Battery care

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I've read where you do and you don't need to drain your Phantom (P3A) batteries down to 8% then fully charge them after 20 cycles.

Do I need to this and also do I need to charge them right away after doing this then run them down to 50% for storage of more than 24 hours?
 
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Your answer isn't in the safety guidelines which are seeming substantially similar than those from any other manufacturer of products containing LiION cells. The consensus is that the earlier prescribed discharge and recharge after 20 cycles was to recalibrate the smart board in the battery to account for reduced cell performance over time (the board could learn mah put into the pack recording a more accurate actual capacity). It is no longer suggested by DJI.
 
Your answer isn't in the safety guidelines which are seeming substantially similar than those from any other manufacturer of products containing LiION cells.
While they may be seemingly substantially similar, DJI used to recommend cycling the batteries in their guidelines. They no longer recommend it. The point of the link above is that it explains everything one must do to care for DJI batteries. So, yes, the answer really is in that document.
 
While they may be seemingly substantially similar, DJI used to recommend cycling the batteries in their guidelines. They no longer recommend it. The point of the link above is that it explains everything one must do to care for DJI batteries. So, yes, the answer really is in that document.
Allow me to further clarify- the guidelines are a less than satisfactory source of information for anyone interested in maximising the life and performance of their batteries, principally due to absence of information. They certainly fall well short of explaining everything that "one must do to care for DJI batteries". The subject guidelines are almost certainly issued to meet the statutory requirement on manufacturers to provide certain safety information with respect to products containing LiION cells.

Certain of the instructions are wrong, i.e. the requirement that batteries be fully discharged prior to air travel. The reason batteries have a 40% charge when acquired new (assuming they aren't old stock) is that it is well known that LiION chemistry is at greatest risk of self initiated fire or explosion when at max charge or depletion, the most stable charge % is commonly understood and demonstrated to be 40% SOC. Conveniently 40% also provides for the least degradation due to aging while in storage. No air carrier requires batteries be fully depleted.

For those with an interest in obtaining best performance and service life from their packs they would be advised to consider resources other than the DJI safety guidelines.
 
IMO, the average Phantom owner doesn't know those battery guidelines exist, does nothing but let the batteries auto discharge to the storage level, and is not experiencing unusual degradation issues with their batteries. The latter assumption must be true since we do not see many complaints of battery degradation issues here. If the other assumptions are true as well, then I don't know that people are going to benefit much (if at all) by delving into additional non-DJI battery resources.
 
IMO, the average Phantom owner doesn't know those battery guidelines exist, does nothing but let the batteries auto discharge to the storage level, and is not experiencing unusual degradation issues with their batteries. The latter assumption must be true since we do not see many complaints of battery degradation issues here. If the other assumptions are true as well, then I don't know that people are going to benefit much (if at all) by delving into additional non-DJI battery resources.
My response to the OP's question was principally because the safety guidlines do not address the second component of their question. There is a lot that can be done by those with an interest of doing so to improve longevity and performance of LiION chemistry, none of which are mentioned in the guidlines. As you have pointed out the smart tech in the DJI packs does go a long way to simplifying care and use however I would rather make the OP aware that there are other considerations that may be of interest to them than make a blanket assumption about what the average user may need to know and suggest a safety guideline is appropriate for this purpose.
 
My response to the OP's question was principally because the safety guidlines do not address the second component of their question.
The second component does not need to be addressed since the first component does not need to be done.

and suggest a safety guideline is appropriate for this purpose
As you know, the safety guidelines contain a lot more than just safety information. The document also explains how to use the batteries, charge them, store them, and maintain them. It's really quite a superb resource for DJI batteries specifically. I'm not intimately familiar with non-DJI batteries, so I cannot speak on whether or not this document can be applied to other Li-ion batteries.

There is a lot that can be done by those with an interest of doing so to improve longevity and performance of LiION chemistry, none of which are mentioned in the guidlines.
I don't know that much will be gained by attempting to micromanage DJI batteries. If you do nothing but follow the advice in the safety guidelines, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

FWIW, I agree that the "before carrying the Intelligent Flight Battery on an airline flight, it must first be fully discharged" should not be done. IMO, that statement should be removed.

BTW, I'm not trying to discount your general Li-ion battery knowledge. I'm only suggesting that people need not be concerned with it since it's likely not going to improve the process DJI already has in place. People sometimes get too involved in tweaks that don't add much (or any) benefit.
 
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The airdata guys (formerly Healthdrones.com) have a scree about basic battery service which is an easy read/easy understand.
On another issue have any of you actually read the don'ts on the DJI pamphlet? Don't stick it in a microwave, don't feed it to kids etc. Man I must lead a sheltered life.:confused:
 
The airdata guys (formerly Healthdrones.com) have a scree about basic battery service which is an easy read/easy understand.
How accurate is that information though? They recommend cycling the batteries. There is no evidence that shows cycling the batteries is beneficial. It's most likely just a huge waste of time -- even more so for those people who have lots of batteries.
 

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