Do you leave your drone in a hot car.

[MavicPro1966]

I live in central California and temp can reach over 105 or more. Are drones made to whistand the heat especially in a hot car for hours? Wouldn’t hot temps damage sensors and lipo batteries on the drone.

 

[msinger]

I live in central California and temp can reach over 105 or more

That's the outside temperature, right? If it's 105°F outside, keep in mind the temperature is going to be even hotter inside the car.

Personally, I wouldn't store any DJI drone gear in a hot car. You definitely don't want to store the remote controller or aircraft batteries in a parked car. It would be best to keep those items in a location that's maintained between about 71°F (22°C) to 82°F (28°C) -- or normal room temperature.

 

[Thomas B]

I live in central California and temp can reach over 105 or more. Are drones made to whistand the heat especially in a hot car for hours? Wouldn’t hot temps damage sensors and lipo batteries on the drone.

Agree with msinger.
If it’s 105 degrees ambient it’s liable to be 130 or more in a closed car.

 

[chezedog]

It's not a good idea to leave anything in a car around here, no matter what the temperature might be!

 

[GregD]

I would check the specifications section of your drones manual to see what the operating temperature they specify. For instance for the Mavic 2 it suggests an operational range of -10°C (14°F) to 40°C (104°F), the Battery guide suggests the same range. Like @msinger suggested temps in a car can be much higher than the outside temp.

 

[Bigbird48]

Living here in the desert temps can reach 120f every now and then. can't fly in that so leave it home.

 

[Former Member]

If you insist on keeping your drone in a car during the summer or find that you need to do it, you can do a few things to prevent it from getting too hot.

1. First of all keep it in the shade, under a blanket, towel, etc. It will reduce the temperature if its not in direct sunlight.
2. Keep it in a cooler with one or more cool packs in there. I got this tip from another member and it works really well. If you dont use ice, only cool packs, you can control the temperature in the cooler. Dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine.
3. You can precool your packs in the fridge. Again, dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine. That will add a few minutes to your flight time, and if its really hot outside, it will afford you a few minutes to at least get a flight in before the battery maxes out temp wise.

 

[m0j0]

No - Don't leave it in a hot car. Unless you really don't want the car or the drone. It has happened to me a couple of times just out of circumstance but you really have to be cognizant of the temps.

 

[Former Member]

Living here in the desert temps can reach 120f every now and then. can't fly in that so leave it home.

Yes you can. The electronics are able to withstand 120° but that temp is around the batteries upper limit. Cool your batteries first, then you can get at least a few minutes of flight time before the battery gets to its upper limits.

 

[Former Member]

No - Don't leave it in a hot car. Unless you really don't want the car or the drone. It has happened to me a couple of times just out of circumstance but you really have to be cognizant of the temps.

I think anyone who flies in climates that can reach ambient temperatures of 100° should get a temperature gun. You can temp the outside of the battery before you even go fly.

Any of the following ones will work, but I like the ones with the laser pointer so you can check temps from a distance.

Robot or human?

 

[MavicPro1966]

Thanks for all the help.
I’m going to pass this info on.

 

[THE WOMBLE]

It's not a good idea to leave anything in a car around here, no matter what the temperature might be!

I tried leaving the mother-in-law in a hot car .. did not work very well. She drove to the local pub to get a cool drink leaving me to walk.

 

[Drone on]

If you insist on keeping your drone in a car during the summer or find that you need to do it, you can do a few things to prevent it from getting too hot.

1. First of all keep it in the shade, under a blanket, towel, etc. It will reduce the temperature if its not in direct sunlight.
2. Keep it in a cooler with one or more cool packs in there. I got this tip from another member and it works really well. If you dont use ice, only cool packs, you can control the temperature in the cooler. Dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine.
3. You can precool your packs in the fridge. Again, dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine. That will add a few minutes to your flight time, and if its really hot outside, it will afford you a few minutes to at least get a flight in before the battery maxes out temp wise.

If you insist on keeping your drone in a car during the summer or find that you need to do it, you can do a few things to prevent it from getting too hot.

1. First of all keep it in the shade, under a blanket, towel, etc. It will reduce the temperature if its not in direct sunlight.
2. Keep it in a cooler with one or more cool packs in there. I got this tip from another member and it works really well. If you dont use ice, only cool packs, you can control the temperature in the cooler. Dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine.
3. You can precool your packs in the fridge. Again, dont let it get too cool, like lower than 40°f, but if you can at least keep it in between 40 - 100°f you will be fine. That will add a few minutes to your flight time, and if its really hot outside, it will afford you a few minutes to at least get a flight in before the battery maxes out temp wise.

would it be good or bad to place in an insulated cooler with or without cool packs?

 

[Don the engineer]

would it be good or bad to place in an insulated cooler with or without cool packs?

Cool packs and even "precooling" batteries are a bad idea with anything below 55 °F. Once you reach the condensation point you are asking for moisture vapor to condensate and you're inviting moisture damage. If you precool any electronics dont go below 60° F unless its IP6X rated. Otherwise your components will fail prematurely.

As far as leaving them in the car, it's kind of like your kids. If its 105° F outside it could easily reach 200° in the car. LCDs, capacitors, and batteries disagree with these temps. Heat shrinking, seals, and some epoxies that are used will also soften causing the component to be more susceptible to damage from just moving it. You are risking permanent damage.

 

[Former Member]

Cool packs and even "precooling" batteries are a bad idea with anything below 55 °F. Once you reach the condensation point you are asking for moisture vapor to condensate and you're inviting moisture damage. If you precool any electronics dont go below 60° F unless its IP6X rated. Otherwise your components will fail prematurely.

As far as leaving them in the car, it's kind of like your kids. If its 105° F outside it could easily reach 200° in the car. LCDs, capacitors, and batteries disagree with these temps. Heat shrinking, seals, and some epoxies that are used will also soften causing the component to be more susceptible to damage from just moving it. You are risking permanent damage.

What type of moisture damage are we talking about? The reason why I ask is that DJI itself claims the battery operating temp to be 5°c to 40°c (41°f - 104°f) in the owners manual.

 

[pfgrimm]

I live in central California and temp can reach over 105 or more. Are drones made to whistand the heat especially in a hot car for hours? Wouldn’t hot temps damage sensors and lipo batteries on the drone.

In central CA when the summer sun is overhead, the MP1 overheats before takeoff. Good comments about a hot car. I try to fly during golden hours in the summer. The ND32 is overwhelmed between 10am and 2pm.

 

[Don the engineer]

What type of moisture damage are we talking about? The reason why I ask is that DJI itself claims the battery operating temp to be 5°c to 40°c (41°f - 104°f) in the owners manual.

True. But that is when moisture and temperatures are at equilibrium. If I take a 5° battery and go outside when its 5°, then no problems. But if I take a 5° battery and go outside and its 20° then moisture vapor will condense on the battery and the internals. The humidity is higher when the temperature is higher and a cold battery will bring the moist air to its dew point causing condensation. Especially in a confined space, like the internals of a battery, the condensation can cause corrosion between contact points which in turn causes an increase in resistance. That causes higher voltage and will damage connections that are not designed to carry those higher voltages. Arcing and further deterioration will result.

 

[Former Member]

True. But that is when moisture and temperatures are at equilibrium. If I take a 5° battery and go outside when its 5°, then no problems. But if I take a 5° battery and go outside and its 20° then moisture vapor will condense on the battery and the internals. The humidity is higher when the temperature is higher and a cold battery will bring the moist air to its dew point causing condensation. Especially in a confined space, like the internals of a battery, the condensation can cause corrosion between contact points which in turn causes an increase in resistance. That causes higher voltage and will damage connections that are not designed to carry those higher voltages. Arcing and further deterioration will result.

So, correct me if I am wrong. For these folks who live at low humidity levels, who tend to get obscene temperatures in excess of 110°f, if their cooler is at 50° but 40% humidity, and the ambient outdoor temperature is 100°f and humidity level is at 20%, will condensation still be a problem? When it starts getting hot in the SW, there are a million people asking that question. It would be nice to have an app that would take into account the temp and humidity level your battery is currently at, and what consequences taking that battery outside will have on internal condensation.

Anyone from Nevada, AZ, CO, UT is affected by this disparity.

 

[Thomas B]

Why is the humidity higher when the temp is higher? Don’t follow.

 

[Thomas B]

So, correct me if I am wrong. For these folks at low humidity levels, who tend to get obscene temperatures in excess of 110°f, if their cooler is at 50° but 40% humidity, and the ambient outdoor humuidty level is at 20%, will condensation still be a problem> When it starts getting hot in the SW, there are a million people asking that question. Do you happen to have access to a dew point calculator?

In AZ desert I actually cool my batteries before flight to increase flight time. No condensation problems have been evident.