Car charger

[Bwass]

Hello everyone.

I have a couple projects in mind that will require quite a lot of footage, and a lot of travel. So I want to get my hands on a car charger for my Mavic Pro. I have many questions on that matter. I currently have 2 batteries and I plan to buy at least one more. What kind of product do you recommend? Any good brand or bad brand?

Also, what kind of time frame should I expect for a full charge?
Is it slower than having it plugged in a 120V wall outlet?
Is the "quality" of the charge the same?
Do I have to keep my car running so that my car battery doesn't drain?
Can I charge more than one battery at a time?

So many questions. Thank you for your help and advice.

 

[JAW]

Search results for query: Car charger

mavicpilots.com

 

[BossBob]

Note that the DJI car charger is really only of use for charging drone batteries as you move between locations. The voltage required by it is above the resting voltage of most vehicle batteries.

 

[jason38]

Boss bob is right. Charge tout batteries only when your engine is running... The best is to charge while driving, as the engine gives more power to the battery.
Use only the DJI car charger
Make sure that the connection with the car charger is solid. If you drive a choppy road, maybe it can disconnect, it's not good for your battery life and your drone's life too!!
For me , it takes a little bit more than 1 hour to charge a battery, from 20% to 100%...
Also be careful about car temperature. Charging a battery make it warm , so keep the inside of your car enough cool to not damage the battery. The charger also warms a lot.

 

[waynorth]

I see no reason to buy anything else than the DJI car charger. It costs a bit more than the cheap no-name chargers, but you know what you get.
I have used a 12v 150W inverter in my car for my Phantom batteries (with the original DJI charger), and that worked fine.

 

[Rockycat]

My pickup truck has a 110 volt inverter with outlets in the cab that is factory installed.
Has anyone used a set up like this to charge their spare batteries?

 

[bliksem]

I have a DJI car charger, it charges the batteries slightly faster than the regular charger, but not much. You can only charge one battery at a time and the engine needs to be running. If you have a 110V power supply in your car then you can use your regular charger as well as a car charger to get 2 batteries charged at once. If you have 2 or more 12V points then buy multiple car charges. You can use a battery charging hub, but batteries are charged in sequence.
I have seen battery packs that will charge drone batteries 2 or 3 times, they're pricey though.
Your options are limited by the laws of physics, batteries need to cool down before charging and it takes about an hour to charge a depleted battery. You can keep ice packs in the car to cool batteries down before and after charging.

 

[waynorth]

My pickup truck has a 110 volt inverter with outlets in the cab that is factory installed.
Has anyone used a set up like this to charge their spare batteries?

That should work just fine with your regular 110V DJI charger. The engine should be running, though.

 

[matth1000]

The engine doesn’t have to be running, buy yourself a dc to dc converter.
You will need one that does 9-15v input and 13.8v output at 10amps.
U will not have to leave the car running that way, if people say your car battery will go flat, false. U would probably have to charge up 4 or more batteries with out starting the car to even notice the starter motor slowing down. The mavic 2 batteries are about 3.8 amps so if your car battery can’t charge at least 3 in a row with out starting I would replace the battery for a new one.

 

[theDRONEranger]

True sine wave inverters may be a viable choice as well.

 

[matth1000]

Using an inverter will flatten your car battery quicker than just using the 12v charger.
If you use an inverter then the car will have to run.

 

[matth1000]

Dc to dc is the way that I found that has the least wasted power to charge a battery if you don’t want leave your car running or you have a computer controlled alternator.
If you have a fairly modern car with smart alternator then you will need the dc to dc converter even if the car is running. The computer throttles back the alternator charge current when the battery is full to save fuel so the cigarette lighter will only get 12.3v even while driving.
That is not enough for DJI charger to work.

 

[matth1000]

This is similar to the one I have
I think mine is 9-15 in and 13.8 out at 10 amps. Looks the same though

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[sdold]

FWIW I just measured the voltage required to maintain charging on two of my MP car chargers; anything under 12.0 was unreliable. I was surprised that it dropped off so quickly as I adjusted the voltage below 12V.