Semi and Auto Battery Pull

[Vladthecossack]

So...When firing an airsoft gun, does it tax the battery more to fire full auto or semi auto? Or are they the same? In other words, can you shoot more rounds in a day with semi only or with auto only?

[yanhchan]

I want to say Full auto uses less but I don't know why....

[Mantelope]

I do, it's because you're using the momentum from the gears. Either way, semi and full auto battery drain are EXTREMELY close, and it doesn't make much sense to use one over the other just because of battery usage.

[Vladthecossack]

Originally Posted by harleyb

I do, it's because you're using the momentum from the gears. Either way, semi and full auto battery drain are EXTREMELY close, and it doesn't make much sense to use one over the other just because of battery usage.

I'm not. I just sat up one night and wondered which used less. Just a curiosity issue. But thank you for your answer.

[mcguyver]

Physics says semi and by a good margin. When you start any motor from rest, you need a large inrush of curent to establish the field in the motor, overcome inertia and drive a load. Semi means that all shots fired require this large current (up to 6 times run current at most)

In a full auto burst of 5 rounds, only the first cycle consumes this large inrush and run current will be considerably less for the remaining shots.

If you were to use a ratio of current actually drawn vs. shots fired, full auto is the most efficient.

In the electrical world, special motors are built for "jog" duty. They are overbuilt for their horsepower rating to accomodate these continued inrush spikes. Regular motors will just burn up.