Mavic Pro Battery Mod

[mkdive]

Look at those solder joints! Sorry I just couldn't help myself......

Soldering skills are not strong with this one.

 

[Ranch]

Ty 2-1500mah battery

Who made the 1500mah batteries? I can't read the label.

 

[djhoodrich]

Who made the 1500mah batteries? I can't read the label.

Maddog

 

[frysie]

So it looks like one of those xt60 style ones with brass strips soldered is the way to go. if i had to DJI care "refresh" ... is it possible to remove the solder easily?

 

[frysie]

Move battery

Plus here is some video hovering

do you have a link where you bought it? can't find it on fleebay

 

[djhoodrich]

do you have a link where you bought it? can't find it on fleebay

Earlier in the thread I posted links for the batteries and the XT 60 plug

 

[djhoodrich]

do you have a link where you bought it? can't find it on fleebay

am sorry for disturbing you again but i have a last question
i was looking at the xt60 adaptor and it has an LED on it and on the website it says this will let you know when to connect the batteries so i really didn't understand that i mean i cannot connect the battery before i take off or is there a special time for it ?

Thank you

DJI Mavic pro mods power adaptor clip phantom 3 pro/adv I ordered mine from these guys in the comment section when you order they will send you either one double plug or two one vertical one horizontal plug but you have to specify in the comments when you order I ordered the two plugs instead of the one double plug connector

 

[ScottJD]

Yea!! and there is another battery mod thread with lots of blabla and no testing! We cannot let that happen.
edit: with them crazy titan batteries that will burn mavic.

The Bla Bla Bla is facts of batteries and warning so people don't just go hooking up wrong titan packs and blow up 18650 battery packs and their mavic. Without the first steps of Bla, Bla, Bla, you would have any mods unless you have personally engineered and designed anything yourself that I don't know about?
Basically, first theorize then research, next facts and data, then testing. Maybe you would just like to plug your mavic into a 240V wall socket and skip the Bla Bla Bla and see what happens since you have a few mavics sitting arround and money to waist?
If that's the case, then send me a mavic, broken or not (I'll fix it) and then I'll do more testing. But I had to sell mine to meet medical bills and keep my house. So I guess all I can do is offer Bla Bla Bla based off experience and knowledge others don't damage their mavics.

 

[djhoodrich]

Got it today

 

[MacIak]

The Bla Bla Bla is facts of batteries and warning so people don't just go hooking up wrong titan packs and blow up 18650 battery packs and their mavic. Without the first steps of Bla, Bla, Bla, you would have any mods unless you have personally engineered and designed anything yourself that I don't know about?
Basically, first theorize then research, next facts and data, then testing. Maybe you would just like to plug your mavic into a 240V wall socket and skip the Bla Bla Bla and see what happens since you have a few mavics sitting arround and money to waist?
If that's the case, then send me a mavic, broken or not (I'll fix it) and then I'll do more testing. But I had to sell mine to meet medical bills and keep my house. So I guess all I can do is offer Bla Bla Bla based off experience and knowledge others don't damage their mavics.

Thanks for the details.
The initial step trying a product that has underrated specs (it's no quantummechanics to figure that out) is actually running field tests and find out yourself. One can talk and calculate but the only usable info there (by djhoodrich) was the fact that these sucker gets hot confirming the specs are reliable (unlike the chinese stuff multiplying all by 2).
Next step, if unit survives, means try loadshare. After that it's cost analysis and further testing. Works fine so far.
Id love to run them as well but paying 48 bucks just for shipping across the channel is silly.
Edit: the blabla part was not intended to insult but as an inside joke for sprtbrkydr bumping threads and the rise of "competition" threads when they get buried. Good thing its moving into this one now, all in 1 place. Again, sorry if i left a wrong impression. We good?

 

[MacIak]

Got it today

Great! Could you share how much it drains in relation to the mains?
Ooh..and also if gps keeps constant lock.

 

[djhoodrich]

I will I'm djing a party right now it will be Sunday

 

[frysie]

If i soldered with silver solder on the gold plating with the xt60 mod. Is it possible to remove all the solder if I need to do a warranty job?

 

[ScottJD]

Thanks for the details.
The initial step trying a product that has underrated specs (it's no quantummechanics to figure that out) is actually running field tests and find out yourself. One can talk and calculate but the only usable info there (by djhoodrich) was the fact that these sucker gets hot confirming the specs are reliable (unlike the chinese stuff multiplying all by 2).
Next step, if unit survives, means try loadshare. After that it's cost analysis and further testing. Works fine so far.
Id love to run them as well but paying 48 bucks just for shipping across the channel is silly.
Edit: the blabla part was not intended to insult but as an inside joke for sprtbrkydr bumping threads and the rise of "competition" threads when they get buried. Good thing its moving into this one now, all in 1 place. Again, sorry if i left a wrong impression. We good?

I'll admit the cost of shipping batteries these days is crazy. And unfortunately because US seems to buy everything and have everything shipped to us, is we get stuck with higher costs shipping to others. I guess because not enough product goes the other direction? I do think it has a bit more info then that, just maybe nothing you already knew. Maybe I view having security with a little knowledge knowing it will survive first before crashing a mavic a better way? But their are still a lot of new people that don't understand the full impact or potential consequences of what seems like a simple easy mod. I think I was even involved with the first battery mod thread in February, but then people keep opening new threads and the same quaesrions come up. This one seems long, but then who wants to read through 1000 posts also to get a single answer they may want. Anyway, like you said it's joining this one now also and Bla bla Bla.
And yes, I must of missed the joke, but I guess that's why they call it an inside joke,sorry.
All is good.

 

[frysie]

I'll admit the cost of shipping batteries these days is crazy. And unfortunately because US seems to buy everything and have everything shipped to us, is we get stuck with higher costs shipping to others. I guess because not enough product goes the other direction? I do think it has a bit more info then that, just maybe nothing you already knew. Maybe I view having security with a little knowledge knowing it will survive first before crashing a mavic a better way? But their are still a lot of new people that don't understand the full impact or potential consequences of what seems like a simple easy mod. I think I was even involved with the first battery mod thread in February, but then people keep opening new threads and the same quaesrions come up. This one seems long, but then who wants to read through 1000 posts also to get a single answer they may want. Anyway, like you said it's joining this one now also and Bla bla Bla.
And yes, I must of missed the joke, but I guess that's why they call it an inside joke,sorry.
All is good.

Scott Ive read from page 1 - 49. Seeing how everyone has done it. to me, it seems soldering the battery pins using the "uavmods" and equivalent will give you better contact and resistance then letting it just slop around in there.

This is the one i have been eyeing off on amazon and looks like yours.
Amazon.com: Titan 7000mAh 3S Advanced High Capacity Lithium Ion Battery NCR18650GA: Toys & Games
- Voltage Range: 7.5v - 12.6v

12.6v/6 cells = 2.1v per cell right? so that wouldnt really cause issues with the volts?

 

[digdat0]

28 minutes 45 seconds

did you take a reading on the Titan after that flight? what were the voltage levels at? curious to know how depleted that was. 28mins is solid though, i assume it left a whole bunch in the tank.

 

[ScottJD]

If i soldered with silver solder on the gold plating with the xt60 mod. Is it possible to remove all the solder if I need to do a warranty job?

It would be impossible to remove silver solder from a gold solder pad, sorry.

 

[ScottJD]

Got it today

As MacLak pointed out, some more information could be needed for this type of battery mod so people understand the differences between the current battery technology that the mavic is using and using a 18650 cell pack. So I spent some time writing this up, I hope it helps.

Just remember this is the same max wattage and amperage output as the other one you tested, just with double the cells in parallel for more capacity. So you will probably be able to fly 45 min? Maybe 50 min?

This is good and bad, you will have to remember to check the temperature of the cells as other have mentioned with a longer flight time before the cells cause damage. You said the smaller pack was hot, this one with longer flight time could end up getting a lot hotter and vent a cell with the start of a thermal runaway.

I realized today that most all of the threads on this forum and battery mods have to do with adding other 3S packs in parallel to the mavic smart battery of the same battery chemistry and style. Nothing has really been discussed in details about 18650 cells with battery mods, so I'm going to add all the following so you have a better understanding. After all, most RC stuff runs on Li-Po type packs, not metal encased cells like 18650 ones.

Like others have mentioned, check the temp often, preferably would like to stop before they get past the point of no return and go into thermal runaway. Thermal runaway can happen in that few seconds of the seal breaking, the flame shoots 6 to 8 inches and temperature of lithium burning can reach well over 800 Celsius.

I don't think the titan packs have any thermal fuses on them to cut this off from happening like drill tool packs and laptop batteries that have at least two thermal fuses in each pack to prevent this from happening with high drain tools.

*I think this is something Titan needs to add to their packs if they are going to sell them and advertise them for RC use without offering proper BMS or ESC firmware updateds to adjust for the difference between these battery types. It won't cost much extra to add some thermal fuses that would cut the battery power if a cell hits above 75C. I would normlay say 85C but I'm accounting for the battery being cooler on the outside from airflow of flying, but the internal temperature still may be close to thermal runaway reaction. Maybe 70C would even be better. The problem with this protection unlike the mavics protection currently is when the fuse blows the mavic falls out of the sky since it doesn't have a proper BMS for 18650 cells to force a safe landing and throw warnings up on the app.

You can use a cheap thermal laser point gun for this to keep some distance if it's hovering, don't measure any metal, might cause a false possotive reading and the label might be a metal based label. If it gets anywhere near 70 Celsius I would shut it down. Thermal runaway reaction can start around 80 to 90 Celsius and continue for 5 minutes or longer and still look normal. As you will see in this video once it starts it can continue on its own for 3 to 5 minutes later, or even longer.
https://youtu.be/ZTzEHsJVZhA

He says not to buy these cells because the cell he shows advertises the are protected cells, and they are not. His recommendation has nothing to do with thermal runaway, all lithium batteries have the potential of this runaway. These days 18650 Li-Ion cells are one of the safest rechargeable batteries of done correctly with the required protection and BMS. This is one of my favorite sites to learn about batteries, and this will also explain how they are safe but only with proper add on protection.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/lithium_ion_safety_concerns

Now remember using this 18650 battery pack with the mavic has no battery management systems (BMS) or thermal fuses in the pack, or protection circuits. So yes, by changing from one battery type being Li-Po based that the mavic comes with to another type like the 18650 Li-ion type is a risk. Even using the Mavics own battery protection from the smart battery won't work as we already discussed on another thread because of different ways of discharge curves and voltage minimums and maximums.

An experiment was done using X-Ray and thermal imaging to capture and see what's happening inside the cells in hopes to figure out a new manufacturing way to make them even more safer. I don't care for vapping sites and how the measure 18650 cells with a category called pulse discharge current, basically all pulse discharge current rating are out of the manufactured specs of the cell. But this site did a good brief write up of the X-Ray thermal runaway experiment:
https://batterybro.com/blogs/18650-wholesale-battery-reviews/19582595-what-s-new-this-week-in-lithium-ion-battery-technology

Safety of Li-Ion cells is all about the correct rated cell performance for the load and application being used and the BMS. This article has a good break down of what the BMS does half way down the page:
http://www.batterypoweronline.com/main/markets/testingservices/safety-and-preventing-thermal-run-away-in-large-li-ion-batteries/

But as people buy cheaper over rated miss advertised and fake cells on the internet with devices that don't use any BMS because they just want to make sales and don't care about safety and can't be help responsible with other country laws then we have problems like the hover boards and cheap LED flashlights that come with ultrafire fake batteries and chargers that can over charge the battery also.

If you have any hissing sound or see any liquids or malformed PVC wrapper from any of the cells indicating the seal vented then leave it outside overnight.
In the past, I have dug a whole to throw them in. I have an ammo case with sand for batteries that have shorted out, but don't seal the ammo case closed, just rest the lid over top.

Now that you understand the risk, have fun and most of all be safe.

Scott

 

[Ed209]

It would be impossible to remove silver solder from a gold solder pad, sorry.

 

[ScottJD]

did you take a reading on the Titan after that flight? what were the voltage levels at? curious to know how depleted that was. 28mins is solid though, i assume it left a whole bunch in the tank.

Yea, it probably had a lot left. Just remember the voltage reading will be high when not in used or under load. I would on average say remove 0.5V per cell when it's under load, but this also depends on the discharge curve ratings item from the manufacturers data sheet. With these batteries the voltage will drop when it's pulling current, and be higher when it's not in use.
Scott