DJI Official Battery Heater

Numone · Apr 22, 2016

I've seen this battery heater unit on the DJI website. Anyone purchased this? Seems like a good idea and a pretty good price too (except shipping cost is nuts!).
http://store.dji.com/product/phantom-3-battery-heater

Ed209 · Apr 22, 2016

That's very interesting but a crappy design in my opinion. Using 3-7% of your own battery???

4wd · Apr 22, 2016

Ed209 said:
That's very interesting but a crappy design in my opinion. Using 3-7% of your own battery???

But... a cold battery would fly less time anyway?

msinger · Apr 22, 2016

4wd said:
But... a cold battery would fly less time anyway?

Right. The loss should be pretty close to the minute or so that is normally spent hovering in place after takeoff to give the battery time to warm up.

alokbhargava · Apr 22, 2016

Not a good design concept. I'm disappointed.

msinger · Apr 22, 2016

What don't you like about it?

Wolfiesden · Apr 22, 2016

msinger said:
What don't you like about it?

Uses the battery to heat itself. Thats the worst flaw. If it used an external LIPO or something other than flight battery to heat itself, then maybe.

I am thinking maybe ripping up a old peltier cooled icebox and 3D printing a small case/holder for batteries. It could then run off the 12v in your car/truck or other accessory 12v supply.

msinger · Apr 22, 2016

Ah. I was seeing that as a major benefit -- since I wouldn't have to charge and carry around a separate battery to power the heater. Then again, I'm not into long distance flying, so I'm probably not seeing the importance of that extra ~5% of flight time.

Wolfiesden · Apr 22, 2016

Its about flight TIME not necessarily distance for me. My max distance was a one time shot of 10k feet to see what its limit is (for self knowledge more than anything). I am more interested in time aloft for shooting/video than seeing how far I can go. I would guess the majority of my flights don't roam more than 2k from home.

If the warmer was a self contained thing with its own power (rechargable LiPo or external perhaps), it wouldn't tap the flight battery of critical power just when it needs it...cold. I fly in Wisconsin. It gets cold here

I have been using a lunch box from walmart and microwaving blue ice packs dumped into ziplock bags (to allow for expansion). It works but isn't the best solution.

Why I have been pondering cannibalizing my ice chest is that the unique thing about a peltier is that its reversible. So the battery warmer could become a battery cooler. On my recent trip to Florida I found out I can't charge the battery immediately after flight. Apparently it has to cool down first. When plugged in right away the incremental bars start then stop and the LED next to the power button flashes. If I let it cool for a while it will then begin charging.

What I wanted to make was a box that would house the batteries and a peltier. In the winter I could use the box to heat the batteries prior to flight. In the summer, I could reverse the polarity on the peltier and turn it into a cooler to chill down the batteries so they would begin charging sooner.

alokbhargava · Apr 23, 2016

msinger said:
What don't you like about it?

It is just a passive charger with no logic built in. It should have at least a timer and/or temperature operated switch to turn heater on and off. This is a DJI product and should have intelligence.

I get a beautiful coffee warmer for $6 with better controls. Plug it into car, and use it.

Numone · Apr 23, 2016

msinger said:
Ah. I was seeing that as a major benefit -- since I wouldn't have to charge and carry around a separate battery to power the heater. Then again, I'm not into long distance flying, so I'm probably not seeing the importance of that extra ~5% of flight time.

I think its a really clever concept too. I'll wait til its available from stock in the UK.

Hemar174 · Apr 23, 2016

the heater must have his own recharge battery.

Numone · Apr 23, 2016

Hemar174 said:
the heater must have his own recharge battery.

Nope, it uses the power from the P3 battery itself to activate the heating element, hence why they estimate it'll use 3 to 7% of power from the battery.

Hemar174 · Apr 23, 2016

Numone said:
Nope, it uses the power from the P3 battery itself to activate the heating element, hence why they estimate it'll use 3 to 7% of power from the battery.

yes.... so I say it should have its own rechargeable battery, not use the phantom battery

Numone · Apr 23, 2016

Hemar174 said:
yes.... so I say it should have its own rechargeable battery, not use the phantom battery

Ahhhh, I see what you mean. Well, just like msinger, I too see this as an advantage, with one less thing to carry and recharge. I still think its a brilliant item.

Banderboy · Apr 23, 2016

Maybe a 12 volt heater could be made using a kit meant for heated grips on motorcycles.
Motorcycle 12V Heated Grip Throttle Pads Handlebars ATV Scooter Grips Heater Hot

tribar · Apr 23, 2016

By using it's own power the battery is heated in 2 ways:
-A heating element in the housing.
-The battery gets warmer by itself (like with flying)

Numone · Apr 23, 2016

Banderboy said:
Maybe a 12 volt heater could be made using a kit meant for heated grips on motorcycles.
Motorcycle 12V Heated Grip Throttle Pads Handlebars ATV Scooter Grips Heater Hot

Yeah, maybe... Or maybe buy the genuine DJI item for £16 and don't waste your time, money & frustration on something that doesn't work particularly well?

PEEFA · Apr 23, 2016

tribar said:
By using it's own power the battery is heated in 2 ways:
-A heating element in the housing.
-The battery gets warmer by itself (like with flying)

That is the reason to use flight battery to warm the battery internal whilst creating more warmth. It is a very efficient system if you think about it.

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