I don’t zip tie them (i wouldn’t recommend that lol) There is velcro on the battery to keep them from slipping and then there is a strap that runs through the frame and around the batteries. I’ll try to get a pic here soon.
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Would love some pictures on how to attach the batteries, How many we can use, What we need to for multiple batteries ! 
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I could still use some examples of battery arrangements, I don’t have RC experience to reference. Like, if I had two sets of four could I fly for 20 minutes, then hot swap, then fly for another 20? And could I charge all eight overnight?
I’m trying to picture the logistics around different setups. What are some of the other possible set ups?
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If you have 8 batteries instead of 4, you would wire them together in parallel mode and would get double the power.
Example with gas: instead of having two tanks with 1 gallon capacity each, you would just have one tank with 2 gallon capacity (does that make sense?) - no need to switch
It does make sense, thank you.
But I was trying to describe a different strategy. I’d like to fly with a lightweight set up most days while I learn, under 40lbs. And since I assume the batteries don’t charge quickly, I could swap one set for another to practice more. I noticed PDWhite is often flying with a pretty lightweight set up in his videos. I’m wondering if people think this strategy I have in mind sounds workable/good or if they’d suggest another approach.
As I progress I and want to go for a longer flight, I would do what you suggest, string them all together.
You say you can get better pricing on the bonka batteries. Any way you will offer them on the website? I know we can’t ship out of country because of cost, but for the states?
No, I’m thinking the best way is to do a drop shipping approach, instead of paying for shipping twice I’ll just have the manufacturer ship directly to you. That way we skip over all the regulatory law in the US on shipping batteries and just have the source ship directly to you which is less regulated for some reason. So it would be essentially the same thing, you just buy the batteries from us and they get delivered to you the same way and you save loads of money. Also, say shipping batteries to Canada or other countries is much easier that way too.
We’ll see if I can work something out.
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Sweet, thanks for the response. I have been agonizing over what battiers to buy. I just couldn’t find those batteries to buy online. I would want 4 of those, when you figure it out that is. Can’t wait for my batch 2. I already got my harness on order too.
This is something I agree to. Please make it happen.
I don’t mind paying an fee for this as well.
Do we need to wire up the batteries or something for multiple ones?
Hi
Have just reserved a kit from batch 2…do I need to buy 4 of these batteries ie the( Multistar High capacity 10000Ah Multi-rotor Lipo Pack XT90)
Regards
Dave
This is a pretty popular, thread, and a lot of good info has emerged. But there is confusion about the number of batteries to buy. The store page says:
31 lbs smaller battery pack providing 20mins
51 lbs all up weight the 40mins of flight time.
But its not clear how many batteries are in a “small pack” vs. how many are in the larger arrangement.
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“Small Pack” = Four 22.2 volt batteries.
“Big Pack” = Eight 22.2 volt batteries.
If you care about the technical details here’s a short guide. We call the small pack a 12s2p configuration, and the big pack a 12s4p configuration. This means that the small pack has 12 Lithium Polymer (LiPo) cells in series, which increases the output voltage to around 44.4 volts. Since you can’t buy 12s batteries for a decent price we use two 6s batteries in series, which is the same as having a 12s battery. I’ll call our two 6s batteries a “battery pair”.
Now that our battery pair is outputting the voltage that the system runs on, we can then add more of these pairs in parallel. By running them in parallel we can double the runtime of each battery pair, and reduce the load placed on each pair. Note: most of the batteries we’ve looked at so far do not output enough current to support the OpenPPG (300A), so we need a minimum of two battery pairs. From there you can keep adding 12s battery pairs until your legs break from the strain of carrying them all.
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Thanks DanielArnett…great explanation!
So, if we use your template, but switched to Bonka which are 22,000mAh instead of 10,000mAh Multistar we would need half as many pairs?
Small pack = Two 22Ah batteries
Big Pack = four 22Ah batteries.
Do you agree?
Some good information coming out here.
I would like to mention another vital component of your power system that you will be making yourself.
Wiring Harness and power distribution to all 4 ESC’s
Your going to have to buy connectors and wire to join a few batteries in series, then parallel a couple of those together, then feed all 4 ESC’s.
Your going to need thick wire (8WG at least) to handle these currents
Your also going to need connectors that are also up to task-7-8 mm bullet’s should be OK
Take a look at this video. Skip to the end to see the guys electrical mistake and what happens if your wiring harnesses aren’t up to pulling big current.
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Yes but only because the Bonkas can support over 300A discharge, most other batteries can’t handle this (and personally I’m going to stay skeptical of the Bonkas until I see some more data on their reliability). I would personally keep the Small Pack at 4 batteries, just to further reduce strain on each battery while I get more comfortable with it, and I would recommend those new with LiPos do the same.
But strictly speaking based off of the datasheet the two Bonkas should be able to get the OpenPPG off the ground for a couple of minutes.
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That makes perfect sense, and I think that’s a great idea. Multiple batteries work great. I use to fly 50 size electric helis. (54.75" rotor span) I was running 10S2P Thunder Power packs. I had five packs, two chargers and a deep cycle marine battery and could fly all day.
Thanks DanielArnett.
Is it your understanding that we need to build a wiring harness as Lukas suggests? It’s not listed one way or the other on the product page. Maybe if you pay the assembly fee and buy batteries through OpenPPG they assemble that, too?
They work great and they give me about 15mins with just the one set in series as you can see in the vid I shot today for you guys, because you wanted to see it in action. Some random flying from today - YouTube
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All the wiring you need comes with the kits, so no need to get wiring to make your own wiring harness. I think @DanielArnett was talking about a battery wiring harness if you want to hook up you own custom battery connectors/batteries
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Thanks for the video!! Super dope! So excited.