3rd party chargers causing battery swelling?

[Izzikiorage]

Have a Air2s flymore combo purchased in 2021 with 3 battries. l've flown some 33hrs till now rotating between the 3 battries. All 3 seem to have swelled up and as per the interwebs need to be replaced. Judged by keeping on a table and rotating them or rocking them, both of which happen. Seems like 33hrs (10hrs per battery is a very low time for this to happen)

I'm curious if its due to the third party charger I'm using because of the sheer convenience that it offers. Sharing the link below, have been using this for barely the last year or so

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094JB3C8G

Please help, don't want to screw up 3 more very expensive battries.

 

[mavic3usa]

Yeah I wouldn't use that charger anymore.

 

[rexster1505]

Let's see the charger that base attaches to. What's the output?

 

[Felix le Chat]

Have a Air2s flymore combo purchased in 2021 with 3 battries. l've flown some 33hrs till now rotating between the 3 battries. All 3 seem to have swelled up and as per the interwebs need to be replaced. Judged by keeping on a table and rotating them or rocking them, both of which happen. Seems like 33hrs (10hrs per battery is a very low time for this to happen)

I'm curious if its due to the third party charger I'm using because of the sheer convenience that it offers. Sharing the link below, have been using this for barely the last year or so

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094JB3C8G

Please help, don't want to screw up 3 more very expensive battries.

You quote 33hrs flying time (an average of 11 hours a year), but have you been charging the 3 batteries regularly without flying the drone afterwards? Something we're all guilty of doing to a greater or lesser degree (hands in the air - mea culpa). Perhaps a more accurate judge of battery wear & tear would be the IFB cycle count in the main menu 'battery' tab.

I have the same problem with two of my original Mavic 2 IFB's (2019 and 2020 respectively) which have only recently started to bloat. Similar circumstances to yours, relatively low number of flights: but an average of 70 charge cycles per batt.

Instead of dumping them - I've marked them with stickers... 'NO FLIGHT. TEST ONLY' and clip 'em into the airframe(s) whenever I have to muck about with settings or calibrations on the bench.

 

[slup]

...Please help, don't want to screw up 3 more very expensive battries.

First of all... that's not a charger, it's more of a "extension", making it possible to charge your batteries without the drone directly with a usb cord & a power supply.

The real charger is built into the battery itself (BMS), it will demand different wattage (current & voltage) throughout the charge cycle & take care of all safety functions needed to charge the battery safely.

Not even the power supply you plug into the wall can hurt the battery... if it can't supply enough wattage, the charge cycle will take a longer time... if it can supply more than the battery demands, it only deliver what the battery wants.

The most common reason for swelling is instead keeping the battery above nominal voltage for longer periods repeatedly... for instance, trying to have them fully charged all the time in case you suddenly want to fly.

Another reason is heat, storing them in direct sunlight or in a car standing in direct sunlight... will make them swell pretty fast. Or if you use the batteries in really hot ambient temps & fly hard & maximize the amp draw... this use will also overheat them & the risk for swelling increases dramatically.

 

[Izzikiorage]

Let's see the charger that base attaches to. What's the output?

Its usually an amazon basics 65w charger that also charges my phone.

But there is a mix of chargers i tend to use most of them 25 watt and above. That was the big draw, being able to charge from a powerbank and charge in the car (18watt charging and 45w charging)

 

[Cafguy]

The most common reason for swelling is instead keeping the battery above nominal voltage for longer periods repeatedly... for instance, trying to have them fully charged all the time in case you suddenly want to fly.

Exactly!! leaving these "smart" Batteries on their own in a drawer or consistently charging them to 100% and putting them away is the Biggest Killer of DJI Batteries.
I do security with my Air 2S and I have gone thru hundreds of batteries almost ALL of them gave me 220 cycles!
I use these chargers and have never had a Problem. They have a storage charge option that will let you get ALL the cycles from your Batteries.
Amazon.com
KEEP your batteries at storage charge as much as possible 60%. Check them periodically. On the day of your flight charge them to 100% and USE them. if you have a leftover battery either charge something with it using the battery adapter OR place it in the drone and drain it down to storage.

 

[Izzikiorage]

but have you been charging the 3 batteries regularly without flying the drone afterwards?

Absolutely guilty of this especially in the starting 6-7 months when i did not know better and would charge all 3 batteries every weekend

Perhaps a more accurate judge of battery wear & tear would be the IFB cycle count in the main menu 'battery' tab.

Checked this and my cycle counts are very very low. Mostly in the 30-60 range. Sharing the images below for the group to advise on. This is also before my numbering the batteries so that all 3 get an equal cycle use.

 

[Izzikiorage]

I have the same problem with two of my original Mavic 2 IFB's (2019 and 2020 respectively) which have only recently started to bloat.

I'm actually a bit curious if I'm reading too much into too little swelling. Attaching a pic as reference of all the 3 batteries I've retired. The one marked 3 does not sit flat and will ever so slightly rock and can be spun round like a top.

The other two seem to have flattened out over the last month. Slight rocking and can be spun like a top. But next to no bulge. Also given the locking mechanism that the Air 2s has the bulge is definitely not enough to cause the battery to pop out. So did I make a mistake and mark perfectly healthy battries as bulging?

 

[Izzikiorage]

Another reason is heat, storing them in direct sunlight or in a car standing in direct sunlight... will make them swell pretty fast. Or if you use the batteries in really hot ambient temps & fly hard & maximize the amp draw... this use will also overheat them & the risk for swelling increases dramatically.

So I'm usually flying in places where the temp goes from 2-3 deg centigrade all the way upto 47 deg centigrade. Mostly dry heat. The flights are in nornal mode so don't think I'm pushing the drone too hard.

The batteries get stored in the DJI flymore combo bag. Usually a spent battery is removed from the drone and placed in the bag and a charged one is added to the drone even if its just being stored.

 

[Felix le Chat]

I'm actually a bit curious if I'm reading too much into too little swelling. Attaching a pic as reference of all the 3 batteries I've retired. The one marked 3 does not sit flat and will ever so slightly rock and can be spun round like a top.

The other two seem to have flattened out over the last month. Slight rocking and can be spun like a top. But next to no bulge. Also given the locking mechanism that the Air 2s has the bulge is definitely not enough to cause the battery to pop out. So did I make a mistake and mark perfectly healthy battries as bulging?

The locking lugs in the airframe are exactly the same design as on the Mavic and Mavic 2. Batteries that swell under load will at some point or another swell enough to pop free of the rebates and when this happens in flight: instead of losing a battery, you'll lose the drone as well.

Battery gassing is caused by the decomposition of the electrolyte and this is both cumulative and not reversible. It occurs most during load events (when the battery is charging... and discharging while in use) which means a bloated battery will always bloat further during flight.

You mention that two of the gassy batteries seem to have flattened out, but I'll lay odds that if you give them a full charge, they'll swell noticeably all over again. Regardless of what people say about "pricking bloated cells to release the gas build up"... don't muck about with them. I'd be inclined to consider them as a liability as flight batteries.

I'd definitely retire them and keep 'em for bench testing and nothing else, but that's just me...

 

[slup]

I'm actually a bit curious if I'm reading too much into too little swelling... did I make a mistake and mark perfectly healthy battries as bulging?

Swelling is the only visible sign of a worn battery... so if you see it, they aren't "as healthy" as they were when not puffed up (& you check for swelling with hot batteries, not cold).

Swelling in it self is just a consequence coming from the electrolyte decomposition, which create gasses... hand in hand with this comes a loss of capacity & usually also a increasing internal resistance.

The severity of these battery wear components depends... swelling can be a high risk if the swelling very soon starts to push the battery out of the drone, creating a abrupt power loss mid flight. High internal resistance means that the battery can't provide the same fast amp draw as when new... in a camera drone application perhaps doesn't mean much, but certainly means a lot if using the battery in a racing drone application, the battery will feel weak & power less. Whats more severe regarding internal resistance is that it generate heat, which in turn speed up the electrolyte decomposition... which generate more gasses & more swelling. The least severe wear is the loss of capacity... it will only mean shorter flight time.

For instance regarding room to swell...

This is a battery for a Mavic Pro 1... as seen, the battery have some room to swell before the bottom of the battery start to press on the drone. Dislodged battery incidents due to swelling is very rare here.



Here you have a battery for a Mavic 2 Pro... the battery isn't recessed into the outer shell anymore, the slightest swelling risk to pop the battery out of the drone. Dislodged battery incidents for Mavic 2 Pro's & Zooms are common.



This is from a Mavic 2 Pro...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

You don't want this to happen airborne... it's up to you how big risk you're prepared to take, just bear in mind... you can't limp back home with a dislodged battery or a broken prop, these are the 2 most important parts on your drone if you want it to remain flying.

 

[Izzikiorage]

View attachment 179223

This is from a Mavic 2 Pro...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

You don't want this to happen airborne...

Scary, definitely not something i want to risk. Definitely not now given that I have new batteries.

Back to the core question then, is it my 3rd party chargers (those small USB ones) that are causing the bloating since the cycle count is in the 30-60s?

Is manufacturing age a factor? Since as per the serial codes these were manufactured in 2020-2021

Will anyhow shift to charging mostly via the given charger. Just checking if I should keep the other chargers for travel/car charging or chuck them entirely.