Battery Charge/discharge Cycles

[ScottTX]

Is there a thread that discusses the general consensus for how many charge/discharge cycles you should expect with the batteries on our drones?

Batteries in "premium" consumer devices, like phones & tablets, typically state 500 cycles.

This number is based on the following assumptions:

1 The discharge rate is not near as high as with our drones.

2 This cycle count assumes ~80% of the rated capacity being available at 500 cycles. Some companies are now claiming 1000 cycles for "typical use cases. Apple says iPhone 15 batteries have a longer lifespan than initially thought - 9to5Mac

3 Drone batteries are often subjected to higher temperatures

I haven't found any threads that are talking about our drones getting anywhere near 500 cycles.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Depends on the battery, but they'll probably last longer than the drone.

My M3 batteries have 157, 150, and 149 cycles and all are at 85% according to Airdata.

 

[KenG]

What is considered a battery cycle? By that I mean if I fly my Air 3 and recharge the batteries afterwards, I understand each battery has gone through a cycle. Now, if they sit all week and I charge them to top off, i.e. start the next weekend with fully charged batteries, have they each gone through another cycle for that top off?

 

[Feek]

What is considered a battery cycle?

Shamelessly stolen from elsewhere:

Lithium-ion batteries work in charge cycles. You complete one charge cycle when you’ve used (discharged) an amount that represents 100% of your battery’s capacity - but not necessarily all from one charge.

For instance, you might use 75% of your battery’s capacity one day, then recharge it fully overnight. If you use 25% the next day, you will have discharged a total of 100%, and the two days will add up to one charge cycle.

It could take several days to complete a cycle.

 

[KenG]

Wow. Impressive. I guess that is why they call them smart batteries. Thanks for the info. Quite a bit different than back in my day when we all had to search around in the drawer for size D batteries for the flashlight.