Extending Flight Time/Battery Life

[RCRobman]

I have read many things on this forum and have yet to find a definitive answer to the question of extending the amount of time you can fly the Phantom 2 Vision + reliably.
Do different props make a difference - such as the carbon fibre props offered by DJI?
Do 3rd party batteries like Limefuel make much of a difference?
How about actually flying the drone?
Does hovering in place use more or less battery power then say moving at slow speed/half speed/full speed?
How about altitude/temperature - given that the temp drops as the drone rises and the air is thinner does that affect battery life/flight times?

I am a new Phantom user and currently grounded due to winter and cold so I am using the time to learn as much as I can about flying the drone safely and maximizing the batteries - have read that once the batteries useable life is less than 90% (give or take 30 charges) that the DJI batteries become somewhat unreliable.
I have always followed the rule with all types of rechargeable batteries that you should fully discharge them (down to 5% of so) before recharging them AND always recharge them fully - no partial charges - also never recharge when the battery is hot/warm such as immediately after a flight - wait till it has cooled down first. I have always had good luck with this and my batteries always seem to last longer and maintain their battery life.
Does this apply to the Phantom batteries also?

Thanks for any help - love this forum!

 

[Julius717]

Nothing you can do


Lime fuel just released their 6000mah battery, few of us have them waiting to arrive. But no, as of right now nothing you can do

 

[msinger]

Do different props make a difference - such as the carbon fibre props offered by DJI?

Different props will affect the way your Phantom flies. However, none will noticeably increase/decrease the flight time. The DJI 9450 props should give you the best performance.

A lot of people do not recommend carbon fiber props because most don't perform as well as the DJI plastic props. Also, they are brittle and are more dangerous if they come into contact with someone. If you must go with carbon fiber props though, make sure you buy these DJI props:

• White Tipped Carbon Fiber Props
• Yellow Tipped Carbon Fiber Props

You should balance your props so your Phantom does not have to work as hard to maintain its position. I have three sets of DJI props -- and, none of them were balanced. Here are two balancers that work well with DJI props:

• SpeedyTM Prop Balancer
• Du-Bro Prop Balancer

If you go with the Du-Bro prop balancer, you'll also need a prop balancing rod -- like this one.

Do 3rd party batteries like Limefuel make much of a difference?

The new Limefuel 6000mAh batteries will add about 10 minutes to your flight time.

How about altitude/temperature

The wind will be the biggest factor since your Phantom will have to work more/less depending on if it's flying into the wind or with the wind. Colder temperatures reduce the flight time since the batteries discharge faster.

I have always followed the rule with all types of rechargeable batteries that you should fully discharge them (down to 5% of so) before recharging them AND always recharge them fully - no partial charges

Per the DJI manual, you should only fully discharge your batteries after 20 charges. Partially charging a DJI battery will not damage it.

It's very important not to keep your DJI batteries fully charged for 10+ days. If you have the latest battery firmware installed, your batteries will auto discharge to a safe level after being stored for 10 days.

 

[dptcalvin]

The new Limefuel 6000mAh batteries will add about 10 minutes to your flight time. They are in stock right now at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OM7 ... PWQIS6IBQX

10 minutes?? I seriously doubt that. I have 2 on the way and realistically speaking, I have much lower expectations.

But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Phantom8529]

If my math is correct the limefuel 6000mAh is about 15% more capacity then the DJI 5200mAh so if I get 15 minutes out of the DJI then I am hoping for an additional 2 to 3 minutes out of the 6000mAh battery. I will be testing this theory this afternoon.

 

[msinger]

The new Limefuel 6000mAh batteries will add about 10 minutes to your flight time. They are in stock right now at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OM7 ... PWQIS6IBQX

10 minutes?? I seriously doubt that.

That's what Limefuel claims here.

Perhaps that's 10 minutes max -- under the most ideal conditions.

 

[dptcalvin]

DJI also claims up to 25 minutes. Never came close to that, even before I started adding junk.

 

[Phantom8529]

Believe me, if I get 10 more minutes of flight time I will throw my math out the window and be happy, happy, happy!

 

[Phantom8529]

Test results:
Phantom 2 v2 with immersion 600mw transmitter, H3-3D gimbal, and go pro 4, hovering at 6ft until 20% battery warning.

DJI Battery: 13.14 minutes
Limefuel L54P 13.15 minutes
Limefuel L60P 14.47 minutes

 

[Meta4]

It might say 10 mins extra but that is not believable.
At 6000 mAh the battery has 15% more juice than the standard 5200 mAh.
If that translated to 15% more time than the theoretical 25 mins of a DJI battery, we would be looking at 3 mins 45 sec extra.
But if you toss in some real world physics, the motors would have to work harder to allow for lifting the additional weight of the larger battery and this eats some of the additional time.
So there is no way this will give you 10 mins extra flight time.
If it was that easy to get 10 mins extra, we'd all be flying for 45 mins by now.

 

[RCRobman]

Thanks very much to all that responded to my questions on battery life.
I only got to fly the Phantom once before winter set in hard and it was a cold day.
Though I didn't time it exactly but I think I didn't get much more than 15 minutes of flight time with a brand new battery that was fully charged.
Of course it was 0 C the day I was flying so that might have drastically affected the life of the battery but based on what I am reading most people seem to indicate they don't get much more than that to begin with. I guess DJI's claim of 25 minutes is 25 minutes of letting the copter sit on the ground with the propellors spinning until they stop.
Thanks for the tip about the batteries not being stored fully charged - and I have also removed it from the copter for safety sake!

 

[ninja]

Hi folks.

Check this out: http://www.helipal.com/external-battery ... antom.html

I thought mounting multiple batteries would be an obvious solution? Anyone have any experience with this? The page does not state whether the 3rd (normal internal-fit) battery could also be used with this rig.

 

[msinger]

ninja, that's a neat idea. That seems like a lot of extra weight though. Perhaps it would be possible to add one extra battery and mount it in between the landing gear.

 

[dptcalvin]

Hi folks.

Check this out: http://www.helipal.com/external-battery ... antom.html

I thought mounting multiple batteries would be an obvious solution? Anyone have any experience with this? The page does not state whether the 3rd (normal internal-fit) battery could also be used with this rig.

Those brackets are intended for the original Phantom, which used smaller and non-smart batteries.

 

[justin00]

Prob a few of us have is.... we stop at 0 minutes... where as others might fly for the extra 5% to bring it down to 20%... or even less...
I know it will do a hard landing at 17%... and then you can take off agan... which is absolutely stupid if you ask me... like if the thing flies till what 8% ??? less than 8??? I'm not sure.. but I know it will fly with less than 17... why does it need to do a hard landing at 17%... why any landing at all.. Seems absolutely stupid to make us lose 25% battery..... Obviously not entire 25% won't be useable... but yeah....

anyways point I am making is orig I would stop at like "0 mins left" which is 25% or around 15 min.. and others would get 18 mins... turns out alot of others were flying till 20%
Now I stop at 18 and get the extra 3 or so mins....


Just putting it out there... as took me 2 months to figure out why me and many others were only getting 15 vs 18 mins...

 

[ninja]

Those brackets are intended for the original Phantom, which used smaller and non-smart batteries.

Agreed it does look that way. However the concept still remains. Hopefully you could mount an additional couple of smart batteries or perhaps (?) the non-smart batteries would still be ok to also use with V+ V3?

I want 45 minutes out of this!!!??

 

[RCRobman]

Prob a few of us have is.... we stop at 0 minutes... where as others might fly for the extra 5% to bring it down to 20%... or even less...
I know it will do a hard landing at 17%... and then you can take off agan... which is absolutely stupid if you ask me... like if the thing flies till what 8% ??? less than 8??? I'm not sure.. but I know it will fly with less than 17... why does it need to do a hard landing at 17%... why any landing at all.. Seems absolutely stupid to make us lose 25% battery..... Obviously not entire 25% won't be useable... but yeah....

anyways point I am making is orig I would stop at like "0 mins left" which is 25% or around 15 min.. and others would get 18 mins... turns out alot of others were flying till 20%
Now I stop at 18 and get the extra 3 or so mins....


Just putting it out there... as took me 2 months to figure out why me and many others were only getting 15 vs 18 mins...

Is the hard landing at 17% hard coded - I don't remember seeing that number anywhere in the Assistant software?
Also - not clear on "you can take off again" - which means that we wasted a lot of juice bringing the copter down and we can then take off again after it lands?
Huh?

 

[Meta4]

Agreed it does look that way. However the concept still remains. Hopefully you could mount an additional couple of smart batteries or perhaps (?) the non-smart batteries would still be ok to also use with V+ V3?

I want 45 minutes out of this!!!??

Good luck with that. You might like to try strapping a 740g weight on your Phantom to see how (if) it flies.
Weight is critical in quadcopters and comes with a big penalty
The Phantom is already heavy before you start loading it down.
DJI quote the weight of a P2 is 1000g and its loaded takeoff weight is ≤1300g.
The P2V+ at 1242g is already close to max takeoff weight and a smart battery weighs 370g.
And you're thinking of adding a couple of (370g) batteries !!??
Think again - the only way you'll get 45 mins with a Phantom is on the ground.
It's a good thing that DJI engineers understand physics.

 

[dalebb]

Agreed it does look that way. However the concept still remains. Hopefully you could mount an additional couple of smart batteries or perhaps (?) the non-smart batteries would still be ok to also use with V+ V3?

I want 45 minutes out of this!!!??

Good luck with that. You might like to try strapping a 740g weight on your Phantom to see how (if) it flies.
Weight is critical in quadcopters and comes with a big penalty
The Phantom is already heavy before you start loading it down.
DJI quote the weight of a P2 is 1000g and its loaded takeoff weight is ≤1300g.
The P2V+ at 1242g is already close to max takeoff weight and a smart battery weighs 370g.
And you're thinking of adding a couple of (370g) batteries !!??
Think again - the only way you'll get 45 mins with a Phantom is on the ground.
It's a good thing that DJI engineers understand physics.

It's not like a plane and your burning Lbs. of fuel and getting lighter. You are flowing electrons from negative to positive so you have the same weight. So basicaly you are just stressing the air frame to carry more weight.