Anyone flown the Mini 2 below freezing temperatures?

[izometric]

Your findings can be explained by battery discharge.
Doubt that there are any heaters in your drone (Mini 2).... contact DJI and consult the full 50-60 page online only DJI manual for your drone.

The battery heats up the second you power up the drone. Long before the flight begins.

 

[African wildlife]

All you need is love. Great lyrics, from a rubbish song - but I believe it’s the most important thing in life. It comes in all shapes and sizes, and is unique and vital to us all. ?

I agree, although I would add that there's also a need for some greater meaning and purpose (and I'm not suggesting here that it should have anything to do with belief). If there's deep respect, love becomes much easier to sustain over time.

 

[African wildlife]

I have enough trouble keeping one happy. Good on you.

Well said. If someone can't first maintain a great one-on-one relationship, then there's zero chance of making three work. My guess is that quite a lot of people are better at flying a drone than being a loving partner, which is such a shame. At least you get a "how to" manual when you buy a drone.

 

[Bill Kennedy]

I had mine out yesterday at 14F (-10C) and again this morning around the same temps. No warnings at all. I have a lot of space to fly at my home being I live in a rural area with very few homes. In my brief experience with the mini 2, is I enter all of the settings I want to use during the upcoming flight into the drone from inside my home first. In doing this, I feel the battery warm the drone up being its not moving and the outside air isn't cooling it off yet. I feel a warm battery is better.

I had mine out at -3 earlier today, but it shrivelled up so I put it away ?

 

[GizmoBowler]

The biggest issue I had was with my phone battery (iPhone X) in the cold.

I used my mini during an ice fishing derby last year (pre COVID) and had one close call (at least it scared me) when my phone nearly went dead.

Now it stays in my shirt pocket inside my snowsuit until I am ready to fly.

 

[PinpointUAVS]

Yes, but I wouldn't if there was freezing fog. Keep any batteries close to your body before you insert them into the drone, then they won't get cold.

Hang on a minute, you're from Spain....! "Freezing?" You're having a laugh! (Seriously, I do know that the mountains around Madrid, for example, sometimes get snow.)

You should come to the UK (still open and doing well after we've left the EU, plus very friendly - even to the French). Or go to the US or Canada - where they use that wonderfully ambiguous word "frigid". (To the Americans, the word means very cold, but to us who invented English it means sexually disinterested.) I've worked in temperatures down to -40C albeit not using a drone.

Yesterday was -48C with the windchill here in Northern Alberta. ?

 

[PinpointUAVS]

The manual states 0°C as the minimum.

Flew my mini 2 in -20 weather to see how it would handle it. I had 3 partially discharged batteries that I wanted to drain for a deep discharge cycle. I kept the spare batteries in a pocket on the inside of my jacket to keep warm. I noticed very little discharge due to cold and had zero issues with flight. The drone was every bit as responsive as in +10 weather.

 

[falicityman_7]

Yes I have in Sweden. About -7 C degrees below zero. Was in the air for about 11min and had alot of batt. left,
No probs.

Yes it has to be very dry out no precipitation ! and this is what I got to show, it was about 28 degrees last year in February.
Remember to stay a safe distance from people !!

 

[falicityman_7]

Yes it has to be very dry out no precipitation ! and this is what I got to show, it was about 28 degrees last year in February.
Remember to stay a safe distance from people !! View attachment 122479

Night Shot they were Closed.

 

[African wildlife]

Yesterday was -48C with the windchill here in Northern Alberta. ?

I wasn't far off emigrating to Canada as a very young adult, but didn't. You have so many large, open, wild spaces in your country - and they look stunning in the snow. But, yes, -48C is chilly. Ski trousers and thermal layers help. We're basking - almost sweating - in a maximum of +3C here today.

 

[PinpointUAVS]

I wasn't far off emigrating to Canada as a very young adult, but didn't. You have so many large, open, wild spaces in your country - and they look stunning in the snow. But, yes, -48C is chilly. Ski trousers and thermal layers help. We're basking - almost sweating - in a maximum of +3C here today.

As much as I would rather +3 than -48, this time of year in this part of the world it would scare me!

I’ve been to London once, I really enjoyed it! My best friend is from Leeds so hoping to get back there after all the uncertainty settles in the world.

 

[raymairjr]

The manual states 0°C as the minimum.

All of my flights have been under 0°C as I got my Mini 2 on 12/30. Have 37 minutes of flying time under my belt with 3 long flights. Flew today at -18.33°C or -1 F (I'm a Northerner in Ely, MN) for 17 minutes, still had some battery. Tried out my new PygTech gloves. My hands were getting cold after 17 minutes which I need to add a 2 or 3 minute walk down to the frozen lake and 2 to 3 minutes back.

Seems that Battery performance is the major thing affected and my lens must have had moisture as my pictures and video were cloudy. Still trying to get my act together so forgot to wipe lens.

I did add a Decalgirl skin which greatly helped with visibility, still waiting for lights from Firehoulse, the Red was back ordered.

 

[screwthepap]

Took my replacement Mini 2 up for its maiden flight in 25°F weather yesterday. It behaved normally and returned in one piece. Admittedly not much of a stress test as it was only 7°F below the Mini 2's minimum rated operational temperature, but a datapoint nonetheless.

 

[Mike mini 2]

LIPO batteries operate best when the battery itself is 20°C. I fly at -5°C often without losing any preformace because the battery is always heated before being placed in the drone. I do not recommend fly below -15°C as the battery will cool faster than it can heat up when being used.

 

[Force10]

No problems so far. I have been flying Mini 2 in -4C and even -8C. I try to keep flight time shorter just in case the battery runs out suddenly because of the low temperature. It's also good idea to keep battery warm before you take off.

 

[gb160]

I have enough trouble keeping one happy. Good on you.

Nagging in stereo....urgh.

 

[adam3112]

Flew my mini 2 in freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall the other day and it handled it like a champ. I love my Mini 2.

 

[catowner7]

So after reading all this, I'm thinking how do electric vehicles behave in sub -20°C conditions?

 

[izometric]

After reading all this you didn't catch the part where the batteries are self heating?

An electric car is always on standby and almost always in a charger. It will transfer part of the charging current to the heating system of the batteries.

When the car is not in the charger, the baterries themselves will maintain a temperature just above the point where the chemistry of the battery would be compromised and they will heat up to the operating temperature when the driver will come to the car, on the expense of a large chunk of driving range.

 

[teeroy]

So after reading all this, I'm thinking how do electric vehicles behave in sub -20°C conditions?

They get far less range due to having to run a heating system, increased rolling resistance, and lighting requirements. Consumer Reports did some testing and found range on EVs drops to almost half.

CR Tests Show Electric Car Range Can Fall Far Short of Claims - Consumer Reports

Over the past year, Consumer Reports sought to answer this question by conducting seasonal testing on popular, new EVs: Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, and Volkswagen ID.4.

www.consumerreports.org