Is all this battery charge level stuff just OCD hobbyists?

[Starz]

just a thought with all the concern about the batteries, whats the situation regarding charging and discharging the remote control, is there any procedure for that or is it a different battery..

I‘ve not seen any procedures for controllers. No mavic series failures for any that I’ve been around. Phantom controllers, yes, but possibly not a true battery issue.

 

[kidroc]

Smart batteries can do a lot of things on their own but they can’t self charge. I would say as long as you don’t store them empty, you should be good. I don’t think there’s a huge difference between storing them with a full charge and just manually charging them to about 60%. That being said, I personally take the time to do the latter, it gives me peace of mind

yes they do self discharge..

 

[kidroc]

Just fly till 30% that ends up around 3.7 a perfect storage state.

 

[Ice_2k]

yes they do self discharge..

I said they don’t self *charge*

 

[pdipasquale]

The MA2 has “intelligent“ batteries, right? Aren’t they supposed to take themselves to the right level for storage after a period of non-use? Does one really need to put a lot of effort into figuring out how long until they’re going to fly again and manually futz with their batteries in order to increase their life? And how much difference is that going to make? I’m pretty sure that a whole lot of MA2 owners just fly and either charge before their next flight or keep the batteries on full charge by charging after use. Yet, I see thread after thread here for all models, including those with intelligent batteries, on proper battery practices. I number and rotate my batteries. Is the rest really worth the bother?

FYI: the word in the title that was blocked out was not all that bad, just an anatomical term for someone on the compulsive side.

I know first Hand that the mavic air batteries will get screwed up if you leave them fully charged. Even though they are intelligent they seem to expand and the casing never deflates. They become unusable. I haven't done that with my mavic pro. I leave them at about 40-50. The asking and batteries seem much more sturdy.

 

[TyCool]

I don't put a ton of effort into making sure my batteries are having a happy life. I store them on the charger and keep one in the drone. I'm sure even at rate they will live plenty long enough.

Ha yes I was like that until my Mavic 2 pro battery left in the drone was found completely drained and dead unable to awake it no matter what I did
The power drains faster whist sat in the drone. The battery was only 6 months old
Also at the same time my old mavic pro same story battery maybe two years old but in great health before I left it plugged in!

I took them both to the tip with my lip on the floor gutted because there not cheap and it was all my fault being lazy
So now upto 100% charge then run down with drone hovering or idling to 50% then cool down for long term storage in there own lipo safe bags
It’s worth the effort
Hope this helps someone out there learn from my expensive mistake!

 

[Plainview]

Just fly till 30% that ends up around 3.7 a perfect storage state.

When you say perfect storage state how long is storage, 2 days, 2 weeks. I charge mine once cooled then ready for tomorrow. I find they are already down 20% in 2 days. Why?

 

[In The Zone]

I've done hours & hours of research on the mavic Air 2 batteries. The best way to store your batteries short-term is between 20% & 50%. For long-term storage 2 months or more is at 5% that will put the battery in hibernation mode. But when you go to use the batteries again you will have to charge them individually without the charging hub to bring them out of hibernation mode... If you take care of your batteries they will take care of you!!!

 

[CentralVAphoto]

There is a lot of info in the replies so far, but it doesn't seem that anyone has really answered the question for YOU. So here it is. Pilots are either concerned about their fuel, or they're not. In the world of manned aviation, pilots who know about and fastidiously practice the safe handling, use and inspection of fuel and fuel systems, are much less prone to be in a fuel-related incident. Pilots who have the attitude "why do I need to monitor the linemen fueling my plane - aren't they certified for a reason?" end up getting AVGAS in their expensive turbines. Batteries supply fuel to my aircraft. Taking care of them is a safety issue. And I'm a 'safety first' kind of pilot.. So the answer for YOU, is the same as your answer to what priority safety is for you. But something you should keep in mind is the impact of Murphy on bad news. If your aircraft does crash, you need to understand that it will only stop once it has met the soft skull of your angry neighbor's two year-old kid. He won't care how intelligent the battery was supposed to be...

 

[mavicn00b]

Considering it's all the same basic chemistry the same rules apply to hobbyist flyers and photographers. The basic laws of physics dont care either, if your battery fails, that quad is going down.

 

[Empie]

There’s a lot of obsession on the need to manage the drone batteries in a particular way - though nothing on the controller battery. I can only assume the chemistry & relevant characteristics are the same, so should be managed the same for storage.

 

[BJR981S]

The Mavic 2 Air uses Lithium Polymer (Lipo) batteries. It is 3S which means it is 11.1 volts.
Each cell is 3.7 Volts. That means 2S is 7.4 V. 4S is 14.8 V

They are excellent for radio controlled devices including aircraft, RC cars and trucks.
Lipo have the ability to discharge high levels of amperage instantly. An example is the Traxxas RC car that can go 0-100 mph is 2.9 seconds.
I have a Traxxas Lipo that can jump start your car because it will drain the Lipo battery in seconds, but the car will start.
This high discharge ability is why your MA2 can go from stop to start instantly. It can accelerate quickly.

Lipo advantages are several.
They have nearly double the capacity of NiCad (nickel cadmium) and NiMH (nickel metal hydride).
They stay charged longer than the other types and do not retain a memory.

They also have disadvantages.
Lipo are very sensitive to high temperatures.
They are very sensitive to high and low voltages. Exceeding either will damage the battery.
They are prone to explode if exposed to heat, or charged/discharged improperly.

Like others have said the best practice for storage is either manually stop use at 50% or charge it and let it automatically discharge to storage level.
Don't store a discharged battery for more than a couple days.

All good points. But I think you will find that they are actually LiHV batteries.

 

[Ice_2k]

There’s a lot of obsession on the need to manage the drone batteries in a particular way - though nothing on the controller battery. I can only assume the chemistry & relevant characteristics are the same, so should be managed the same for storage.

Controller battery doesn’t go through the rapid discharge process so there’s much more stress on it. Also, I don’t think it’s a LiPo but I’m just guessing here

 

[Joe Blow]

I don't expect an accurate answer to this question but in the spirit of the question: How many drones have crashed because of the battery? (not fell out, came loose, contact problems, but failed internally)?
Answers of speculation, facts, and percentages of each are accepted but, need to be labeled where the numbers/percentages come from.

 

[Richiebricker]

TheseBatteris are the most awsome peice of technology, along with brushlwss motors to come along only in this century. Before LiPo Batteries there wer no drones, Rc Helicopters were very large and powered by nitro fuel and only the richest of people could afford them. As a kid and long after I was an adult I built Balsa wood airplanes which had the cheapest and completly maintanance free power supply.... THE RUBBER BAND MOTOR----

LiPo batteries are a little fussy to maintain but the power they give is incredible so we need to learn to live with em cuz there aint nuthin thats gonna replace em for a long long time. And hopefully the govmint dont make them illegal, lol

 

[volition]

The radio control uses lithium ion batteries theoretically the same use case applies.

lihv is lipo however they are designed so that the nominal charge is greater. This is at the expense of a touch of current. But lipos are so good these days it’s not a difference for most applications.

I race RC cars at a decent standard I can tell you the RC car crowd are always looking to get everything out of their gear. Especially batteries & especially the stock motor classes. Every 100th of a second counts. They also account for a lot of mystical beliefs around this stuff lol.

 

[kidroc]

I said they don’t self *charge*
[/QUOTE Oops Sorry mate

 

[tiparoch]

Take care of your batteries folks! They are high tech but they also need to be taken care of. No, it is not OCD...but they need to be taken care of. Trust me, I have lost several 'smart' DJI batteries that were not taken care of. Not being used they got down to 0% and basically died and could not be recharged again. Just keep them up around 50-60% when they are idle, that is about it and you will be fine.

 

[My Drone Adventures]

The best answer is to always keep flying, cool, charge and repeat multiple times a day. That it the prescription I follow. It allows me to enjoy the quad I bought rather then stressing over what is the proper storage percentage. If they are always in the air, no worries....?

When I know I won’t be flying for a couple days, 30-50% charge....

 

[GadgetGuy]

Bottom line, depends upon your priority. You are either interested in maximizing flight time at all times because you bought a drone to fly it rather than store it, or you are obsessed with prolonging battery life because you naively assume you will still be flying the same aircraft five years from now. The former realize that the latter assumption is absurd. Realistically, if you are a serious flyer, you will be upgrading the drone to a newer model long before your battery maintenance has any relevance. For most of us, that is every year, or every other year. Crashes outside of Refresh also make replacing the now obsolete drone at your expense unrealistic. None of these batteries have a problem within the first year of ownership, no matter how badly you abuse them.