Intelligent Batteries - Killing the spontaneity?

[Noamcee99]

Hi all,
Do any of you also feel that the Intelligent Batteries' auto discharge feature is killing your ability to be spontaneous with your drone?
Im very happy with my new MA2, I think it's an amazing device. And, I understand that the auto discharge is meant to prolongue the life of the LiPo cells, etc. However, since there's no way to keep batteries "standing by" fully charged for many days, I find that cant be spontaneous and take a drone+charged batteries out unless I planned to, at least several hours in advance.
(the expected lifetime of ~200 charge/discharge cycles, while not bad, is still very finite and doesnt encourage recharging unless one actually intends to go flying).
As a long standing DSLR hobbyist, this was never an issue - The camera & batteries are charged & ready, regardless of whether I recharged a day, a week, a month earlier, or more. Is there any way to get such "Everyday readiness" with a Mavic, without drastically reducing the lifetime of the batteries?

 

[vindibona1]

Happy belated birthday!

You bring up an interesting point. I think you have to be staged to be ready with intelligent batteries. The DJI multi-battery chargers charge the batteries sequentially, one at a time, so it can take quite awhile to bring all batteries up to full charge. I have a Mavic 2 Pro, so not familiar with what is available for MA2, but I have both the DJI multi-charger and a Hanatora multicharger. I can put 2 batteries on the Hanatora to charge simultaneously without sacrificing recharge speed and one more on the DJI charger. That means I can go from 1/2 drained to full charge on all batteries inside of 40 minutes. Another thing I try to do is keep informed on the weather. If I think I'm going to fly and don't know what time I'll get out I can top off the night before as I did last night.

I guess the bottom line is that even wanting spontaneity, there has to be a level of advanced planning and a compromise to minimize the amount of prep time when you want to go fly.

 

[old man mavic]

@Noamcee99 ,its just the nature of the batteries used in our drones ,and also the fact that in order to fly a lot of the time you need to plan ahead anyway to find out if it is ok to fly in a particular spot,you could if you need to have fully charged batteries at the ready all the time ,purchase the Mavic Mini first gen that use different battery cells,that are less prone to damage being fully charged ,and dont have a self discharge feature built in
alternatively just have one battery fully charged in the evening ,for that just in case moment ,and then after 48 hours allow it to discharge and do the same with the next one and so on in sequence ,the multi chargers that @vindibona1 mentioned are very good i have one for my MPP that can charge 3 batts and controller and another one that charges 4batts as well as the controller in the time it takes to do one with the normal supplied charger

 

[Duckhunter50]

It has killed mine. Too often I want to go fly but realize the batteries have discharged. I have mine set to discharge at 3 days, but now that warmer temperatures are returning I will probably set them at 10 days to discharge.

 

[ckoerner]

I’m a heathen. I charge them, leave them in the smart charger, and don’t fret. The drone is meant to be used, right? If I shave off a few hours of life from the battery it’s well worth it for the enjoyment gained.
I mean I still check the health and charge before I head up and out, but I can alway buy a new battery.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

but I can alway buy a new battery

Not always though, as a few Spark and M1P owners are coming to realise.
Wish DJI would make a battery compatible for a range of their consumer drones, and stay with it production wise.

I let mine discharge over 3 or 4 days now, just in the habit now to always charge up in prep for a flight.
The 12v car charger is good to have, with a step converter to 13.8v so it can charge when stationary.
Most times my batteries are around the 45 - 50 % mark, so it doesn't take long when driving to a flight location.
It's actually faster than the mains charger too.

I charge them, leave them in the smart charger,

That works ? Keeps them 100% charged ?
I read a few times that once charged, they don't cycle back on unless removed (or power off) and put back in to start charging again.

 

[Noamcee99]

It has killed mine. Too often I want to go fly but realize the batteries have discharged. I have mine set to discharge at 3 days, but now that warmer temperatures are returning I will probably set them at 10 days to discharge.

Auto-discharge rate can be adjusted?!? Isnt it a fixed, non-user accessible feature? (at least, for MA2)
Can you please refer to any description or discussion of being able to adjust the auto discharge timing? Thanks!

 

[BrokenAero]

If you have a Mini 2 and the 3-Battery Charging Hub (which doubles as a power bank) you can store fully charged batteries in the Hub and they will not auto discharge (but be especially vigilant for any signs of swelling).

 

[Maviac]

On my Mavic Air, I almost always kept at 60% and it was a matter of popping on the charger for 10-15 minutes to get one all the way up, and the others would be charged by the time I was done with the preceding flight. The M2P definitely takes a lot longer to “top off” and have ready for a full flight. So I keep the Air around in case I want to do a quick flight. And it’s also a little easier to get set up and in the air due to the smaller size.

On the other hand, having two kids under 5 means I rarely have an opportunity to take a quick spontaneous flight. So the issue rarely comes up.

 

[Kilrah]

Auto-discharge rate can be adjusted?!? Isnt it a fixed, non-user accessible feature? (at least, for MA2)

Not for the MA2. Earlier aircraft allowed choosing, now it's fixed.

 

[gamayun]

Happy belated birthday!

You bring up an interesting point. I think you have to be staged to be ready with intelligent batteries. The DJI multi-battery chargers charge the batteries sequentially, one at a time, so it can take quite awhile to bring all batteries up to full charge. I have a Mavic 2 Pro, so not familiar with what is available for MA2, but I have both the DJI multi-charger and a Hanatora multicharger. I can put 2 batteries on the Hanatora to charge simultaneously without sacrificing recharge speed and one more on the DJI charger. That means I can go from 1/2 drained to full charge on all batteries inside of 40 minutes. Another thing I try to do is keep informed on the weather. If I think I'm going to fly and don't know what time I'll get out I can top off the night before as I did last night.

I guess the bottom line is that even wanting spontaneity, there has to be a level of advanced planning and a compromise to minimize the amount of prep time when you want to go fly.

Thanks for charger reference, that Hanatora seems to be a great charger

 

[tlswift58]

2 ways to fix that. #1 - every couple of days plug the charger in and recharge to keep them up. #2 - get a charger that you can plug into in your vehicle if driving to a location and charge will driving. It will be slow, but it does work. If I'm doing several locations in a given day - 3 batteries do not last - so carry my multi charger and plug it into the 120v plug in my SUV. Allows me more than 3 good flights that day.

There are chargers that run off a cigarette plug or even USB that have regular electrical plugs on them for cars that don't have an electrical outlet built it.

 

[vindibona1]

Thanks for charger reference, that Hanatora seems to be a great charger

I can't speak for any other DJI battery models other than the M2, but what's great about the Hanatora is that it can do a deep drain, or drain to storage levels, though the batteries do have an auto discharge feature. Does Hanatora make similar chargers for the MA2 and/or Mini's?

 

[gamayun]

I can't speak for any other DJI battery models other than the M2, but what's great about the Hanatora is that it can do a deep drain, or drain to storage levels, though the batteries do have an auto discharge feature. Does Hanatora make similar chargers for the MA2 and/or Mini's?

They do, check this Amazon ASIN, there are links to all models under Product Details: https://smile.amazon.com/Hanatora-B...ora+multicharger+air+2s&qid=1618757054&sr=8-2

 

[Dbez1]

The Mini1 uses Li-Ion batteries instead of the LiPo smart batteries and they are said to be less finicky about keeping them charged. This, however, appears to be somewhat controversial. I do know that I kept mine fully charged and they held up fine.

 

[hiflyer201]

If It were to be really spontaneous I would think it would be near home and I would have no fear of launching with 60% battery with the Air 2 for a short flight. You would still have more battery than the Spark or more than likely the Air 1. I know people have opinions about taking off with less than a fully charged battery but I have a hard time thinking those issues are well founded.

On my Mavic Air, I almost always kept at 60% and it was a matter of popping on the charger for 10-15 minutes to get one all the way up

That's probably why I fly my Air one as often as I do. It charges faster for sure.

 

[Noamcee99]

If It were to be really spontaneous I would think it would be near home and I would have no fear of launching with 60% battery with the Air 2 for a short flight. You would still have more battery than the Spark or more than likely the Air 1. I know people have opinions about taking off with less than a fully charged battery but I have a hard time thinking those issues are well founded.

That's probably why I fly my Air one as often as I do. It charges faster for sure.

Thanks, that's a fair point...! And, combined with a vehicle charger for topping up, as people have noted above, might be the solution Ive been looking for. Cheers!

 

[vincigj]

Wish to reset Mavic 2 Enterprise dual or MA2 battery discharge clock? ( only ones I know of for sure). Turn battery on, turn back off. Don’t do it in the AC.

 

[Oakley75]

The Mini1 uses Li-Ion batteries instead of the LiPo smart batteries and they are said to be less finicky about keeping them charged. This, however, appears to be somewhat controversial. I do know that I kept mine fully charged and they held up fine.

18650 cells