Ovonic LIPO review: 4S & 6S 1300mAh batteries

First of all, I wish a Happy New Year to all drone lovers. I hope this year will be better for everyone and the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon. 2021 starts on First Quadcopter with the Ovonic battery review. We will have a closer look at two of their green 1300 mAh 100C LIPO packs (4S and 6S).

Testing LIPO packs is quite a time-consuming process. Firstly I go through a break-in procedure consisting of five charging cycles (discharge to 3.6V and charger back at 1C). Many experts say that this operation is important to get out the best performance from your drone battery and also to ensure a long lifespan. After the break-in steps, I proceed to test the real-charging capacity of the batteries. Lastly, I put them on a drone and have a couple of test flights. Remember, since these batteries contain lithium-ion, which is prone to catching fire and causing blasts, I suggest you store and charge them in dedicated fireproof bags.

Ovonic 4s/6s 1300mAh LIPO battery review

Disclosure: I received these two 1300mAh packs as part of a product review collaboration with OVONIC. Although the batteries were offered for free, all opinions in this article remain my own, and I was in no way influenced by the sponsor.

Before sending the LIPO batteries for review, Ovonic requested proof that I’m a publisher on FirstQuadcotper. They say they receive many sponsor requests from fake influencers.

The batteries arrived two days before Christmas eve. I received two packs of 1300mAh LIPOs (4S and 6S). While I always request two of each type of batteries, in order to compare if they have the same performance, I received only one of each type.

At a glance

Both batteries come in a high-quality cardboard box with protective foam inside. The actual battery is once more packed in an air bubble bag. The battery itself is covered with black wrapping. The XT60 plug is secured to the battery and also protected by a tiny piece of foam. A safety instruction manual, a balance plug protector, and two pieces of OVONIC stickers are provided with each battery.

While the sticker on the front of the pack gives you the usual information (Number of cells, Voltage, Capacity, and Discharge rate), the sticker on the back provides some basic safety guidelines about charging and using LIPO batteries. The overall design underlines the impression of a high-quality product.

The Ovonic 4S/1300mAh pack measures 29x35x75.5 and weigh 156 grams. Due to the extra 2 cells, the 6S/1300mAh is 15mm thicker (43.8x35x74) and 68 grams heavier (224 grams). By comparison, my CHNL Black 4S/1300mAh pack measures 32x34x74mm and weighs 160gram. Apparently, Ovonic has a slightly better weight/power ratio.

Technical Details

Ovonic LIPO battery review: Performance

While most 6S FPV drones can be powered by 4S batteries and will work just fine, if you power a 4S drone with a 6S battery can end ugly. A fully charged 4S LIPO has 16.8V and a 6S one 25.20V. The extra 8-9 V can damage some of the electric components. Also, the motors will spin much faster. The KV (RPM per volt) number of the motor needs to be matched with the battery you will use.

FPV racing pilots prefer 6S batteries because they can deliver more consistent power, which means that top speed can be sustained for a longer time without voltage sag occurring.

Surprisingly, the 6S pack allowed higher charging capacity than the 4S pack. Using the same charger and settings, the 6S OVONIC stored 1415mAh, and the 4S 1381mAh. Anyway, both are fairly over their nominal capacity.

For now, I tested only the Ovonic 4s/1300mAh pack. It fits perfectly for the HGLRC Sector 5 V3, leaving space for a GoPro camera. The average flight time with this 5″ drone was around 5 minutes. The 100C discharge rate is more than I need, allowing me to do any fast maneuver. After using, all cells have similar end voltage across the pack.

Price and availability

Ovonic batteries can be purchased from many popular RC retails, including eBay. Ampow has US, Canada, and European warehouses for faster processing order. When I published my review, the OVONIC 14.8V 4S 1300mAh 100C battery was priced at $21.40, and the  OVONIC 22.2V 100C 6S 1300mAh pack at $36.05. Many of their FPV batteries can be ordered in packs of two or four pieces as well.

Ovonic Orange vs Ovonic Green

Ovonic has two product lines for FPV drones. While the top-performance Orange Ovonic batteries have a 120C discharge range, the Green Ovonic packs have a 100C one. In the table below, I compared the size, weight, discharge rate (Continuous), and price of the 6 most commonly used FPV batteries.