Charged Batteries

[mmcnel99]

How long should my Mavic batteries hold a full charge?

I have 3 batteries that I like to keep charged so when the opportunity to fly comes along I’m ready to go.

I’ve always thought Lithium Ion batteries would hold a charge for a very long time, however, if I don’t use mine for a week or so they are down to 55-75%.

 

[msinger]

How long should my Mavic batteries hold a full charge?

Using the default time to discharge setting in DJI GO, they will start auto discharging down to the storage level after 10 days (as long as you don't press the battery button).



FYI, attempting to keep your batteries fully charged at all times will decrease the battery life. If you want to make them last longer, then keep them in this range as much as possible when they are not in use:

 

[Former Member]

How long should my Mavic batteries hold a full charge?

I have 3 batteries that I like to keep charged so when the opportunity to fly comes along I’m ready to go.

I’ve always thought Lithium Ion batteries would hold a charge for a very long time, however, if I don’t use mine for a week or so they are down to 55-75%.

Check your auto-discharge settings in DJI Go. You probably have it set to discharge at some period of time.

It's a good idea to keep your Mavic battery on storage voltage until you are ready to fly. I would never keep them fully charged for any period longer than a a few hours, if that long. Charge and fly. If not flying, discharge them.

 

[Marko9219]

Check your auto-discharge settings in DJI Go. You probably have it set to discharge at some period of time.

It's a good idea to keep your Mavic battery on storage voltage until you are ready to fly. I would never keep them fully charged for any period longer than a a few hours, if that long. Charge and fly. If not flying, discharge them.

You won't hurt the batteries holding them at full charge for a day or two

 

[Former Member]

You won't hurt the batteries holding them at full charge for a day or two

Sorry but I disagree. It's not that simple. In a perfect environment, it's still not a good idea to keep batteries fully charged. They are designed to be charged and used. They dont like to be kept in a fully charged state for any period of time, so best to charge and fly. Keeping them fully charged will decrease battery life, you cant send or travel with them fully charged, and I personally dont like fully charged batteries sitting around. Add to that the possibility of them being subject to extreme heat, and they could possibly explode. So, no, it's not a good idea to keep batteries stored at full charge.

In the event you are a professional news photographer, or get last minute gigs that require you to fly immediately, store them at 50% and then it will only take maybe 30 minutes to charge them. You can keep 1 battery at say 60%, put the other ones on charge, fly the 60% battery for 5 minutes, then take one of the others off the charger. Most professionals have either a parallel charger, a car charger, or they have multiple chargers.

 

[Marko9219]

Sorry but I disagree. It's not that simple. In a perfect environment, it's still not a good idea to keep batteries fully charged. They are designed to be charged and used. They dont like to be kept in a fully charged state for any period of time, so best to charge and fly. Keeping them fully charged will decrease battery life, you cant send or travel with them fully charged, and I personally dont like fully charged batteries sitting around. Add to that the possibility of them being subject to extreme heat, and they could possibly explode. So, no, it's not a good idea to keep batteries stored at full charge.

In the event you are a professional news photographer, or get last minute gigs that require you to fly immediately, store them at 50% and then it will only take maybe 30 minutes to charge them. You can keep 1 battery at say 60%, put the other ones on charge, fly the 60% battery for 5 minutes, then take one of the others off the charger. Most professionals have either a parallel charger, a car charger, or they have multiple chargers.

I'm certainly no battery expert, so I have gone by what I've learned in articles. 15 things every LiPo battery user should know - The Drone Girl (Number 10)
Lipo storage voltage - how much does it matter? - Propwashed here, his tests say in drone batteries that storage at full charge isn't the leading cause of degradation

 

[Former Member]

his tests say in drone batteries that storage at full charge isn't the leading cause of degradation

It might not be the leading cause of degradation, according to that article, but it is a major cause of degradation. Add to that extreme weather or conditions, and it makes for an unsafe condition.

It's a very small task to discharge batteries and keep them on storage charge level. The more a person flies, the more it becomes habit.

The author of the article also closes by saying, :I’ll be the first to admit that these tests are fallible. We are not using professional lab-grade equipment to do the tests, and my load-cell is literally a bucket of water and some fence wiring."

For the test, he is using good old "Banggood" batteries. lol

 

[Former Member]

Another note, Im not sure what the authors experience has been, but he is under the impression that flight batteries (the dumb kind with circuitry) only last for a few months. I have Phantom 2 batteries that are almost 3 or 4 years old and still pack a punch.

He said, and I dont agree with this statement, "The lifetime of our flight batteries is measured in months, not years, and the primary cause of degradation is the throttle stick on our transmitter."

 

[Former Member]

From Drone Girl:

"13. Depending on how they are used, most LiPo batteries typically do not last longer than 300 charge cycles. Leaving them around on a full or depleted charge all the time, running them completely dead, or exposing them to high temperatures will shorten this lifespan dramatically."

 

[Marko9219]

So what percent of full is "ideal" for storage, and how not considering having to launch quickly for some reason?

 

[Kilrah]

About 60-70% aka what they put themselves to.
You can keep them ready all you want by resetting the timer, just know they probably won't last as long and in the long run could give you nasty surprises like fast unexpected percentage drops.

 

[Former Member]

So what percent of full is "ideal" for storage, and how not considering having to launch quickly for some reason?

Hey, in reviewing my comments, Im sorry if I come off sounding like a know-it-all jackass. I didnt mean to demean you or show you any disrespect. Im just passionate about what I do, and sometimes it comes off as brash.

 

[Former Member]

About 60-70% aka what they put themselves to.
You can keep them ready all you want by resetting the timer, just know they probably won't last as long and in the long run could give you nasty surprises like fast unexpected percentage drops.

 

[Marko9219]

Hey, in reviewing my comments, Im sorry if I come off sounding like a know-it-all jackass. I didnt mean to demean you or show you any disrespect. Im just passionate about what I do, and sometimes it comes off as brash.

No disrespect felt whatsoever. If there's any one person here who's opinion here matters to me, it's you! If you told me my batteries need to be in a certain color of box for storage I'd be asking you which shade of that color you recommended. Thanks!

 

[Former Member]

No disrespect felt whatsoever. If there's any one person here who's opinion here matters to me, it's you! If you told me my batteries need to be in a certain color of box for storage I'd be asking you which shade of that color you recommended. Thanks!

I appreciate that.

 

[msinger]

You won't hurt the batteries holding them at full charge for a day or two

I think the average person would be happy with the lifetime of their batteries if they decided to keep them fully charged for no more than two days and left them auto discharge if they weren't used by then for some reason. While being more extreme than that is quite possible, you might find it to be an inconvenience.

FWIW, out of the box, Mavic Pro batteries are set to auto discharge after 10 days. If we were able to poll all DJI owners, I think we would find the majority of them do not change that setting. And if that was the case, we'd probably see a slew of threads monthly about having to replace Mavic Pro batteries sooner than expected.

 

[mmcnel99]

I think the average person would be happy with the lifetime of their batteries if they decided to keep them fully charged for no more than two days and left them auto discharge if they weren't used by then for some reason. While being more extreme than that is quite possible, you might find it to be an inconvenience.

FWIW, out of the box, Mavic Pro batteries are set to auto discharge after 10 days. If we were able to poll all DJI owners, I think we would find the majority of them do not change that setting. And if that was the case, we'd probably see a slew of threads monthly about having to replace Mavic Pro batteries sooner than expected.

Thanks to all that responded.

One more question, is the only way to discharge the batteries by powering up my MP and letting it run until the battery gets to the desired level?

If so, it certainly seems like a lot of wear and tear on the drone.

 

[Former Member]

Thanks to all that responded.

One more question, is the only way to discharge the batteries by powering up my MP and letting it run until the battery gets to the desired level?

If so, it certainly seems like a lot of wear and tear on the drone.

It only takes flying or hovering for about 4-6 minutes to get your battery down to an acceptable storage level. Alternatively you can leave it on the table for about 20 or 25 minutes. Either way there is no excess wear-and-tear on the mavic. It's designed to be flown problem free for hundreds of hours. That is another reason not to charge too many batteries and then decide not to fly. Fewer batteries to discharge.

 

[dronerdave]

How about the controller battery? Try to keep it about 60%?

 

[msinger]

One more question, is the only way to discharge the batteries by powering up my MP and letting it run until the battery gets to the desired level?

Flying the drone is the quickest way to deplete the battery.

Some other options would be to use a battery discharger (like the Mavic Angel) or connect the battery to the DJI battery bank adapter and charge another device (like a mobile phone) by connecting it to that adapter's USB port.