Battery charging/storage questions

[SkyVidTek]

New to DJI Mini 3 Pro "smart" battery technology, so coming from another drone brand, I used to maintain LiPos by storing at 50% and not left at full charge for more than a few days.
Q1: If I have a fully charged battery will it discharge itself down to "storage" voltage if left for x days?
Q2: On the LED display, is two green lights showing a storage voltage or should it go down to one?
Q3: Should I "fly down" the battery to 50% or all the way for best battery life?
Thanks in advance......

 

[mobilehomer]

Page 30 in the manual.

 

[old man mavic]

@SkyVidTek ,if you go on the DJI website you can download the Manual for your drone and it will explain the different battery functions, in all the years i have been flying my various drones ,it has always been stated that a good voltage value to store Lipos at, is around 3.8v per cell, of course DJI in their wisdom have taken away a lot of the issues concerning safe Lipo use ,by introducing a BMS into every individual battery pack, to help keep the battery in peak condition ,and to protect it from damage, due to not being handled correctly
there are two states that cause the most harm to Lipos ,those being fully charged for long periods of time ,and being left with very little charge in them,for long periods of time
both these scenarios can and will shorten battery life ,but thanks to the BMS these issues have almost become a none issue
the lights on the battery that display remaining charge are at best reasonably accurate but having two lights showing solid can mean anything from 45% to 55% ,if you do charge them up but are unable to fly for some reason ,then after 24 hours or so the BMS will start to discharge the cells down to around 96% and then if left down to around 60% to65% within a 10 day period ,this happens very slowly and during the process the cells will appear slightly warm

 

[SkiProiii]

Welcome to DJI. Lots of great features to help protect the drone! The M3Pro batteries has the tech built in to protect and maximize the life of the batteries.
Q1/ Yes, they will discharge themselves over time and do this by heating up and disposing energy as heat.
Q2/ Two is fine for storage.
Q3/ In my experience, It’s best to not to fully deplete rechargeables for best battery health/life (cell phones included!). I believe the DJI smart batteries can manage this better now, but I try not to go past 20% remaining charge while flying. Time will tell if it does make a difference on these batteries.

 

[SkyVidTek]

Thanks for the replies guys. I now have a good understanding of the DJI battery management system.

 

[Ben B]

Related, why on earth would anyone buy a LiPo fireproof bag for the Mini 3 Pro, when the Mini 3 Pro does not use LiPo batteries? Baffling, but I guess some people will buy anything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B3HWRFZZ

 

[thomasoes]

Related, why on earth would anyone buy a LiPo fireproof bag for the Mini 3 Pro, when the Mini 3 Pro does not use LiPo batteries? Baffling, but I guess some people will buy anything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B3HWRFZZ

 

[SkiProiii]

My guess is many (or least some) pilot travellers won’t know they aren’t or assume because the Mini 2 are that the Mini 3 are too. May also be the manufacturer assumed the 3’s are, but you would think they would research that before production. Or just plain sales of something people don’t need!

 

[thomasoes]

battery type just got this reply on dji forum from a member.click under battery type

 

[Droning on and on...]

Related, why on earth would anyone buy a LiPo fireproof bag for the Mini 3 Pro, when the Mini 3 Pro does not use LiPo batteries? Baffling, but I guess some people will buy anything.

Consider your bafflement cleared.

LiIon batteries fail and catch fire, sometimes explode, too.

This risk is tiny, so most judge it not worth the effort. But it's certainly not foolish, or baffling, to understand storing LiIon cells in fire-safe containers.

 

[scro]

Related, why on earth would anyone buy a LiPo fireproof bag for the Mini 3 Pro, when the Mini 3 Pro does not use LiPo batteries? Baffling, but I guess some people will buy anything.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B3HWRFZZ

Wonder where you're getting this info from that the Mini3P doesn't use LiPo batteries?

I have a mini3pro and DJI batteries for it. All of them clearly state they are "Lithium Ion Polymer" batteries. Inside the plastic case is a typical "LiPo" foil pouch style battery, which are lighter and less mechanically robust than the typical metal can style "li-Ion" batteries.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Wonder where you're getting this info from that the Mini3P doesn't use LiPo batteries?

I have a mini3pro and DJI batteries for it. All of them clearly state they are "Lithium Ion Polymer" batteries. Inside the plastic case is a typical "LiPo" foil pouch style battery, which are lighter and less mechanically robust than the typical metal can style "li-Ion" batteries.

DJI user manual for mini 3 pro states clearly on the specs page: battery type - Li-ion. Lithium ion. If you look at the sticker on a Mavic 2 battery it reads exactly the same as the sticker on the mini 3 pro: lithium ion polymer but mav.2 specs read "Li-po". Who's wrong? I think the company that designed the drone knows what battery it's using.

 

[thomasoes]

This is from DJI

 

[waynorth]

DJI user manual for mini 3 pro states clearly on the specs page: battery type - Li-ion. Lithium ion. If you look at the sticker on a Mavic 2 battery it reads exactly the same as the sticker on the mini 3 pro: lithium ion polymer but mav.2 specs read "Li-po". Who's wrong? I think the company that designed the drone knows what battery it's using.

A Li-Po battery is a Li-ion battery. The correct term for Li-Po battery is Lithium-ion polymer battery. Li-Po's are based on, and use. Li-ion technology. The main difference is the type of electrolyte used.

 

[Felix le Chat]

A Li-Po battery is a Li-ion battery. The correct term for Li-Po battery is Lithium-ion polymer battery. Li-Po's are based on, and use. Li-ion technology. The main difference is the type of electrolyte used.

Exactly - the electrolyte and the suspension medium are different - hence the difference between a Li-ion and a Li-pol battery. Then you get down to the differences in charge storage and discharge delivery that occur as a result of using differing electrolyte media. Li-pols are more stable (for any given definition of the word 'stable') and hand out a higher burst discharge for a longer duration. Li-ions can be unpredictable but last longer at the continuous discharge rate. Don't know about anyone else: but I'd rather fly a drone that has a battery that can get the job done in 'normal' mode and be recharged up to 1,000 times before it finally craps out than have a drone that can hammer around in 'sport' mode like a bat on cocaine with a battery that bloats and fails after a maximum of 150 recharge cycles.

 

[Droning on and on...]

DJI user manual for mini 3 pro states clearly on the specs page: battery type - Li-ion. Lithium ion. If you look at the sticker on a Mavic 2 battery it reads exactly the same as the sticker on the mini 3 pro: lithium ion polymer but mav.2 specs read "Li-po". Who's wrong? I think the company that designed the drone knows what battery it's using.

Are you aware that a lithium polymer battery IS a lithium ion battery? That the "polymer" refers to physical design and materials, and has basically nothing to do with battery chemistry or operation?