Could be just over 2 years. I’ve got 3 batteries bought around March 2017 with fairly similar manufacturing dates and usage, I’ve numbered them so they got used in turn, and they have all puffed so can’t be trusted.
I think that the heat is worse than the cold. Three batteries, #1 is ok, #2 is starting to bulge and #3 won't snap in my drone anymore due to bulge. I try not to fly above 100 F. Bring on the cool weather!
Hey thanks for the reply. I don’t even think I’ve had 10 hours of fly time with the drone. That’s why I was curious if there was a rough life expectancy of the batteries. No swelling on any of the batteries, 2 charged as normal. Just this 3rd one, started flashing green then just before it turns red on the hub the green lights on the battery go in reverse (like it does when you turn off a battery) and then the hub turns red. It was doing my head in
LiPo batteries start dying on the day they are born, rather than first placed into service, although hibernation states can prolong their life. As they age, they lose capacity. Once they reach somewhere around 80% of their original capacity, they should be replaced. Unfortunately, GO 4 no longer displays the mAH of the battery like it did with the P4P, P4, and P3P, so you can't readily measure the decline in capacity.
The reported health % gives you a good indication- it is simply last known capacity/chemical capacity.
Which reported health percentage are you referring to?
Are you suggesting that the remaining battery percentage initially displayed in GO 4 on a fully charged battery will not be 100% on an older battery?
Life %. Not SOC. Obviously 100% full will be a different usable mah as a battery gets tired.
So, where are you getting the Life % from, since the only value currently displayed in GO 4 is the percentage State of Charge relative to the current max capacity, where the latter which declines with use? Are you using the max cell voltages achieved after full charging for an ongoing reference?
There is a difference between what’s best for operating state (being very cold dampens operational ability) and what will actually harm the battery or how they should be stored. Being hot isn’t very good for operating OR storage but my reading of the literature suggests that keeping LiPOs very cold won’t cause harm and may actually be better. Of course, condensation after removal from a very cold state could cause issues.
Sometimes, I wish I knew absolutely nothing about LiPO batteries. This is not to say that I know much about them. But I have tried to educate myself as much as I can on the topic. Unfortunately, there is a lot of material out there that is confusing at best. It is like the whole topic is shrouded in mystery. Even here in this forum, every time the topic comes up for discussion; there are a lot of opinions that seem to be quite divergent to put it respectfully. Not knowing any better, and not knowing which opinions to trust more, I think I will stick to what is in official battery safety guidelines from DJI. On the subject of storage; the guidelines state the following:
This is not to say that I do not appreciate the views expressed here regarding the effect, or lack thereof, of string batteries near freezing temperatures. I do. I have learned a lot from this forum. It has been, and still is, an invaluable source of information for me. But on the topic of batteries and battery care, I have found this forum to be frustratingly confusing.
Regarding my original post, I think there is a strong chance that my "insights" about the effects on battery health of exposure to cold (at time of delivery) are wrong. At best, they are speculation. I will edit the original post to append this note. I don't want to mislead anyone.
This is not to say that I do not appreciate the views expressed here regarding the effect, or lack thereof, of string batteries near freezing temperatures. I do. I have learned a lot from this forum. It has been, and still is, an invaluable source of information for me. But on the topic of batteries and battery care, I have found this forum to be frustratingly confusing.
Regarding my original post, I think there is a strong chance that my "insights" about the effects on battery health of exposure to cold (at time of delivery) are wrong. At best, they are speculation. I will edit the original post to append this note. I don't want to mislead anyone.
P
Part of the problem is that DJI themselves have issued conflicting information about battery care and maintenance over the years. Bottom line, the batteries generally outlast the life of the aircraft, no matter what you do to them. The aircraft is either crashed, or retired before the batteries reach end of life, as DJI keeps innovating, so we upgrade, and the new aircraft require new and different batteries, so it is extremely rare that batteries are actually needed for more than two years, although they may last 5 years or longer, if well maintained.
The following table (from battery university) depicts typical LiION usable capacity in storage (12 month period) for various temperatures and SOC.
This would seem to evidence the general consensus of what tends to be discussed around here concerning the performance of our flight batteries. Higher charge levels and storage temps lead to shorter life and performance over time. That has certainly been my experience in using LiPO’s in RC models form the time they were introduced.
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