Keeping batteries charged or not?

[gleff]

HI all,

So i'm a new drone pilot, and my understanding is if you don't intent to fly within a 10 day period, you should discharge the batteries (or let it do it themselves) to around 50-60%. This is all well and good in theory, but I don't always know when I'm going to go flying, and just had an unfortunate experience of having my batteries and remote sitting at approximately that charge when I decided I might head out try and get a quick fly around before it rains.

So I started charging over an hour ago, and it's still charging, and now i've missed the boat because it just started to rain.

What do you guys do with regards to your battery charging? I personally like to keep devices topped up for when you need them, but decided to do what was suggested if not using the drone for around 10 days. The problem is, I don't know when I'm going to suddenly want to get some flying in, and don't always have the luxury of waiting around. Today it was rain, previously it was wind. It wasn't windy when I started charging, but within 1.5 hours, it was starting to get windy. I'm suddenly left with fully charged batteries again, and may not use them for another 10 days or longer. I feel like i'm ruining the batteries by continuously recharging them, discharging them by running the drone in my living room in idle to discharge them, etc but not actually flying.

Just curious what others do, and your experience with the longevity of the batteries.

 

[Thomas B]

Store then at 40-50%. Charge the days batteries to full the night before.... or morning before if an afternoon flight.

 

[gleff]

The problem is I usually don't know the day before or the morning before. Our weather tends to be little wind in the morning, and a lot of wind in the afternoon. I usually decide at the spare of the moment whether to go flying. Obviously that's not working, and even if it did work, the weather is unpredictable that far in advance.

 

[slup]

The proper care procedure if you want to stretch the battery life is as per below ... I try to follow it & in addition I have a paid subscription on Airdata.com giving me access to the battery trends of all my 4 batteries out from all the hundreds of flights I have uploaded there. All my batteries are about a year old & 2 are in perfect condition, one shows some minor wear & one have started to show larger cell voltage deviations when it's colder or if I'm whipping it with Sport mode immediately after take off... so keeping my eye on that.

Perhaps I have more wiggle room in my spare time (kids moved out now), but checking weather/winds for the upcoming weekend, if looking good I nail time for flying. Also take the opportunity to just fly around the neighborhood in workday evenings if the conditions are right.

Also bought another charger that can charge all 4 batteries in parallel + RC on 80-90 min (45 min from storage charge) ... It also have charge/discharge to storage level. Can really recommend that one --> Amazon.com: Hanatora Battery Wall Charger & Car Charger for DJI Mavic Air and Remote Controller,5 in 1 Rapid Charging Hub with Charging, Discharging and Storage: Toys & Games


1. Keeping the battery at 100% isn't good for it ... do what you can to minimize the time that they are at that level (the default 10 days auto discharge down to 60-65% is way to long ... & if you check the level by pushing the button you reset the counter & the 10 day counter will restart). If a battery that is above storage % level haven't been used in a couple days, use the usb adapter from the Fly More Kit to charge something else (your phone) in order to bring it down to storage % (see below ...)

2. Heat kills them ... don't store above room temperature & absolutely not in a car during summer, 5 hours in a burning hot car & the battery have sustained serious damage.

3. Let them cool down to room temperature before recharging them.

4. Don't fly with a battery colder then 15C degrees, keep them warm in colder weather, have them in a pocket close to your body.

5. Store the batteries between 40-60% ... a good thumb rule is to take them of the charger as soon as the third led start to blink, then they are just over 50%. But anything between 1 solid + 1 blinking up to 2 solid + 1 blinking is good enough.

6. Don't drain them to low, make sure they don't go under 10% ... once in a while, so be it. Try to not have them lower then 20% ... if you aim for that you usually don't end up below 10%.

7. If stored for a long time, cycle them at least once each third month ... then back to storage %

 

[gleff]

Also bought another charger that can charge all 4 batteries in parallel + RC on 80-90 min (45 min from storage charge) ... It also have charge/discharge to storage level. Can really recommend that one --> Amazon.com: Hanatora Battery Wall Charger & Car Charger for DJI Mavic Air and Remote Controller,5 in 1 Rapid Charging Hub with Charging, Discharging and Storage: Toys & Games

1. Keeping the battery at 100% isn't good for it ... do what you can to minimize the time that they are at that level (the default 10 days auto discharge down to 60-65% is way to long ... & if you check the level by pushing the button you reset the counter & the 10 day counter will restart). If a battery that is above storage % level haven't been used in a couple days, use the usb adapter from the Fly More Kit to charge something else (your phone) in order to bring it down to storage % (see below ...)

2. Heat kills them ... don't store above room temperature & absolutely not in a car during summer, 5 hours in a burning hot car & the battery have sustained serious damage.

3. Let them cool down to room temperature before recharging them.

4. Don't fly with a battery colder then 15C degrees, keep them warm in colder weather, have them in a pocket close to your body.

5. Store the batteries between 40-60% ... a good thumb rule is to take them of the charger as soon as the third led start to blink, then they are just over 50%. But anything between 1 solid + 1 blinking up to 2 solid + 1 blinking is good enough.

6. Don't drain them to low, make sure they don't go under 10% ... once in a while, so be it. Try to not have them lower then 20% ... if you aim for that you usually don't end up below 10%.

7. If stored for a long time, cycle them at least once each third month ... then back to storage %

I like that battery charger. I'll have to see if there is something similar that ships to Australia, as sadly that one won't. Great idea though. Charging all 3 batteries at once would certainly cut down on the amount of time wasted waiting.

Thanks heaps for that. Certainly a lot to absorb. On a side note, it stopped raining and managed to get out for some flying. Sadly, I forgot to hit record for the video. Doh.

 

[Thomas B]

This is the charger I use. Does 4 batteries and controller in 90 minutes. There may be a new branding of it now

 

[ChipDjipro]

If you have more than one battery which I’m sure you do use one battery that is fully charged all the time so if you need it it’s ready. But keep the other batteries stored at 50%. Batteries are not that expensive so if that battery only last you a year compared to 2 no big Los.

 

[slup]

If you have more than one battery which I’m sure you do use one battery that is fully charged all the time so if you need it it’s ready. But keep the other batteries stored at 50%. Batteries are not that expensive so if that battery only last you a year compared to 2 no big Los.

Yeah ... can be a feasible strategy, but sign up for Airdata.com & pay so you can monitor that battery over time so you don't end up in a sudden cell failure mid air with a forced auto land as a consequence.