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A question about prop installation.

graywoulf

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Hi guys!

So I watched Joshua Bardwell's video "Quadcopter Propeller Anatomy for Beginners" and it was good information for the most part as a lot of it I already knew. He talked about prop rotation directions and I came away thinking that I would like to reverse my props to help keep any debris away from the camera lenses. Now my question is this, if I do reverse the rotation, how will that affect the prop nuts as far as staying tight? I know that they are right and left hand thread for a reason generally speaking. Also, the quad I bought came with what appears to be nylon washers on the motor shafts and can I safely assume that they are to be placed on top of the props? And lastly, how tight should I tighten the nuts?

I know these are some really basic questions but as a noob at this, I just want to know how to do this right. And BTW, I have managed to get the quad bound to my Tx successfully and also have programmed in the switch assignments as well. Bardwell had a video talking about a flight mode called "Acro Trainer" that is in the later BetaFlight versions. I have got three modes set up so far which are the Acro Trainer, Horizon and Acro. So I feel that I am making some progress anyway. ;) :)

Thanks in advance for any advice on this. ?
 
When you go to props out rotation (reversed) you will need to be able to use BLHeli to change each motor to the opposite of what it is set to currently (some may be reversed already), tick the switch in BF in the Configuration tab, and swap the props. Swap the motor bells so that your prop nuts have extra help staying tight (whether it's a c-clip or a screw, its pretty easy to do) and tighten the props with only mild force or you can crack the prop hub. Check your prop nuts daily, after any crash, and after every flight in the beginning so you know you won't have any issues and you will quickly know how tight is tight enough. Realy once they bite down and the prop nut doesn't move any more, put just a hair of force on it and that is fine, the props will not compress, so good and snug not really tight is what you are going for.

There is such a thing as bad batches of props, so if a hub(s) shatter(s) in flight, it MAY not be that you over tightened, but that you have come across a slightly defective batch.

It is unusual to get nylon washers on the motor shafts unless they are meant to sit between the prop and the top of the bell, and usually only on the Luminier POPO motors (pop on pop off) and it is usually a rubber meant to compress as the prop goes into place to stop any slipping. I would need a picture to be sure what you may be looking at.

I was in this way before Acro Trainer, so I am not sure what it does. I keep angle and horizon for new people to fly and also for LOS flying since I suck at Acro LOS, maybe in time I will get there.
 
Thanks for your reply and information. The guy I bought the quad from did the setup before he shipped it. And I just discovered that all four motors on this quad are right hand thread and that can't be good. So, swapping the bells isn't going to do any good. I need to contact him about this as this is supposed to be a duplicate of the quad he flies regularly that he built as a backup. Maybe he overlooked this when he built it. In any case, I guess that this is something that needs to be fixed soon. And here is a picture of the washer and nut for the motor and prop. Maybe he was using the washers to help hold the nuts on? ?

Prop washer.jpg
 
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The things said previously are not written in stone, and in some instances found to have not been as critical as thought in the old days. In fact, I have many quads with all right hand thread nuts. I can tell you now for sure a few things...

The builder did not make a mistake, most top motors come with all right hand now, and if properly tightened and properly checked when they should be, they don't come loose any more than when the threads are reversed. Most prop nuts are now NyLock inserts and that helps the nut not come off (or initially go on) easy, they can be a pain at fist and will wear out in time, so you want to get extras and change them when they no longer hug the prop shaft sufficiently. Just snug your props up good without over tightening too much for the plastic hub, check your prop nuts often, and you will be fine believe me. We have ALL lost a screw or had a prop come loose before, but you tend to up your game on maintenance after you do, and I check mine quickly after every flight or 2 cause it NEVER hurts to be sure.

That flat washer is indeed meant to go between the nut and the props, it is meant to increase the biting surface and keep the nut from crushing into the plastic prop, HyperLites are not unique in this, and they are top of the line motors for sure.
 
All good news and very much appreciated!! You taught an old dog some new tricks today. Are prop nuts all the same quality these days and if there are better ones, which ones should I buy? Thanks!
 
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There of course are varying quality of nuts, but all are good enough, and some just last a little longer than others. There are normal profile nuts, and there are low profile nut's. You may see some without NyLock inserts, don't buy or use those since NyLock's are the biggest reason we can safely run all the same thread, they have been a good thing to this hobby. Usually they should be aluminum, or possibly zync, no need to add the extra weight of steel for this application. Almost all of your motors with prop nuts for this class of quad (3"-7") will all be 5mm shafts. Since they won't last forever, but will last a god while, just have a few extra sets on hand.

Always stick with things clearly for props, and never try to get something for automotive or full nylon since they aren't appropriate. Like the below search, not everything is appropriate, but ours are usually colored and of course you need to watch out for thread direction since we still have some motor bells with reverse rotation threads.

1583539711113.png
 
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Here is "Bullet Heads" (Never use these for the most part, some still try to "dress up" the area but not worth it in my opinion) as well as sets with different colors for the CW and CCW thread like these 2. These are all low profile.

1583540397339.png
 
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An example of low profile and regular profile prop nuts. Obviously low profile have less surface to get the wrench on, but if you have tall props or short shafts, you often need to bite the bullet and use them, just be more careful wrenching on them.

1583540526601.png
 
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I was wondering about the bullet head type and wondering if they had any advantage such as aerodynamics. Thanks!
No advantage except they look nicer, that is why they started anodizing the aluminum with color, and allowed a standard 8mm wrench, the bullet heads where not a plus since they don't come in nylock. You would only use these on a reverse rotation thread motors and likely will only fond bullet heads in cw/ccw sets. But they are never used anymore by the community.
 
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