with the AE-45 and this motor/prop combo.
50% throttle - 11.9A/145.7W producing 540 gr/19 oz of thrust;
100% throttle - 32.3A/391.8W producing 1020 gr/36 oz of thrust.
Wow😲 The mid range thrust is about 60 gr more than the best I have seen with any other prop/ESC for about the same amp draw. At full throttle, it is about 70 gr more than the previous best I have seen, with about 4 more amps drawn, but still under the 34A limit that these motors seem to have. This is the first time I have seen more than 1000 gr of thrust out of this motor on a 2 blade prop!
Racerstar BR2406 2600 kv motor
I found that the Turnigy AE-45A ESC with custom settings of 22.5 degrees timing and 24 KHz on the PWM (pulse width modulation) frequency works best with this motor, so that is what I used.
50% throttle - 12.6A/154.2W producing 560 gr/19.8 oz of thrust;
100% throttle - 35.3A/426.1W producing 1070 gr/37.7 oz of thrust.
Again...WOW😲 Compared to the previous best results I have seen with this motor which is with this ESC with the settings listed above and the 6x4 APC gas prop, it is a 30 gr increase in mid range power for the same amp draw basically (.1A difference) and a 110 gr increase at full throttle for only 1.1 more amps drawn! If this performance translates to the field with this inexpensive motor, it puts it right up there with the "big boy" quad racing motors I have tested thus far😀
I am very excited to test the GF 6045 prop on the Multistar Viking 2208 2600 kv motor which is the strongest of the sub 2700 kv motors I have tested thus far😉
Of course not to get too excited, but I have run the Racerstar BR2406 2600 kv motor and the Viking motor a lot, so I feel pretty sure they have the torque in the air to keep swinging this prop with authority throughout the throttle range. But only one way to find out, strap it in a plane and get to the field.😀 I hope to get some initial field test results in the next week weather permitting.
Stay tuned for more bench and field testing with this prop😊
Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎
Cheers,
Scott
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