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Battery Management

Citizen Flier

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Thanks to this excellent forum I just discovered the complexities of battery storage etc. If I understand correctly, the batteries somehow off charge to a storage level after a specified period (which can be re-defined by user). I have 3 batteries (M2Pro) of which I typically use 2 during a flight session. The used batteries light up in the charger, and the used battery typically does not. But what if battery #3 had off charged to storage level, should it not light up & recharge to full capacity?

Another suggestion was to NOT recharge batteries after flight, but to wait til just before flying?
And do not store batteries in the aircraft?
What's the best way to achieve full charge in all 3 batteries just prior to a flight session?
Thanks!
 
only charge them as needed if you only intent to do two flights then only charge up two batteries you should number them and use them in sequence ie 1-2 one day 2-3 then 3-1 and so on the auto discharge feature only kicks in after ten days and you should really not leave them fully charged for that long on the older mavs you could select from one to ten days for discharge to start mine are set for three another way is to charge all three batts but only fly them down to around 50% then land they are then ready to be stored till the next time you want to fly you can recharge after flight if you were going out next day, but dont do it till they have cooled down to room temperature
 
I think if you follow a short set of 'best practices' you will be just fine and your batteries will last a very long time with very little effort:

1) Never leave your batteries sitting with a low or zero charge any longer than you absolutely have to, that is probably the worst thing you can do for them.

2) Never run your batteries down to zero or close to zero (20-30% is when most people return to home)

3) After flying, charge your batteries up to the ideal storage level of 40-60% (2 solid lights, third flashing) ASAP after they have cooled down. They are OK at this level for up to 3 months,
after which you should cycle them again. You don't want to wait a long time before charging them, especially if they have been run very low.

4) Never leave your batteries with a full charge unless you intend on using them shortly after - be especially careful not to leave them at 100% for long in very hot climates where it's more common for batteries to swell. The best time to use a battery is shortly after a full charge so you know all the voltages are ideal.

5) Don't not rely on the 10-day auto-discharge, think of that as a fail-safe rather than a convenience feature.

6) Keep an eye on battery voltage when flying (a menu option allows you to display the lowest voltage cell on your screen). If you ever see it drop to around 3.4V or lower, time to land ASAP. Below that I would consider it an emergency as the drone will shut off around 3.0V. Try to be on the ground before then ;)

7) Be especially careful (or don't fly at all) in really cold weather - the batteries are not designed for that and can behave unpredictably. The M2P is technically rated down to -10C. If you have to fly in really cold weather, keep the batteries warm in the car or next to your body until the moment before you need them, and come home early with plenty of battery percentage left. You can check the menu for the battery temperature - I wouldn't fly unless this is above 20C.

Like I said, not all these are necessarily firm rules, but they are best practice.


To answer your other questions:

- Storing a battery on the aircraft isn't a big deal IMO, but technically best practice would be to not do so. I do it when traveling to save space, but at home I take them out. Even better would be to keep the batteries in LiPo bags but it's up to you how far you want to go with that.

- Best way to achieve full charge on 3 batteries before flight is to put them on the charging hub and wait for them all to be charged :D It will charge the highest charge battery first (the idea being to get you in the air faster), and it charges sequentially not simultaneously.
 
You are stuck with ten days for the auto discharge on the Mavic 2, I'm not sure if the app still allows it on other models.
This is more than I would have chosen but probably no big deal, but worth trying to manage flights so they are being used to around half when you can. If you run one down much below 50% try to top it up a little to optimal half full(ish) when you get home.
Leaving one really low is worse than leaving it full.
 
Quiet different from my P3 batteries....they advice 30% or 40%....
 
I want to chime in here about my experience with not only my M2P but my P4P as well. On the M2P, I have 49, 53, and 55 charges on my batteries. This past week 2 of the batteries swole up and bulged out so much I couldn't install them on the drone. Nothing unusual about my battery care either. I will say that it's been extremely hot this past week and I travel with my drones everyday. Needless to say, I'm trashing these batteries for fear of explosion. Flew all my drones on Sunday and after flying the P4P home I noticed one of the batteries was so bulged that I almost couldn't remove it from the drone. This is the 3rd one that has either swollen or has uneven voltage across the cells. Im beyond frustrated that I now have 5 batteries that are toast. At $139 each for M2P and $169 for P4P that isn't chump change to replace. I know batteries fizzle out but should get more that 50 to 60 flights. Come on DJI, address the problem. I also have a 2 year old Mavic Pro. Never any issues with those batteries.
 
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I want to chime in here about my experience with not only my M2P but my P4P as well. On the M2P, I have 49, 53, and 55 charges on my batteries. This past week 2 of the batteries swole up and bulged out so much I couldn't install them on the drone. Nothing unusual about my battery care either. I will say that it's been extremely hot this past week and I travel with my drones everyday. Needless to say, I'm trashing these batteries for fear of explosion. Flew all my drones on Sunday and after flying the P4P home I noticed one of the batteries was so bulged that I almost couldn't remove it from the drone. This is the 3rd one that has either swollen or has uneven voltage across the cells. Im beyond frustrated that I now have 5 batteries that are toast. At $139 each for M2P and $169 for P4P that isn't chump change to replace. I know batteries fizzle out but should get more that 50 to 60 flights. Come on DJI, address the problem. I also have a 2 year old Mavic Pro. Never any issues with those batteries.

How hot was it? 40C (ambient) is the cutoff for pretty much everything in DJI literature. I definitely wouldn't be flying if it were even close to that hot outside, but I realize you said your issue was with storage.

The swelling issue is not a DJI problem, it's what happens to LiPo batteries in general when exposed to extreme heat (worse the more charge that's in it), so unless they find a new battery technology with the same cost/weight/power properties, that is still going to be the best option for the vast majority of their customers. I don't think you will see LiPo batteries going anywhere anytime soon, unfortunately.

You can store the batteries as low as 35-40%, I am not sure if that would solve your problem or not though - I would go as low as you safely can in the heat. Worth a try on the next set. There's also plenty of things you can do to keep your batteries cooler in storage if you know it's going to be unusually hot.

Really though I don't think your scenario is that bad - at roughly $2/flight, that is dirt cheap in my books - I'd be happy if I got that out of my batteries before replacement. Early battery replacement is also cheap insurance against battery failures that might cost you $2,000+. I would be less enthused if it happened to a brand new battery, but that is a risk you take when using anything that requires a LiPo battery and exposing it to high temperatures. Thankfully there's plenty you can do to help mitigate another swelling failure in the future just by changing your storage habits when necessary.
 
i guess if you have a long time knowledge of lipos then you do get to know the limitations and dangers that they exhibit with regards to storage charging and use,DJI have tried to mitigate some of the problems that they have, by making them so called intelligent batteries but unfortunately the actual chemistry going on in the cells is no different to any other lipo,plus the fact that they pack a much stronger punch for their size makes them more likely to develop problems
 
Quiet different from my P3 batteries....they advice 30% or 40%....
No different at all.

Perhaps the 50% level is intended to provide a safety margin in allowing for self discharge- 40% is a better level however to the extent it is it probably isn't enough to be a consideration.
 
I never had issues with my 2 P3 batteries, except 1 after market (still works sometimes).
In fact one of them reach more than 100 charges with only a slow performance as new...

When i charge, i use them on same day. Always keep them between 30% and 40%. Its also rare i don`t use them more than 1 month
 

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