Erratic behavior at high altitude & low temperatures

[lfaitas]

Halo everyone! I was flying the p3p from 1.600m altitude Aprox and temperature was 1-2c aprox and several times i had issues with battery warnings that it's critically low and at some time that the motors where over heating!!
Eventually i managed to land it but manually landing it to a safe position near me overriding the return to home procedure.
My question is is the altitude or temperature to extreme or it was something else?
It was not windy or snowing.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

The batteries do not like to be cold. Keep them warmed before use and expect shorter run times when flying in cold temperatures.
They are not like your average household alkaline battery your used to. Always store them in a safe place (I use a metal ammo can) and never charge them unattended.
If you are not familiar with lipo style batteries please take the time to learn about them and the special care they require.

 

[alokbhargava]

LiPo batteries may deliver only half of their capacity at zero deg Celcious and motors might start stalling as P3 in GPS mode will try to retain heights. Eventually P3 has good chance of falling down. But before all this happen, ESCs should generate overloading alarms.

If you want to fly in cold temperatures, ATTI mode may be better suited but be careful, batteries will not deliver full currents.

 

[Wacker2611]

LiPo batteries may deliver only half of their capacity at zero deg Celcious and motors might start stalling as P3 in GPS mode will try to retain heights. Eventually P3 has good chance of falling down. But before all this happen, ESCs should generate overloading alarms.

If you want to fly in cold temperatures, ATTI mode may be better suited but be careful, batteries will not deliver full currents.

Sorry bud, but that post you've just written is mostly cobblers.

 

[Meta4]

The altitude should not be a problem - DJI's specs suggest the P3 is good up to 6000m.

 

[alokbhargava]

Sorry bud, but that post you've just written is mostly cobblers.

You don't have to be sorry, such batteries can't deliver full currents at zero or further lower temperatures. That would limit P3s flying capabilities. I have no idea about the limit on the height of flying at those temperatures.

 

[Erroll]

Sorry bud, but that post you've just written is mostly cobblers.

Your post, on the other hand, was very informative.

 

[Wacker2611]

Your post, on the other hand, was very informative.

I aim to please

 

[nhoover]

I haven't flown my P3P at high altitude but the P2V+ did very well at 3500m+ above sea level. 1-2°C should be OK but I don't have much experience below 5C. Keep the batteries warm before flying and maybe clean the battery contacts. I use DeoxIT which works well.

 

[Brutaly]

I live at sea level but i have done long distance runs in -2 degrees with no issues at all. I flown a mission with well over 7km distance using fpv mission planner using almost full throttle all the way. Im no LiPo expert but in my humble opinion i saw no difference compared to flying in +15 degrees. But as been said, i kept the batteries warm inside my jacket until just before takeoff.

When in the air i imagine that the discharge of the battery will keep it at suitable level. On a warm day they can be rather warm so a colder environment might even help out a bit!? I believe the important part is that they are warm when you take off. But its me speculating and hoping some one knowledgeable might contradict me.

 

[stealthbomber]

Halo everyone! I was flying the p3p from 1.600m altitude Aprox and temperature was 1-2c aprox and several times i had issues with battery warnings that it's critically low and at some time that the motors where over heating!!
Eventually i managed to land it but manually landing it to a safe position near me overriding the return to home procedure.
My question is is the altitude or temperature to extreme or it was something else?
It was not windy or snowing.

1.600m is just over 5 feet. Thats high altitude??

 

[toorboy]

hi all I thought these smart batteries would be a hole lot better than my old phantom fc40 batteries
my fc40 took -10c no problems flying over the last winter but now am in two minds whether to
take the p3p out. I have read up on how the p3p batteries can fly up to -10c but from whats being posted
about voltage problems it don't seem worth the risk of losing the bird. I have one of those cloth
waterproof backpacks and I travel sometimes two hours to locations so the bag is at normal
temp in the car but I like to walk into the hills when I get to a location. my p3p has flown
in -1c to 0c so far no problems and flight times were a bit shorter but I want to make sure
she is coming back and not lying fecked on a hill somewhere due to a voltage issue

 

[Shammyh]

1.600m is just over 5 feet. Thats high altitude??

. = , in many (all?) European countries.

Unless your taking the piss that is...

 

[TacAir42]

I live at sea level but i have done long distance runs in -2 degrees with no issues at all. I flown a mission with well over 7km distance using fpv mission planner using almost full throttle all the way. Im no LiPo expert but in my humble opinion i saw no difference compared to flying in +15 degrees. But as been said, i kept the batteries warm inside my jacket until just before takeoff.

When in the air i imagine that the discharge of the battery will keep it at suitable level. On a warm day they can be rather warm so a colder environment might even help out a bit!? I believe the important part is that they are warm when you take off. But its me speculating and hoping some one knowledgeable might contradict me.

You are correct about the battery temp keeping it warm while flying. Just upload your logs to HealthyDrones and check out the recorded battery temps. I flew in 16F weather the other day and my battery temps were nice and toasty. If they get cold BEFORE your flight, you might have some energy loss yes.

 

[lfaitas]

Thanks everyone for all the info! Didn't think of warming the batteries before flying! Fortunately the warnings of low voltage during flight didn't last for long and I continued flying the p3p normally.
The next flight we the other battery i got the overheated motor message and it started the automatic landing procedure .. Not the go home..
But i was very lucky that it was next to me otherwise I would be looking for it in the snowy forest!!

 

[lfaitas]

..and some photos of my 4x4 expedition..

 

[stealthbomber]

. = , in many (all?) European countries.

Unless your taking the piss that is...

I can't figure out what your saying??? Everyone knows commas aren't allowed in the metric system [emoji1].

 

[MoOriginal]

I live at sea level but i have done long distance runs in -2 degrees with no issues at all. I flown a mission with well over 7km distance using fpv mission planner using almost full throttle all the way. Im no LiPo expert but in my humble opinion i saw no difference compared to flying in +15 degrees. But as been said, i kept the batteries warm inside my jacket until just before takeoff.

When in the air i imagine that the discharge of the battery will keep it at suitable level. On a warm day they can be rather warm so a colder environment might even help out a bit!? I believe the important part is that they are warm when you take off. But its me speculating and hoping some one knowledgeable might contradict me.

Would like to see the video of that !

 

[nparker13]

I had a similar issue when it was pretty cold...never figured out what went wrong and knock on wood, never had the issue again. Flying in very cold weather at 50% battery got a critically low voltage warning. Held throttle up and inched it closer to safe landing zone.

 

[alokbhargava]

Thanks everyone for all the info! Didn't think of warming the batteries before flying! Fortunately the warnings of low voltage during flight didn't last for long and I continued flying the p3p normally.
The next flight we the other battery i got the overheated motor message and it started the automatic landing procedure .. Not the go home..
But i was very lucky that it was next to me otherwise I would be looking for it in the snowy forest!!

Always be careful of overheating messages. They indicate that ESC is unable to pump enough current to make motors run at desired speed and thus motors are getting over heated. They might result into stalling of a motor and dropping it to the ground.