Best prop adapters

[teslahed]

What kind of prop adapters are people using?

I have found that the cheap screw on prop adapters (like the ones RCtimer sells) fail very easily if overtightened;



http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=580&productname=

The bolt on adapters like the ones that come with Keda motors seem to work a lot better;



But obviously don't help much unless you have a certain type of motor.

A type I haven't tried before;



has just come back in to stock here;

http://www.giantshark.co.uk/prop-adapter-317mm-shaft-grub-screw-type-p-404888.html

I've ordered 12 - hopefully they should sort some of the vibration problems I've been having with a couple of my quadcopters.

[Gaza07]

I use the thrid type in your pictures from giant shark they are much better than the free ones, but you can still get the odd duffer so get some extra ones just to make sure 

If you have the rctimer 2830 range then these adapters are probably even better

http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=545&productname=

[attach=1]

[teslahed]

I never bought the 2830 motors because they looked to be rated at a much higher power rating than the next ones down and i was worried i would need a larger battery and speed controllers etc. I thought the next size down looked a better fit for the size of quadcopter i was building.

I'm wondering if i would have been better off with the 2830s now though.

[Gaza07]

Ive run both and they seem to give about the same amount of time on a 2200mah pack, the thing is the 2830 can run a 12" prop and I have had that size on them and it does it easily so when they are running a 10" prop they just aren't being worked any where near the max rate,
The smaller motors I think have to work that bit harder with a 10" prop so they tend to use about the same as the higher torque motors,
My conclusion on motors and the kv rating is 2830 750kv good all rounder and built like a tank,
the smaller higher kv motors around 1000 - 1100kv are very quick and work very well but just seem a little bit more flimsy and might not take a crash so well, but make for a very lively flight and more fun,
I haven't tried any 850 - 900kv motors yet and will do when I can afford some as this might be the happy medium between the 2, the 2830 can be from 750kv 850kv and 1000kv I would like to try them all even though they are a little heavier 

[MadMax]

I like the look of those giant shark prop adapters also in pretty red to 

[teslahed]

My new giantshark prop adapters arrived.

They tighten up on the motor axle with just a grub screw. I bunged some thread lock into the prop adapter hole and also over the grub screw then tightened that up as much as possible on the motor axle.

I can slide the prop adapter (and prop) around on the axle quite easily. Will it firm up once the threadlock sets or have i done something wrong? At the moment I';d be worried to fly with the prop adapters as they currently are.

Edit - don';t use threadlock on these prop adapters. If you do you';ll never get the grub screws out

[Gaza07]

That doesn't sound right, they should be tight on the shaft locked by the grub screw, Take one off and see if the screw has marked the shaft, maybe the screw isnt getting all the way through ?, if you have a dremmel grind a small flat for the screw to sit on, although I haven't had to do this and have never had one of these come off they have always been fit and forget 

[Gaza07]

Here's some pictures of the prop adapters I use, the 2 with spinners are from Giant Shark the other is from a keda thumb run 

[smg id=21][smg id=20]

[teslahed]

Replacing the larger domed heads with small nuts seems like a good idea on a quadcopter where reducing the mass of the propeller and adapter is more important than a tiny extra bit of aerodynamic streamlining.

In other news it seems i have been over tightening my prop adapters for the last few months or so and bending quite a few of them as a result which has been causing my quadcopter terrible vibration problems.

I had been reading lots of stories about people losing props in flight as a result of not tightening them up enough and hadn't read of anyone having problems as a result of over-tightening - so thought i was erring in the side of caution.

I think the idea is you only need to tighten them up slightly more than hand tight - just enough to stop the prop slipping - but if anyone wants to correct me on this I'm all ears. 

That doesn't sound right, they should be tight on the shaft locked by the grub screw, Take one off and see if the screw has marked the shaft, maybe the screw isnt getting all the way through ?, if you have a dremmel grind a small flat for the screw to sit on, although I haven't had to do this and have never had one of these come off they have always been fit and forget 

It turns out i was just being impatient with the thread lock. The grub screws didn't hold the prop adapters on the motor axle securely until after the thread lock was dry.

[Gaza07]

Well I tend to swing on mine a bit and I have snapped a few off doing so, I think after some time of doing this the metal get fatigued and just breaks 
I'm not sure what the answer is but prob best to nip them up and keep checking just before each session 

[pheasant_plucker]

Don't forget that most prop adapters are all aluminum. You can stretch and damage the thread with very little effort. Rn down then nip them up is enough. If you must have belt and braces use a lock nut.

Gerry

[Gaza07]

Yea using lock nuts would make much more sense, but then again I haven't got any 

[teslahed]

I hadn't thought of that but I've just read the wikipedia article on lock nuts and that does sound like they could work quite well.

I might head down to the local hardware shop tomorrow with one of my prop adapters and see if they have any in stock that would fit.

[pheasant_plucker]

You can also use a Nyloc nut which will work just as well 

Gerry

[Gaza07]

That is the best option 

You can also use a Nyloc nut which will work just as well 

Gerry

[MadMax]

A simple solution and probably the best 

You can also use a Nyloc nut which will work just as well 

Gerry

[Gaza07]

Your not trying to say Gerry is simple are you  hes not simple hes a well I will let you read it for your self just look in his info box 

[teslahed]

Here's some pictures of the prop adapters I use[smg id=21][smg id=20]

This type seems the best i've found so far;

http://www.giantshark.co.uk/shaft-adapter-suit-3175mm-motor-shaft-collet-p-404900.html

Same as yours above - the shafts are a little thicker than the ones i was using before so they should be a bit stronger. Also they fit the 9 and 10 inch props i use without any adapter.

I got 6 of them this morning.

[MadMax]

Did you get red ones or are they the same as the others they show red but you get plain ali 

[teslahed]

They are just a straight aluminium finish now - no anodizing.

[MadMax]

They should change the picture as its misleading 

[dp106]

Do you guys recommend using those giant Shark adapters then? I';m using the ones that came with the motors and dread having to take my props on and off as every time I reattach them I give it 50/50 whether they are going to fly off mid flight. They just seem really unreliable. Wish I';d bought some motors with a threaded prop shaft

[Gaza07]

I really like the Giant Shark adapters that hold on with the grub screws although you get the odd one that will wobble, but they are cheap so you just order spares and discard the dodgy ones, I also now use nyloc nuts on my adapters as they cant come loose like the ali spinners do and you dont feel like you have to do them so tight because you just have more confidense in them 

[Gav]

Using nylocs is a good idea bud.

I';ve recently bought some ripmax prop adaptors from sussex model centre.  They were pricey but I dont have to buy inserts for the graupner props I';m using on my best quad.  The prop adaptors are 3.17mm motor shaft fitment to 8mm prop bore.
Hopefully they';ll turn up on Wednesday.   I currently use the 3.17mm/5mm single nut aluminium type from giantshark with home made 5 to 8mm bore spacers and very happy with them, but have had a few topples with the quad and have straightened the adaptors a few times.  Looking to balance the props to remove a bit of vibration and also wanted to use fresh adaptors.  Will report back if they';re any good.

[dp106]

I really like the Giant Shark adapters that hold on with the grub screws although you get the odd one that will wobble, but they are cheap so you just order spares and discard the dodgy ones, I also now use nylock nuts on my adapters as they cant come loose like the ali spinners do and you dont feel like you have to do them so tight because you just have more confidense in them 

Sorry, do you mean you replace the bullet shaped cap with an actual nut? How do I know what size to get?

[Gaza07]

Yea the ali spinners / cones come loose very easy and then your prop flies off and you crash 
If you use the nyloc nuts like in the picture they wont come loose and certainly cant fly off 
If you dont know the thread size take a prop adapter to your local hardware store and check it with some of the nuts 

Sorry, do you mean you replace the bullet shaped cap with an actual nut? How do I know what size to get?

[teslahed]

Here';s a picture of my current prop adapters. The one on the left is how i modify them to get them running smoother.

I have replaced the washer and dome nut with a single nyloc flange nut. The flange replaces the washer and means it always sits perfectly central. A lot of the cheap washers seem to have larger than necessary holes which allows them to be installed off centre which instantly unbalances your motor and prop. The nyloc part means the nut wont untighten itself in flight and you wont need to use threadlock.

I have also dremmelled the shaft down to the pefect length for the nut and prop to sit on without any protruding. This also helps reduce vibrations.

[Friskle]

dont use them now, but i used to love the Gaui 330 prop adaptors, slid over the entire motor shaft, then two grub screws , were not the cheapest, but never a failure :)

[BadgerG]

Never had much luck with Grub screw prop adapters. I prefer the collet type myself, with a nut instead of the cap that comes with them. Had more grub screw type come loose and fly off then I like. If you use thread locker, good luck getting them back off! What i like the best, but really depends on the motor, are the props that mount to the motor with two screws. No prop adapters at all. But those motors are very expensive.

[Friskle]

Yea, my motors have the ones mounted to the actual motor, but i used the grub screw type for a long time without any issue, and always blue threadlocked, 30 seconds with a hot soldering on, no trouble undoing them at all.

My props now though, mount directly to the motor housing.