It finally got up to near 90° today, so I thought that in light of some recent battery and Mavic operating temperature questions, I would do some research with my temperature gun.
I took 2 Mavics out in my SUV to a nearby park which was around a 20 minute drive. The sun was shining on one side of the car during the trip. The ambient temperature outside was 88°f (31°c). I had the air conditioner in my SUV set to 78° and the 2 Mavics were in the back in their OEM DJI boxes.
After opening the tailgate of the car, the temperature of the Mavic box that was in the shade was 106°, the other box that was in the sun was 130°. After leaving the back hatch open for 10 minutes, the box that was in the sun was 146° and the box that was in the shade was 110°. The temperature increase might have been due to the SUVs tinted windows not protecting the Mavics after opening the back hatch.
I opened the box of the Mavic that was in the shade, and the Mavic body and battery temperature were 99°, or 11° cooler than the outside of the box. I opened the other box that had been in the sun the whole time, and the inside of the box including Mavic and battery was 100° despite the outside of the box being 146°. My conclusion is that despite one being in the sun and one being on the shade, keeping the Mavics inside the boxes kept the Mavic temperatures significantly cooler than the outside of the box, and well within the tolerances of the Mavic battery operating temperature.
I also tested the screen and back temps of my Samsung Galaxy Note 5, and it was 98° to start after 10 minutes inside the car with hatch open in the shade.
To further the test, I decided to go for several flights to see what the affects of flying on an 88° day would have on the Mavics operating temperatures. I made note of temperatures using both the temp gun when it was on the ground, and the DJI Go app for battery temperatures when it was in the air. I temped the battery itself, the Mavic battery tray under the battery which is right on top of the FC ESC board, the propulsion motors, and the internal components through the exhaust ducts in the rear, and last the heat sink on the bottom of the Mavic.
Outside the car, in the shade during my preflight, I let the Mavic sit for 10 minutes in the off position and the temp was 91° on all components. Took the Mav up to 250' and hovered for around 3 minutes, battery temp per DJI Go was then 102°. I then tried flying in sport mode, at 350' and throttle wide open for 6 solid minutes in straight lines. Battery temp per DJI Go was surprisingly only 114° after the speed run, or only 12° higher than when it was hovering. I decided to continue the sport mode speed test, and left it wide open for the remainder of the flight, total sport mode speed run time was 15 minutes, total flight time 18 minutes. The temperature of the battery per DJI Go was 122° after 15 minutes of continual full throttle flight. That is just around optimal operating temperature for a Lipo battery. My conclusion about flying wide open in sport mode on an 88° day with a 5mph wind at 350' altitude, is that the battery stayed within its designed operating temperature range.
After landing, I temped the outside of the battery and it was 111°, propulsion motor temperatures were between 103 - 105°. I pulled out the battery and the hottest spot on the underside of the battery was 123°, and the battery tray inside the Mavic was the same temperature which means that the FC ESC board under the battery tray did not raise the battery tray temperature or the battery temp at all. Heat sink on the bottom of the Mavic was 115° at its hottest spot. Internal components were temped through the exhaust ducts on the aft of the Mavic, hottest reading I could get was 96°, cooler than any of the other Mavic components, probably due to the cooling fan and forced incoming air through the front grill.
Gimbal motor temps were hottest 110°. Controller temps never exceeded 110° taken through the top exhaust grill.
In summary, I flew the Mavic at it's maximum speed for 15 minutes on an 88° day at 350' altitude, and every single component was well within or below it's designed operating temperature. My main concerns were the battery, motors, and FC ESC board, but the FC board was the coolest part of the whole aircraft despite being cramped inside a tight body. I think the air being forced into the front, and also the cooling fan help immensely.
I intentionally did not wait for a hotter day since DJI recommends not flying in temps in excess of 95°, but I will probably do another test in the summer on a 95° day and report the results.
If there are any proofreaders that have had to endure this long winded post, and can help me abbreviate it while still making the relevant points, Im sure anyone reading this would appreciate it. Please feel free to edit it as you wish and send me a conversation.
Thanks for reading.
I took 2 Mavics out in my SUV to a nearby park which was around a 20 minute drive. The sun was shining on one side of the car during the trip. The ambient temperature outside was 88°f (31°c). I had the air conditioner in my SUV set to 78° and the 2 Mavics were in the back in their OEM DJI boxes.
After opening the tailgate of the car, the temperature of the Mavic box that was in the shade was 106°, the other box that was in the sun was 130°. After leaving the back hatch open for 10 minutes, the box that was in the sun was 146° and the box that was in the shade was 110°. The temperature increase might have been due to the SUVs tinted windows not protecting the Mavics after opening the back hatch.
I opened the box of the Mavic that was in the shade, and the Mavic body and battery temperature were 99°, or 11° cooler than the outside of the box. I opened the other box that had been in the sun the whole time, and the inside of the box including Mavic and battery was 100° despite the outside of the box being 146°. My conclusion is that despite one being in the sun and one being on the shade, keeping the Mavics inside the boxes kept the Mavic temperatures significantly cooler than the outside of the box, and well within the tolerances of the Mavic battery operating temperature.
I also tested the screen and back temps of my Samsung Galaxy Note 5, and it was 98° to start after 10 minutes inside the car with hatch open in the shade.
To further the test, I decided to go for several flights to see what the affects of flying on an 88° day would have on the Mavics operating temperatures. I made note of temperatures using both the temp gun when it was on the ground, and the DJI Go app for battery temperatures when it was in the air. I temped the battery itself, the Mavic battery tray under the battery which is right on top of the FC ESC board, the propulsion motors, and the internal components through the exhaust ducts in the rear, and last the heat sink on the bottom of the Mavic.
Outside the car, in the shade during my preflight, I let the Mavic sit for 10 minutes in the off position and the temp was 91° on all components. Took the Mav up to 250' and hovered for around 3 minutes, battery temp per DJI Go was then 102°. I then tried flying in sport mode, at 350' and throttle wide open for 6 solid minutes in straight lines. Battery temp per DJI Go was surprisingly only 114° after the speed run, or only 12° higher than when it was hovering. I decided to continue the sport mode speed test, and left it wide open for the remainder of the flight, total sport mode speed run time was 15 minutes, total flight time 18 minutes. The temperature of the battery per DJI Go was 122° after 15 minutes of continual full throttle flight. That is just around optimal operating temperature for a Lipo battery. My conclusion about flying wide open in sport mode on an 88° day with a 5mph wind at 350' altitude, is that the battery stayed within its designed operating temperature range.
After landing, I temped the outside of the battery and it was 111°, propulsion motor temperatures were between 103 - 105°. I pulled out the battery and the hottest spot on the underside of the battery was 123°, and the battery tray inside the Mavic was the same temperature which means that the FC ESC board under the battery tray did not raise the battery tray temperature or the battery temp at all. Heat sink on the bottom of the Mavic was 115° at its hottest spot. Internal components were temped through the exhaust ducts on the aft of the Mavic, hottest reading I could get was 96°, cooler than any of the other Mavic components, probably due to the cooling fan and forced incoming air through the front grill.
Gimbal motor temps were hottest 110°. Controller temps never exceeded 110° taken through the top exhaust grill.
In summary, I flew the Mavic at it's maximum speed for 15 minutes on an 88° day at 350' altitude, and every single component was well within or below it's designed operating temperature. My main concerns were the battery, motors, and FC ESC board, but the FC board was the coolest part of the whole aircraft despite being cramped inside a tight body. I think the air being forced into the front, and also the cooling fan help immensely.
I intentionally did not wait for a hotter day since DJI recommends not flying in temps in excess of 95°, but I will probably do another test in the summer on a 95° day and report the results.
If there are any proofreaders that have had to endure this long winded post, and can help me abbreviate it while still making the relevant points, Im sure anyone reading this would appreciate it. Please feel free to edit it as you wish and send me a conversation.
Thanks for reading.
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