P2 battery left in quad ??

[crchisholm]

I was not able to fly for a couple of months and I left the battery in the p2 for that time. When I tried to use it, I was getting an error beep but then it stopped. I flew it a little and It landed itself at about 50%. I tried to charge it, but before it finished charging (2 bars), it just stopped charging. The charger is fine so I guess the battery is shot. (10 -20 cycles)

Question is: Is it likely that leaving the battery in the p2 either caused or contributed to its failure?

 

[Buckaye]

I was not able to fly for a couple of months and I left the battery in the p2 for that time. When I tried to use it, I was getting an error beep but then it stopped. I flew it a little and It landed itself at about 50%. I tried to charge it, but before it finished charging (2 bars), it just stopped charging. The charger is fine so I guess the battery is shot. (10 -20 cycles)

Question is: Is it likely that leaving the battery in the p2 either caused or contributed to its failure?

If you stored it fully charged, it's possible a cell went bad. Not sure being in the phantom was the cause but more the storage voltage.

 

[crchisholm]

Yes, it was fully charged. What is the proper way to store the batteries for the P2. On my other RC batteries, I have a storage charge I can use, but the phantom 2 batteries don't seem to have a storage charge option. I guess I could not charge it after flying, but that seems like it would be a pain to have to charge first every time I fly

 

[Diesel31]

The best way to store your Phantom 2 batteries, or any other lipo battery, would be to leave about 20-40% of the capacity. If you have an iosd, it'll be easy for you to attain the desired percentage. If not, 1 full bar and 1 blinking bar on the smart battery would put you right in that range.

Before ditching your battery, you might want to try discharging it to about 8%. The reset might bring your battery back to life. Also, if you try flying a stored battery, the voltage most likely will be flat. You might have a 50% charge, but the flat voltage could cause your Phantom to auto land or act as if the battery is drained.

One last thing, never leave a lipo stored at 100%, that is just as destructive to the battery as draining it completely. If you must, drain it to at least 80% of the total capacity. Hovering for a few minutes should get your batteries to an acceptable level.

 

[crchisholm]

So, it sounds like spontaneity is kind of in conflict with good battery practices. I am going to need to make sure that I only charge to 3 bars and then finish the charge just before I fly. Does that sound like what you would suggest?

I can do this, but it will be painful for a guy with ADDS. I tend to do everything "on the spur of the moment"

BTW, I loaded the "bad" battery, took of the props and ran it down to 29% (figured I would try 8% if this doesn't work). At least now it is charging again. I'll just have to see if it completes, and how it flys then.

Thanks

 

[Diesel31]

I think the longest I've kept my batteries at full charge would be about a day/24 hours, and that's because I ended up not flying when I was planning to fly.

I usually charge my batteries overnight and fly in the morning. If My plans change, I'll hover for about 3-4 minutes (for each battery). That should leave me about 3 full bars. This way, if I end up flying later in the day, it won't take as long to peak it to 4 full bars. If it looks like I won't fly for another few days, I'll run it down to about 50% or two bars. If it looks like I won't fly until next week, I'll take the batteries down to 30%. If I have the time, I'll take them down to 30% regardless of when my next anticipated flight would be.

Ok= 80% charge stored
Good = 50-60% charge stored
Best = 30% charge stored

Btw, I've been using the same 3 batteries since February and the maintenance I've described with little degradation and no puffing. I've lost a little bit of flight time, but that can be expected with regular use. The key here is that my lipos have not gotten puffy, and that's very important for the life of the lipo.

 

[crchisholm]

I wonder if anyone has tried attaching a high draw LED and appropriate resister across the terminals on the battery and turning it on to run it down a bar or two that way when it needs to be discharged some? Might be handy, especially for someone that lives in a no fly zone.