Intelligent Flight Battery Damage

[Doug Greenley]

I have a question and am hoping some of you have had a similar scenario or the right technical knowledge and can advise.

I crashed my mavic. The battery that was in the drone at the time received some damage to the back side. Also the bottom, where the SN and other info is labeled, has what I would describe as swelling and slight ridging. However, the battery still fits the new mavic and flies fine. I have tested it twice to near full discharge over a parking lot and did not have any issues in reg or sport mode either time.

My question is, obv, is the battery in fact compromised and will it stop working at some point in the future. Should I just bin it.

 

[Mxh666]

I have always been told when flying RC planes etc that if a battery swells up, then to get rid of it. I am not an expert but am sure if would apply to DJI batteries as well. I am sure someone more qualified will give you some advise.

 

[Doug Greenley]

I have always been told when flying RC planes etc that if a battery swells up, then to get rid of it. I am not an expert but am sure if would apply to DJI batteries as well. I am sure someone more qualified will give you some advise.

Yep, that is what my gut is telling me. Just didnt see any other posts like this and thought it would be a valuable question. But hoping still for some good news.

 

[Doug Greenley]

Well a little while after posting this I took to Reddit to see what i could come up with and I found this:

Mavic lipo explosion while driving a Harley on the highway. • r/Multicopter

And that got me paranoid so I did a little more digging, which is what I should have done instead of posting here and found this great resource:

15 things every LiPo battery user should know - The Drone Girl

For all new and experienced drone owners, please have a look and consider where and how you store your batteries, and how safe it is. I havent heard of any other stories of trouble from drone batteries but again I was the one flying around with a damaged battery.

I think with the technology advancing to a point where literally anyone can pick up a drone and begin flying comes lots of know-how left undiscovered. It is important to learn as much as possible about these things. I hope this post gets some visibility.

EDIT: for clarity

 

[AnzacJack]

the smart batteries that DJI use have really taken the need for good lipo care out of our hands (at least thats what many think)
Battery charging and care was always one of the first things a hobbyist needed to be fully aware of to avoid problems, but now smart batteries make us dummer.
LiPo batteries are very dangerous and can release a huge amount of energy very quickly. You battery is probably in more danger of catching fire during charge than causing your bird to drop from the sky. Both scenarios are not good. You should just bite the bullet and toss it.
I always teach the kids to kill a battery by leaving it overnight in bucket of salt water before putting in the bin

 

[Strobing_NYC]

In the US we are not supposed to throw batteries in the garbage. We are supposed to bring to an authorized drop off point and dispose of the battery there. I like your idea of salt water over night to kill it, have you ever had one explode in the water?

 

[Doug Greenley]

I read about the saltwater solution (pun intended) and since it is a very slow discharging process, you should leave it up to 2 weeks or longer to ensure complete discharge before putting it in the bin

 

[FuzLogix]

I have a question and am hoping some of you have had a similar scenario or the right technical knowledge and can advise.

I crashed my mavic. The battery that was in the drone at the time received some damage to the back side. Also the bottom, where the SN and other info is labeled, has what I would describe as swelling and slight ridging. However, the battery still fits the new mavic and flies fine. I have tested it twice to near full discharge over a parking lot and did not have any issues in reg or sport mode either time.

My question is, obv, is the battery in fact compromised and will it stop working at some point in the future. Should I just bin it.

Yeah, dispose of this battery in the correct way - wouldn't use it myself..

 

[AnzacJack]

In the US we are not supposed to throw batteries in the garbage. We are supposed to bring to an authorized drop off point and dispose of the battery there. I like your idea of salt water over night to kill it, have you ever had one explode in the water?

No never.

 

[ac0j]

There is a garbage truck fire somewhere every day. MOST caused by semi charged batteries in the compactor.
There has been a few in just the last year in the smallish town I live in. It has been reported as improperly disposed of batteries every time.