Battery Storage when not in use.
- Thread starter Homeless
- Start date
No worries ...
Its all a learning curve and none of us are experts or know all the answers.
Even DJI Tech are prone to real belly-splitting laughable 'info' at times !
I am still investigating and delving into the 'deeper' secrets of these machines as I am one of those who wants to KNOW what is in my hands !
Cheers
Nigel
N017RW
Premium Pilot
The smart feature has nothing to do with the chemistry which is sensitive to storage and charge levels.Ah, but these aren't any old lipo. They are smart batteries from what I have read. They self discharge to the correct storage capacity after 2 days. I leave mine in the quad. I only have one anyway !
Those features take the manual 'work' of balancing, over charge and discharge, temperature control, current limiting, etc. away from the casual hobbyist.
so if i havnt flown for nealry 2 weeks and my batterys have been on 1 green led, for that time should i part charge them?
Mine was set by default to 10?!
I just changed it to 8, with the expectation that if I'm going to fly on the weekend, but lose the chance, they'll start discharging the day after. I may change this now that I have a multi charger.
(Just checked pg. 15, that says 10 days as well)
EDIT: sorry, just noticed Nigel already pointed that out!
Jeff
I set mine for 3 days for the same reason. If I plan on flying on the weekend and charge them on Friday, then on day three which would be Monday it would start the discharge. Not sure why you're setting yours for 8 to accomplish the same thing?
Sent from my HTC 10 using PhantomPilots mobile app
Probably yes, because one solid light means maximum charge of 25% and as low as 12.5%. I would go with at least two solid lights during a status check which would give you a minimum of 37.5% and a maximum of 50%. So when charging your battery if you pull the plug as soon as the third LED starts to flash it will be right at 50%.
Sent from my HTC 10 using PhantomPilots mobile app
Because if I fly on the weekend and drain them, they shouldn't be left drained so I'll charge them. That's Sunday night. If I don't fly the following weekend, that's 7 days, and they will start discharging on day 8...
Jeff
Now I understand better, but would add this. When I do the same thing your outlining, I leave them as is if there 30% or more when landed. And if not, it's best to do a partial charge to the 50% range and not do a full charge a week out. Then do a full charge the following weekend if you know it's going to happen (flying). You want to cut down as much as possible the batteries being at 100% when in storage, even short term.
That's really the key, it's as simple as that. As Nigel also said, LiPos deteriorate over time (like all batteries) but this process is much faster when the battery is at or near full charge. Now, with relatively cheap LiPos, you can take the conscious decision to keep them charged for a week or two (I'm definitely guilty of that...) for the convenience of having them ready so you can go flying at short notice.
With $100 batteries... I'm definitely more cautious. Just be aware that there is always a trade-off... setting very short auto-discharge times (or manually discharging them) means a "wasted" charge cycle, which also shorten the LiPo lifespan. Like many things in life, use common sense: as a general rule, charge your batteries right before flying. If something happens and you have to keep them fully charged for 3-4 days, that's OK. Pushing it to one full week, not ideal. Beyond, better to avoid.
Understood. And no, I don't often go below 30%... so that makes sense. But with two kids and a wife and a business, flying time is at a premium and I know I wouldn't have the discipline when I pack everything up for the day to then monitor the charging process and make sure and stop it at 50%... so I rely on the technology to "do it's thing".
...and yes I'm always aware of the wasted cycle.
Worse, I'd be disappointed if I had an unexpected opportunity to fly but my batteries weren't charged... and then missed it.
But over and above all that, my fall back position and probably primary train of thought is this:
If the manufacturer sets a default discharge time of 10 days, who am I to second guess and override what was intended by them in the first place? What basis do I have to decide I'm smarter than they are?
It already goes against my own better judgement as it is to alter any default setting any time, unless I have a good justifiable reason, but I did go down to 8 days based on info I got here.
This is also why I use OEM batteries and propellers, the latest firmware, don't skin my AC, keep everything stock for a full year.
Jeff
Yes, live and learn. When a newbie I would charge them up as soon as I got home and had the setting to 5 days for auto discharge, thinking I'd be flying again in a few days at most. And if not, they would start the discharge in five days. By the time they discharged I'd be charging them up again, silly me. Now I try to never get into a situation where the auto discharge feature ever kicks in. Only charge when below 30%, and then only charge up to 50%. And never to 100% unless I'm going out within the next 24 hours. Auto setting now at 3 days.
RodPad
Premium Pilot
Not really part of this thread, but is related to storing a battery in the Phantom. It was posted as after he was done flying he stored everything in his case, one of the batteries gets stored in the Phantom, he got back home traveling in his car, he opened the case and Phantom was powered on and very hot.
Rod
Rod
No need ... leave alone. What you can do is switch on and read the total voltage from the two main contacts .. if its below 14.8V .... then charge a little to bring it to that or slightly more ... I suggest 15.0 ... 15.2V ....
Nigel
If you are at 25 - 30% ... that's fine to leave them - no need to go up to 50% ....
Only advantage of 50% is that charge time is shorter when you want to fly.
Nigel
What's important is that you understand the general idea (which is to limit the time your batteries sit at 100% charge). Then you can take the educated decision to completely ignore it in the name of convenience, nothing wrong with that. As for your comment about overriding a default setting and being smarter than DJI, I would not see it that way: the simple fact that DJI exposes that property tells you that it's something even DJI expects owners to change to better suit their needs (this is not always true, I reckon, but it is true in this case). Moreover - or more importantly - the range goes from 1 to 10 days, which means that 10 (the default) is more of an upper limit than a recommended value.
Regarding the OP question (store batteries inside the AC), I think it's good practice not to do it. Actually, I think it's good practice to remove the battery right after each flight.
While the actual risk is minimal, there's a couple situations where you would be cursing yourself if the battery was inside the AC:
- battery gets swollen => gets stuck in the AC, or even breaks the battery tray
- battery turns on / is left on accidentally => you burn some electronics / gimbal motors
Most drone cases have compartments or cutouts for the batteries, where they sit nicely padded and isolated from the rest. If you don't have a case, get yourself some LiPo bags... you can find them for cheap on eBay, specific for the P3 battery. They are also useful for traveling, as a backup plan in case the airline asks you to put your drone in the hold (as you all know, spare LiPos are not allowed there). It happened to me recently, on an EasyJet flight: no more overhead space in the cabin, my drone case had to be checked in... I quickly removed the two batteries, put them in their LiPo bags, inside my backpack, and everything was good and safe.
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