£13 Mavic Car Charger!

[thefrisbee995]

I found this on eBay, it's much cheaper than buying the "official" DJI car charger for £45 but is it bad to use it with the mavic batteries?

 

[Deckyon]

I would not trust it.You spent $1000 on the drone and skimping on $30... Just doesnt make sense.

 

[Ricardo]

I've been using a similar charger form my P3A, with a battery hub (3) and so far all great.
Battery health keeps at the top and charging times around 60 to 70 minutes.

As i'm waiting for a Fly More bundle i won't need it, but otherwise, i might give it a try.

 

[Mikero]

I would not trust it.You spent $1000 on the drone and skimping on $30... Just doesnt make sense.

I wouldn't trust it on an £85 Mavic Battery!

 

[Deckyon]

Sticking with DJI products on this one. Just not worth the risk to me.

 

[Pedro]

What about an inverter and then use the DJI charger?

Car Power Inverter 12V DC to 220V AC Converter USB Charger Cigarette Lighter UK | eBay

 

[thefrisbee995]

What about an inverter and then use the DJI charger?

Car Power Inverter 12V DC to 220V AC Converter USB Charger Cigarette Lighter UK | eBay

I get all the comments about maybe not cheating out on the charger but isn't a cheap inverter potentially just as bad?

 

[Pedro]

I get all the comments about maybe not cheating out on the charger but isn't a cheap inverter potentially just as bad?

Volts is volts, as long it doesn't catch fire and supplies within the range the charger can accept I don't see how this could possibly damage anything..? I'll be trying mine tomorrow, will let you know..

 

[4wd]

With smart batteries the charger is really only a power supply, it doesn't do anything clever - all the clever stuff for balancing is in the battery.
I'd be surprised if the 12V alternative causes any problems, even less likely an inverter will do anything bad provided it has high enough (watts) rating.

 

[Dronebow]

I'm planning on getting an inverter. You can get them for about $30 for about a 400w inverter. Cheaper than the car charger.

 

[thefrisbee995]

I'm planning on getting an inverter. You can get them for about $30 for about a 400w inverter. Cheaper than the car charger.

I heard stuff about some being "pure sine" and the one's that aren't will wreck it...?

 

[Kilrah]

I get all the comments about maybe not cheating out on the charger but isn't a cheap inverter potentially just as bad?

A bad inverter only risks frying the charger, which is cheaper

With smart batteries the charger is really only a power supply, it doesn't do anything clever

It still needs a current-limited output.

 

[thefrisbee995]

A bad inverter only risks frying the charger, which is cheaper


It still needs a current-limited output.

So surely it is better to get a car charger then? I'd rather avoid frying a charger and having nothing left to charge with.

 

[Dronebow]

Hmm.. I'm not electrical engineer but I'm thinking that as long as what's coming from the inverter matches what comes from your outlet you would be ok.. Maybe someone smarter than me can comment.

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Power...1480458967&sr=8-6&keywords=pure+sine+inverter

Thoughts??

 

[msinger]

I heard stuff about some being "pure sine" and the one's that aren't will wreck it...?

I've never heard of anyone complaining of wrecking a DJI battery, but I sometimes see people say similar things. If you're looking for a pure sine inverter, this BESTEK inverter is fairly inexpensive.

 

[slr001]

One could make the same "I wouldn't chance it, it might blow up" argument for any equipment... I buy aftermarket batteries and chargers for laptops that need them. Usually at about 25% of the cost of the OEM batteries or chargers. My gopro has aftermarket batteries and charger, and low and behold it still works.

Accessory prices are sky high because the manufacturers know that many sheep I mean people will buy them. The DJI charger and the 3rd party charger are likely made in the same factory in China.

 

[thefrisbee995]

I only worry because my old P3P I had I used to use a cheap 500w inverter I got from China through eBay and that used to warm up the wire going from the 12v output into the inverter and make the 12v port hot to touch. Seemed to work fine for the first dozen flights then on the last one the drone just cut out when returning to home and came crashing down and wrote the thing off. The battery said something around 20% (maybe a little less, I don't remember) and I always thought hmm, maybe the battery got some sort of damage from the inverter?

 

[2hi2fly]

I found this on eBay, it's much cheaper than buying the "official" DJI car charger for £45 but is it bad to use it with the mavic batteries?

I couldn't resist the $12 price and bought one direct from Hong Kong, took about 3 wks to get (2 days from Amazon prime for $17). First thing I did was pop it open and connected it to a variable PS and meter. I was surprised by its wide range of acceptable input voltage and well regulated output. I was able to run the input from 10.8 to 16vdc before it would cut out and indicate its status with a fast flashing power light. Its output voltage varied from 12.99 to 13.04 depending on the battery's discharge condition, never did it exceed the 13.05v limit of the Mavic battery. Output current typically was in the range of 3-4amps. The unit does get pretty warm so it will be interesting to see how it does in a 140f car in mid summer.
Overall I was impressed, given its cheap price and good performance.

side note... While I had the unit apart i wanted to see what demands the battery's regulating circuitry put on it's charger. So I connected the battery directly to my variable PS. From what i could tell the Mavic battery never demanded more the 4amps of power at any voltage level above 13vdc.