Battery storage

[platty]

Reading up about care of batteries for my air2s and I understand what I need to do to minimise swelling etc but they say you should store your batteries in a dry ventilated area away from heat. I have been keeping my batteries stored in this bag inside the house. Is that the correct way. Probably a silly question but, hey , they say no questions are silly.

 

[msinger]

I have been keeping my batteries stored in this bag inside the house. Is that the correct way.

That would be one common way to store batteries. Or many people store them in a soft/hard drone case.

Just don't store that bag in a hot location -- like a car during the summer.

 

[platty]

That would be one common way to store batteries. Or many people store them in a soft/hard drone case.

Just don't store that bag in a hot location -- like a car during the summer.

Thanks for that

 

[EssenYVR]

Temperatures in a climate-controlled home will not be a problem for storage, unless you do something obviously dumb like store them on top of a furnace vent or something. The most important thing is to store them at a middling charge level, most folks recommend somewhere in the range of 50 to 80%. I personally store my Mini 3 Pro batteries at the 2-1/2 lights level (2 of the 4 lights lit and a third one flashing). And I check them monthly to ensure they aren't self-discharging.

You can also buy fireproof Li-Ion storage bags and boxes which in theory will protect your house if a battery decides to go up in flames. I'd be a bit circumspect with these, though - if you pack them as chock-a-block full with batteries as shown in their product photos I'm really skeptical that they'd stand up to the amount of heat and flame generated when they all light up (as they surely will even if only one initially fails). If you have a bunch of batteries to store I'd suggest getting multiple bags/box and storing just a one or a few batteries per bag/box rather putting everything you've got in one big container.

 

[Cafguy]

I store my DJI batteries in an old Backpack. Keep them out of the sun and in a cool dry place ( like your home) BUT don't just toss them in the bag if you know what I mean try and keep them separated (just for good measure) One more thing DO NOT charge them to 100% and put them in the bag! No matter what they tell you Keep your stored batteries at 60 % you will thank me later.

 

[DVPOWERS]

At one time I experienced a thermal runaway - one of the batteries malfunctioned and had a melt down. The only reason my house did not go up in flames is because the battery was stored in an air tight pelican case - along with the drone and other batteries. The drone was toasted - literally - and so were several other batteries. It was a big melted mess. After that, I store my batteries in a LiPo velcro air tight pouch and those pouches then go into a air tight and water tight ammo case and the ammo cases are stored in the garage.

To round out this story, I think the battery that had the melt down was a cheap generic type. Now I only buy DJI manufactured batteries.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Just to point out a few facts...

• DJI has sold millions of drones all using lithium ion batteries.
• The vast majority of those batteries are stored "just lying around", i.e. no safe bag, box, or anything
• most of these batteries are not carefully treated in terms of storage charge, or routine monitoring
• Catastrophic failure of DJI batteries is nearly non-existent among the millions out there

The point is this: DJI has tremendous experience in selecting battery cell manufacturers, and nearly two decades engineering the BMS incorporated in a battery module. They're very good, and very safe.

Simplest strategy is to just fully charge your batteries after a day of flying, and put them in a room temp dry place, which is most places in your home you'd likely put your drone toys.

The batteries will take care of themselves, auto discharging to storage level after a week or two, keeping them protected from swelling, losing cycle life, etc.

Fully charge them, and keep them away from heat. That's about all you need to worry about.

 

[Cafguy]

Catastrophic failure of DJI batteries is nearly non-existent among the millions out there

My Accountant Strongly advises me not to rely on terms such as "nearly" when it comes to things like my house. Just sayin
Yes DJI batteries are safe BUT you should treat them with care.

 

[SpitFire]

I owe a couple drones, with the Mavic Pro, I have 4 batteries, each marked from one to four.
I keep them stored in fireproof Li-ion storage bags and in a metal box, in my photography closet, along with my photography gear.As someone already mentioned, personally I keep them at 25% or 50% charged. And, I also check on them monthly to make sure they aren't self-discharging.
And, I have two batteries, in each fireproof storage bag, but I better idea is to put each one in its own bag. And, rethinking now putting each one in its own fireproof container, rather then putting everything I have got into one big container. Always keep learning here.! I also put the battery that I am charging in the metal box, close the lid, and do not leave the house while charging.

 

[EssenYVR]

Fully charge them, and keep them away from heat. That's about all you need to worry about.

That's the simplest thing to do, but not the best thing for the batteries IMHO. When you've finished using your drone there's no need to recharge the batteries right up to full, especially since the batteries are just going to end up discharging themselves anyway. Better for the batteries to avoid another full charge (which is hard on them) and just bring them up to a storage charge level of less than 80%.

It's less convenient, because you have to monitor the batteries and remove them from the charger before they reach a full charge. It's up to each person to decide what's more important to them - best possible battery care or least hassle.

I'm a "best battery care" kind of guy largely because I know that proprietary batteries become obsolete and hard to source after a few years, and I want to keep flying my drone as long as possible.

I do agree that the risk involved in fully charging them is minimal. And I don't use special fireproof containers for my own batteries. But we each have different criteria for risk and there's nothing wrong with someone spending a bit of money on what essentially amounts to insurance Even small risks can take on more importance when their impact is something like loosing your house. Or even worse, a fire in an apartment complex which could result in deaths for which you'd forever bear the burden of feeling at least a bit responsible for. I think that if I lived in an apartment it would give me a lot more motivation to invest in fireproof storage for my batteries.

 

[Droning on and on...]

My Accountant Strongly advises me not to rely on terms such as "nearly" when it comes to things like my house. Just sayin
Yes DJI batteries are safe BUT you should treat them with care.

It's a fair point.

How do you handle cell phones? Or the plethora of other Li-Ion powered devices likely throughout your home?

A single fully charged 18650 cell can produced quite the explosion and fire if shorted (direct experience ).

Note that cell phones have a much worse track record than DJI batteries. Higher failure statistics. People have been hurt.

Risk can not be eliminated. Only managed. We have limited resources to mitigate risk. Mitigation efforts are most effective when proportioned to risk.

I have smoke and CO detectors in my home. Yet, I don't have a radon detector. They do exist. High radon levels are a serious health problem. Why don't I have a radon detector? Why don't you?

 

[Droning on and on...]

That's the simplest thing to do, but not the best thing for the batteries IMHO. When you've finished using your drone there's no need to recharge the batteries right up to full, especially since the batteries are just going to end up discharging themselves anyway.

That's just not true for anyone that flies again within a week.

My batteries rarely self-discharge, as I fly again usually within a week to 10 days. I suspect the same is true for most here.

Regardless, the self-discharge rate is so tiny that it is exceedingly gentle on the battery, and any loss of cycle life as a result is, IMO, unmeasurable.

A lot of valid, good wisdom about managing naked lipo packs spills over to these forums, but mostly isn't relevant to DJI packs.

What kills DJI batteries is... using them. Pulling current at 30C does so much more damage to the battery than having it sit at 95% charge for 7 days, then trickle-discharge to 60%.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I do agree that the risk involved in fully charging them is minimal. And I don't use special fireproof containers for my own batteries. But we each have different criteria for risk and there's nothing wrong with someone spending a bit of money on what essentially amounts to insurance

I agree with you 100%. I also don't criticize, ridicule, or otherwise disparage anyone who judges the risk from a DJI battery to justify such measures.

I simply question their judgement about risk when they don't take similar measures for other li-ion devices in their home that present a greater risk of burning their house down.

Cell phone batteries are a greater risk of catching fire than DJI batteries. Yet, I'm pretty sure no one here bothers with lipo bags, boxes, etc. and care attentive monitoring during charging.

No, we all plug the **** things in when we go to bed, put it right there on the nightstand next to our heads, and recklessly go to sleep!!

We all do this. Why? We're rational. The risk is tiny. We choose to take it because it's tiny.

Choosing much greater caution faced with a tinier risk is emotional, not rational.

 

[EssenYVR]

Cell phone batteries are a greater risk of catching fire than DJI batteries.

I'm not convinced that's actually true. Yes, there have been some particular incidents with certain batches of phone models, but if we leave that aside and look at the larger general picture there are probably thousands of times more phones out there than drones. So that means (for purposes of illustration) if 1000 phones explode then we would only expect 1 drone battery to explode. That makes it look like phones are a bigger problem, but if you look at the risk per unit they could well be similar. And of course we drone users self-select to be among those 1 in 1000 that happen to have drone batteries.

I suspect that the real risk is less related to the kind of Li-Ion batteries you have vs. how many of them (of all types) you have, and perhaps to their capacity as well. It's like the counter-intuitive truth about aircraft: a twin-engine plane has twice as much chance of an engine failure as a single-engined plane does.

I get what you're saying about the apparent hypocrisy, though.

 

[Cafguy]

I am not saying that Full charging and storage will always KILL the Battery If you leave it alone long enough it will BUT if you want to get a greater number of charging cycles from your Batteries: Use them- Charge them to 60 to store until next time- Fully charge the battery-Repeat.
I have seen the Benefits first hand with My Air2S Batteries.
DJI Batteries ARE NOT DANGEROUS! I will leave it to the individual to Decide the best and safest way to handle them. From my years of dealing with Lipos And Seeing them Explode into a ball of fire First-hand. I choose to use caution, My RC and FPV Drone Batts live in an Ammo Box and are charged in Concrete blocks to prevent fire spreading. I never charge these types of Batteries and leave them alone. DJI Batteries can stay in the garage in the Backpack and I will charge them in the house while I watch. I will charge my phone unattended BUT Then again- I have not seen a Phone Explode for Myself.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I get what you're saying about the apparent hypocrisy, though.

To be clear, "hypocrisy" is not what I'm implying.

None of us lay folk are very skilled at detailed risk assessment. Indeed, emotions play a big part in day to day, unconscious risk assessment. The other big issue in assessing risk is ignorance. Few have complete enough data/information to do a thorough job judging risk.

So we all basically wing it most of the time. I'm no different