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Air 2 Battery + Water

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Hello wonderful humans, longtime lurker, first time poster.

First off, if I'm posting this in the wrong place, I'd love to post it in the right place if you could direct me there.

Today my cat knocked one of my DJI Air 2 batteries (not the drone itself) off of a table and into a small, three inch high water dish that was about half full.

I managed to grab it out of the water within about a second and a half, got it completely dry within thirty seconds, and it is now snoozing soundly in a bowl of rice.

How concerned should I be about this battery?

Thank you,
-A
 
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Did you get any water out of it by shaking etc.? If so, how much? If none or a drop or two, you might be in good shape. Charge the battery away from combustibles, test fly with caution - (i.e. hover low).

If there was a fair amount of water in it, it would be wise to submerge and rinse it in distilled water (an insulator), then drain and dry.
 
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Did you get any water out of it by shaking etc.? If so, how much? If none or a drop or two, you might be in good shape. Charge the battery away from combustibles, test fly with caution - (i.e. hover low).

If there was a fair amount of water in it, it would be wise to submerge and rinse it in distilled water (an insulator), then drain and dry.
Almost undetectable amounts of water came out of it upon shaking, seemed like it was underneath the metal clips that hold the battery in place in the drone.

I've got it sitting in rice now next to a dry, low heat source, I'll leave it there for the night, then do a charge tomorrow away from combustible objects and update you after it charges, and I get it in the drone.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the fast reply and great advice.
 
How concerned should I be about this battery?
Do Not use any more water on this battery.

Here's what DJI offer in their Battery Safety Guidelines:
DO NOT allow the batteries to come into contact with any kind of liquid. DO NOT leave batteries out in the rain or near a source of moisture. DO NOT drop the battery into water. If the inside of the battery comes into contact with water, chemical decomposition may occur, potentially resulting in the battery catching on fire, and may even lead to an explosion.

If it was just the outside of the battery that was wet, you'll be OK.
If water got inside the battery pack, that can be a different issue.
 
Do Not use any more water on this battery.

Here's what DJI offer in their Battery Safety Guidelines:
DO NOT allow the batteries to come into contact with any kind of liquid. DO NOT leave batteries out in the rain or near a source of moisture. DO NOT drop the battery into water. If the inside of the battery comes into contact with water, chemical decomposition may occur, potentially resulting in the battery catching on fire, and may even lead to an explosion.

If it was just the outside of the battery that was wet, you'll be OK.
If water got inside the battery pack, that can be a different issue.
Thanks!

Are there any indicators as to whether water got inside vs just the outside?
 
In the above video, they were not using distilled water! No comparison at all. Pure distilled water is an insulator. When I was an ET (electronics technician) in the Navy, my first duty station was Tarlac Naval Radio Station, Philippines. We had three 500 thousand watt radio transmitters. The final amplifier tubes had 50 thousand volts on the plates. And those amplifier tubes, with bare connections, were submerged in coolant - distilled water.

Other than distilled water (which is pure H2O), most all other sources of water, including rain (which is probably purer than most terrestrial sources*) will contain impurities, dissolved and suspended chemicals and elements. It is those things that allow water to conduct electricity, to short things out and make mayhem. Even when dried out, humidity in the air can allow those trace contaminants to continue to corrode and cause electrolysis.

That is why after dunking, in many cases, a through flushing with distilled water to remove those trace elements, can save the device that went swimming.

Disclaimer: On board ship I've heard the unsubstantiated rumor that if the ET couldn't fix the electronic device that had failed, last resort was to give it a floatation test. (So I guess some ET's can't always be trusted - I was an ET-1 after 8 years in the USN.)

*Rain, starting with the evaporation process, is very pure until it comes into contact with airborne contaminants. Still mostly it is generally closer to pure H2O than what comes out of the faucet.
 
Jeez... oh no, don't do that!


In the above video, they were not using distilled water! No comparison at all. Pure distilled water is an insulator. When I was an ET (electronics technician) in the Navy, my first duty station was Tarlac Naval Radio Station, Philippines. We had three 500 thousand watt radio transmitters. The final amplifier tubes had 50 thousand volts on the plates. And those amplifier tubes, with bare connections, were submerged in coolant - distilled water.

Other than distilled water (which is pure H2O), most all other sources of water, including rain (which is probably purer than most terrestrial sources*) will contain impurities, dissolved and suspended chemicals and elements. It is those things that allow water to conduct electricity, to short things out and make mayhem. Even when dried out, humidity in the air can allow those trace contaminants to continue to corrode and cause electrolysis.

That is why after dunking, in many cases, a through flushing with distilled water to remove those trace elements, can save the device that went swimming.

Disclaimer: On board ship I've heard the unsubstantiated rumor that if the ET couldn't fix the electronic device that had failed, last resort was to give it a floatation test. (So I guess some ET's can't always be trusted - I was an ET-1 after 8 years in the USN.)

*Rain, starting with the evaporation process, is very pure until it comes into contact with airborne contaminants. Still mostly it is generally closer to pure H2O than what comes out of the faucet.
Can confirm, there's a lot more than Hydrogen and Oxygen coming out of the tap. Biochemist from Canada.
 
Margins way to small... read the safety papers from DJI again.
 
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That is why after dunking, in many cases, a through flushing with distilled water to remove those trace elements, can save the device that went swimming.
That's fine for an electronic instrument, like a camera.
But the battery is a chemical device and the potential reaction of water with the contents of the battery could be quite dangerous.
This has nothing to do with the difference between distilled water and less pure water.
Any water could be disastrous if it gets into the battery.
DO NOT even consider adding water to a lithium battery.
It is potentially very dangerous.

You didn't read the DJI safety note did you?
Here it is again.
DO NOT allow the batteries to come into contact with any kind of liquid. DO NOT leave batteries out in the rain or near a source of moisture. DO NOT drop the battery into water. If the inside of the battery comes into contact with water, chemical decomposition may occur, potentially resulting in the battery catching on fire, and may even lead to an explosion.

 
Last edited:
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But the battery is a chemical device...
This has nothing to do with the difference between distilled water and less pure water...
Yep that's correct ...

The reaction between Lithium & water have nothing to do with conductivity I'm afraid ... it's purely a chemical reaction.

Lithium is a group 1 alkaline metal together with sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium. All of these metals have an vigorously exothermic reaction & can even explode in contact with cold water.

In other words, @AvalonAudioVisual & @bumper ... don't do it!
 
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Yep that's correct ...

The reaction between Lithium & water have nothing to do with conductivity I'm afraid ... it's purely a chemical reaction.

Lithium is a group 1 alkaline metal together with sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium. All of these metals have an vigorously exothermic reaction & can even explode in contact with cold water.

In other words, @AvalonAudioVisual & @bumper ... don't do it!
I had no intention of dunking it in distilled water :) but given the very short time it came in contact with water, how it was immediately dried, think it'll be okay to fly after it's left in rice for a couple days?
 
I had no intention of dunking it in distilled water :) but given the very short time it came in contact with water, how it was immediately dried, think it'll be okay to fly after it's left in rice for a couple days?
No guaranties given ... & hard to say.

Swoop the rice for silica gel instead, rice is a rather bad absorbent + it's dusty & that can end up inside. Dry it in a safe place where catching fire can't cause any harm. After days ... a week? put it on the charger & monitor it constantly, hover it down & charge again. If nothing bad occurs I should consider it safe for use.
 
No guaranties given ... & hard to say.

Swoop the rice for silica gel instead, rice is a rather bad absorbent + it's dusty & that can end up inside. Dry it in a safe place where catching fire can't cause any harm. After days ... a week? put it on the charger & monitor it constantly, hover it down & charge again. If nothing bad occurs I should consider it safe for use.
Thank you very, very much.

I'll do this then report back.
 
Almost undetectable amounts of water came out of it upon shaking, seemed like it was underneath the metal clips that hold the battery in place in the drone.

I've got it sitting in rice now next to a dry, low heat source, I'll leave it there for the night, then do a charge tomorrow away from combustible objects and update you after it charges, and I get it in the drone.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the fast reply and great advice.
Rice is not as great as it's made out to be for "drying" purposes. A proper "desiccant" is the right choice and many stores sell them, esp home improvement ones.

Let the battery sit for a few days and all should be well from a a second or two in water.
 
To add to all the other comments, if you want to do a further research about battery and water,
Please do a query on the search function, and results that others have had with battery getting wet
 
That's fine for an electronic instrument, like a camera.
But the battery is a chemical device and the potential reaction of water with the contents of the battery could be quite dangerous.
This has nothing to do with the difference between distilled water and less pure water.
Any water could be disastrous if it gets into the battery.
DO NOT even consider adding water to a lithium battery.
It is potentially very dangerous.

You didn't read the DJI safety note did you?
Here it is again.
DO NOT allow the batteries to come into contact with any kind of liquid. DO NOT leave batteries out in the rain or near a source of moisture. DO NOT drop the battery into water. If the inside of the battery comes into contact with water, chemical decomposition may occur, potentially resulting in the battery catching on fire, and may even lead to an explosion.

Not intending to belabor the point(s), but you are conflating two separate issues. And by the way, I have read DJI's warnings, so your presumption is not correct.

There are two bad things that can happen if water gets into DJI's battery pack.

1) If the sealed lithium cells inside are not intact, for whatever reason, a violent reaction, as shown in the video, is probable if water reaches the lithium in the damaged cell. Absent physical cell damage, the batteries are sealed to prevent water reaching the lithium.

2) If the batteries are sealed, then water with impurities will still cause electrolysis, corrosion and potential shorting of circuitry within the battery pack. This is typically a slow process, unless the water is very conductive (sea water comes to mind). Now obviously DJI is not going to tell you to submerge a battery is distilled water. But, assuming the cells are intact, that is exactly the thing to do to save the battery. Of course one would do this in a safe spot outdoors in a non-flammable environment.

If so little water has entered the battery that it has not reached connections etc, then simply drying the battery is the right choice. The question is, how do you tell? That's why I asked the OP, "Did you get any water out of it by shaking etc.? If so, how much?"

In the video, yup Lithium reacts violently with water. You might note that the AA lithium batteries shown, were taken apart to expose the lithium element. If they were not ripped apart, no fireworks. Instead they would have slowly discharged due to the conductance of the "impure" water acting as an electrolyte. Over time, this current flow within would cause corrosion and decomposition,, mostly to the anode of the battery. Would this result in a violent reaction? Yes, no doubt when the seal of the battery was finally perforated to let water in. But you'd be waiting a good long while for that to occur.
 

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