Batteries in the Refrigerator of Freezer

[Curtiscop]

Hello All,

Okay, I think my question and thread has not been brought up or discussed. Referring to the process of recharging my batteries, and an idea I came up with. I want to play it safe with my idea and ask all of you for your input.

While flying my DJI Mini 4 Pro, and Mavic 3 Pro when one battery becomes low, I replace with a fully charged battery. NOW I'M HOLDING A HOT (Well warm) BATTERY IN MY HAND. I want to get the battery I pulled out of my drone recharged ASAP. I never, never recharge a battery while it's hot / warm. Then my idea came, and my question.

Would it harm the batteries in any way if I immediately put the battery into a cooler, the refrigerator, even the freezer. Would this give the poor hot battery a SHOCK, and do damage. Or, would that poor hot battery say 'thank you' for putting them in my cooler, refrigerator, or freezer.

'Keep the Buzzin' and Dronin' Going'


THANKS
Curtis

 

[Cafguy]

I would NEVER do that! BUT Thats just me being overly careful.
I know plenty of pilots that do it. ( putting them in coolers with blue icepaks) They have never had a problem with doing it.
I have a little row of small USB powered fans I put those and the batteries in the shade and as I remove the Batteries I place them under the fans Works great and temps here this time of year average around 106 with some days of 112 on up.

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Crossroads of America Curtiscop.

Nice to meet you Curtis.

I agree with Cafguy and wouldn't do it myself.

The fans are a good idea and perhaps proper air conditioning in a car.

I wouldn't put them in a cooler as the moisture may condense inside the battery and damage the battery.

To avoid this, purchase extra batteries.

I was up to nine batteries when I flew my SPARK since the flight time was about fifteen minutes and the batteries wouldn't cool off fast enough to put in the charger.

Your results may vary.

Welcome to the Forum.

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[AeroJ]

Yeah, I would be worried about condensation too. I would hope that DJI have conformal coated the BMS board, but I'd still worry about any sort of moisture being anywhere near LiPo batteries...

So... have the people that say it's fine been merely lucky, or is there some other reason we don't have to worry about that ?

 

[moldorf]

I know it's a radical idea but why not just have an extra battery, or two, fully charged and waiting, while the just-used battery cools down

I know batteries are expensive but you're already investing $3000-4000 in drones and equipment, Adding a few hundred for extra batteries make a lot of sense. Especially considering that with extra batteries in your rotation it will take you a lot longer to max out battery cycles

 

[MS Coast]

Yeah, I would be worried about condensation too. I would hope that DJI have conformal coated the BMS board, but I'd still worry about any sort of moisture being anywhere near LiPo batteries...

So... have the people that say it's fine been merely lucky, or is there some other reason we don't have to worry about that ?

A warm battery in a cooler would not be subject to condensation. A chilled battery moved into the open air might.

 

[MA2 317]

A warm battery in a cooler would not be subject to condensation. A chilled battery moved into the open air might.

Either way, condensation may form and not a good idea.



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[MS Coast]

MA2 317" data-source="post: 1655124" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Either way, condensation may form and not a good idea.



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Only in the second case. Condensation can occur only when the temperature of a surface drops to the dewpoint temperature of the air. It's impossible for condensation to occur on a battery that's warmer than the temperature of the moist air around it.

Psychrometrics aside, I'd never put my batteries in a ice chest, refrigerator, or freezer

 

[toucanf16]

Following this thread based upon condensation. Totally agree. Putting a warm battery in a cold cooler will not cause condensation. Condensation only occurs when the surface temperature is below the dewpoint of the surrounding environment. Putting a warm battery in a cooler or refrigerator never meets that requirement.

 

[bcfd29]

NOT a good idea: besides the battery not being designed to be used this way you also place stress on the plastic and metal components which are not intended to go thru freeze/thaw cycles or be subjected to very widely ranging ambient temperatures.

BUY MORE BATTERIES and let the ones you used cool in ambient air.

 

[rjwmorrell]

Hello All,

Okay, I think my question and thread has not been brought up or discussed. Referring to the process of recharging my batteries, and an idea I came up with. I want to play it safe with my idea and ask all of you for your input.

While flying my DJI Mini 4 Pro, and Mavic 3 Pro when one battery becomes low, I replace with a fully charged battery. NOW I'M HOLDING A HOT (Well warm) BATTERY IN MY HAND. I want to get the battery I pulled out of my drone recharged ASAP. I never, never recharge a battery while it's hot / warm. Then my idea came, and my question.

Would it harm the batteries in any way if I immediately put the battery into a cooler, the refrigerator, even the freezer. Would this give the poor hot battery a SHOCK, and do damage. Or, would that poor hot battery say 'thank you' for putting them in my cooler, refrigerator, or freezer.

'Keep the Buzzin' and Dronin' Going'

View attachment 176397
THANKS
Curtis

My main concern would be condensation from rapid temperature changes. Not necessarily hot/warm to cold, but when you take them out again into a hot environment.

If you've ever taken a cold can of pop out of the fridge, at 3C, when it's 30C outside, you've noticed instant condensation on the outside surface. I'd be worried about a 3C battery's circuit board and electronics from a similar rapid temp change. I like the fan idea better personally.

 

[AnzacJack]

another point that i would consider is that rapid cooling of any soldered points could increase the chances of fatigue cracking at those connections over a shorter period of time

 

[MA2 317]

Adding this.

What does DJI recommend for the health of the battery?

I never seen anything in the manual about sticking the batteries in a cooler, refrigerator, or a freezer to cool them down.

This thread is getting silly.


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