Batteries LOL - bloated carp

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

If you are interested in going down the DIY rabbit hole: AliExpress search for HSABAT (manufacturer) will throw up a 4-cell pre-assembled replacement. I have used their lipo's and am confident that they are a reputable company. The replacement lipo's I've installed are functioning reliably.

This might make a good thread for people using even older drones that are forced to buy knock-off batteries. That is, if this company makes cells for old phantom and 1st series Mavics.

I doubt DJI would let you post it on their forums, but it should be okay here. Got a link? (or product name/number to search for up on AliExpress?)

Chris

 

[WanderLost]

In the computer or cell phone world, bulging batteries are a bad thing. I don't see what's different about our DJI batteries that would lead one to carry on using batteries that are swelling.

"A bulging battery is a Very Bad Thing and must be dealt with immediately because it could catch fire or even explode. As lithium-ion batteries age, the chemical reactions that produce power no longer complete fully, resulting in the creation of gasses that can cause the battery to swell. Additionally, manufacturing errors or damage to the membranes that separate the internal layers of the battery can also lead to swelling."

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

In the computer or cell phone world, bulging batteries are a bad thing. I don't see what's different about our DJI batteries that would lead one to carry on using batteries that are swelling.

Quite so.

However, I think you'll find that DJI Mavic customers are a little less understanding given the far greater number of bulging batteries they've sold customers, than I think you'll find in cell phones or laptops.

And they're not cheap. If they're going to sell them at those prices, you think they could raise the QA bar to that equal to cell phones and laptops.

Chris

 

[Brojon]

Not yet. I'll see if I can get that info and post it.

FYI, after getting the plastic closed up tight, did a test flight with that battery, no problem. I need to glue it back together before I trust it fully.

Pro tip, never trust it fully - especially after it swelled.

 

[WanderLost]

Quite so.

However, I think you'll find that DJI Mavic customers are a little less understanding given the far greater number of bulging batteries they've sold customers, than I think you'll find in cell phones or laptops.

And they're not cheap. If they're going to sell them at those prices, you think they could raise the QA bar to that equal to cell phones and laptops.

Chris

You should see the prices I pay for my little batteries for my Nikon cameras. It seems like all the manufacturers are giving us a haircut when it comes to batteries.
Laptop batteries aren't great. I've repaired dozens over the years. Usually 2 years is all you get. Also, the power demands on our drone batteries is very high and puts a lot of stress on the batteries.
Can you imagine how hot your phone or laptop would get if you could drain the battery in 20-30 minutes?
It's not surprising more of them fail. More robust construction means better, thicker insulation between cells - which adds weight and reduces capacity. I wonder if we'd buy more robust batteries if we knew they'd last 20% less than the standard ones.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

You should see the prices I pay for my little batteries for my Nikon cameras. It seems like all the manufacturers are giving us a haircut when it comes to batteries.

Yes, I have batteries for cameras, DSLRs, grips with the big batteries, mirrorless. I have never had a swollen one of those, not one, even knock-off / third-party ones (though I tend not to use those with newer, more expensive cameras).

Laptop batteries aren't great. I've repaired dozens over the years. Usually 2 years is all you get.

And I've been using portable computers since before they were called laptops, never had a swollen one. They can wear fast, some older generation batteries would die even with the laptop mostly plugged in (remember when people would take the batteries out of the plugged-in laptop to avoid that?), but I never had a swollen one.

I know it happens (to both camera and laptop batteries), but it never has to me.

Also, the power demands on our drone batteries is very high and puts a lot of stress on the batteries.
Can you imagine how hot your phone or laptop would get if you could drain the battery in 20-30 minutes?
It's not surprising more of them fail. More robust construction means better, thicker insulation between cells - which adds weight and reduces capacity. I wonder if we'd buy more robust batteries if we knew they'd last 20% less than the standard ones.

There's the rub. As you say, the power demands are higher with drones.

But there's still a problem here. All of these threads on the forums make it clear that there is a higher level of failure for many. It seems like there is an unacceptable level of failure above that which can be explained by "it's normal for this kind of use".

And the fact that there are plenty of folk that use the batteries in the same way and have NO swollen batteries. If drone batteries die easy because of the power demands are higher, then wouldn't failure be more typical?

I'm one of those that have not experienced any swollen batteries. I have six for my M2P, I had six for my last drone, none ever failed. But I have seen all the threads. Does anyone think it's simply a case of "the complainers are vocal, the happy ones are not"?

Or is there a real problem that should be addressed with better manufacturing QA standards?

Do the same problems occur with Mavic 3 batteries?

Chris

PS: remember the famous date-range of M2P batteries? DJI was replacing those even out of warranty. They never admitted anything, but they quietly replaced them, probably still would.

PS: I wonder in military use of drones if they require the drone manufactures to have a failure rate below a certain percentage to win a supply contract.

 

[passedpawn]

To close the loop... I tossed two bloated batteries and replaced with new. Fun experiment, but not worth the risk of fire.