How low do you fly your batteries?

[Papa Echo]

Until now I didn't go below 20% of battery level.
After my last flight of my Air 3 I looked at the battery levels. The level was at 20% and the Voltage per cell was at 3.54V while the Air 3 was standing on the ground. So I hovered for a while and watched the cell voltages. It came down to 3.46V per cell until I landed at 16%.
The Air 3 has Li-Ion batteries and these batteries are usually save to drain them to 3.0V. At this voltage they drop quickly. Some datasheets say that you can go down to 2.75V and some batteries even down to 2.5V.

My question is: how low do you go with your batteries? Do you check the Voltage before takeoff and after landing? What is the Voltage under load at 10% or 0%? Please tell your model and battery type.

 

[Max Headroom]

Until now I didn't go below 20% of battery level.

I try to stop flying around 20% i have three batteries so no need to go lower on purpose.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I run most my batteries down to less than 5% before they land so I can keep the drone up in the air as long a possible when recording a lighting Storm, and I have never had any issues with the Air 2 or Air2S batteries,

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain and land on the Water.

 

[AeroJ]

Lose excess height at 30%, start looking to come back at 25%, hot-footing it home at 20.

 

[davidarmenb]

Usually 15-25% for my Air 3.
Once or twice it got down to 10-11% but never single digits while in the air.
I think sometime below 10%, it initiates forced landing anyway.

 

[DARKSeifer]

DJI drones don't let the voltage go down to the point it damages the battery 0% is not really 0%, the problem is, if you don't charge the battery soon and leave it uncharged, the voltage will drop and it will die.

Plan your flights so you land at 30-20%, you want to avoid the phase where the drone enters battery saving protocols that cap the max amperage, else if it's windy, you'll lose the drone. You also want to avoid the beeping phase and the auto landing phase, as they are annoying.

On the other hand, landing at 30-20% allows some juice in case something doesn't go as expected.

 

[Papa Echo]

As I said in my opening post, I don't go below 20%. It could happen that I land at 50%. That's perfect for the battery. If I am below 40% I charge the battery back to 50% as soon as I am at home.
Does no one look at the voltage?
I always look at the voltage before I take off. I just want to make sure that the cells are equal and the battery is good. Recently I started looking at the voltage after the flight. And that's when I noticed that 20% is enough juice to keep flying. My next flight will be down to 10%. And of course I'll recharge the battery asap.

 

[Robert Prior]

I plan on landing with 25-30% left if I'm flying somewhere with few opportunities to land. If the drone is close by (50 m away, say) I'll land with 20% left.

I have multiple batteries, and figure the hassle of changing a battery is less than the hassle of losing the drone when it auto-lands in the canopy of a forest!

 

[SkyeHigh]

I always look at the voltage before I take off. I just want to make sure that the cells are equal and the battery is good.

The voltage before takeoff isn’t the best way to assess the state of the battery - that is what the controller is indicating for you anyway. If you want to check cell condition you need to accelerate upwards quickly to put load on the cells and then check the logs post flight for any significant voltage discrepancy between individual cells.

 

[djwak59]

Until now I didn't go below 20% of battery level.
After my last flight of my Air 3 I looked at the battery levels. The level was at 20% and the Voltage per cell was at 3.54V while the Air 3 was standing on the ground. So I hovered for a while and watched the cell voltages. It came down to 3.46V per cell until I landed at 16%.
The Air 3 has Li-Ion batteries and these batteries are usually save to drain them to 3.0V. At this voltage they drop quickly. Some datasheets say that you can go down to 2.75V and some batteries even down to 2.5V.

My question is: how low do you go with your batteries? Do you check the Voltage before takeoff and after landing? What is the Voltage under load at 10% or 0%? Please tell your model and battery type.

I bring all my drones back when they tell me to. Sorry, not too technical about it, and that’s the way I like it.

 

[Max Headroom]

@Papa Echo
Doesn't relying on the emergency get the drone back before it falls from the sky setting harm the battery?

 

[Lets Fly]

I set my warning at 20% and come back, no exceptions.

 

[kentdavidge]

I use an extended battery with my Mini 3. It is not build by DJI, and the recommendation from the builder is that it should never get below 10%. I take 20% as the min safe level.

For DJI batteries I don't know exactly what is the minimum, but as a precaution I also take it to be 20%.

 

[Oldwest2]

I also set my warning at 20%, and come back, no exceptions.

 

[Papa Echo]

I also set my warning at 20%, and come back, no exceptions.

When you get your warning at 20%, does it mean you are landing with less than 20%?

 

[Exphantomflyer]

Depends what I'm doing with it, if im battery testing or distance testing or flight length test then i run it down until it has no choice but to land.

Is it bad for the battery, I asked that question and in essence no its not, the batteries show 0% but in fact have more than enough voltage to stay above tolerances.

On this occasion i was chasing the Mythical 30 minutes of flight time which I succeeded in achieving

 

[Papa Echo]

Depends what I'm doing with it, if im battery testing or distance testing or flight length test then i run it down until it has no choice but to land.

Is it bad for the battery, I asked that question and in essence no its not, the batteries show 0% but in fact have more than enough voltage to stay above tolerances.

On this occasion i was chasing the Mythical 30 minutes of flight time which I succeeded in achieving

View attachment 177635

I think you could also check the voltage in the DJI Fly app. That's the relevant data.

You are probably right that 0% does not harm the battery.

Which app or software do you use to get this picture?

 

[Oldwest2]

When you get your warning at 20%, does it mean you are landing with less than 20%?

No, it will calculate the distance to the return home point, the drones height to initiate the return home with the approximate set percentage, but wind speed could alter the percentage left based on the drone flying into a headwind. So I like the 20% rule to allow for unknown variances.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I trust the DJI algorithm, and come back when it tells me to.

In 10 years the only time this has failed me was with my DJI FPV... I was within 100', and kept flying around until it forced me down ½ a block away.

 

[4 inch pistons]

I make my way home at 35% just to make sure I get all the way home in case I am downwind.