MAVIC ZOOM - BATTERY SEPARATION IN FLIGHT - POSSIBLE DESIGN FLAW? NO FAIL-SAFE FOR BATTERY EJECTION IN FLIGHT

[CaptHook]

Good idea, good info.
I just ordered the last Apex RC Products 16mm X 300mm HD Rubberized Battery Straps unit off of Amazon.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

I just ordered them on Amazon.ca so they still have a good supply.

 

[EricJT]

Hi and thanks for the reply. I am well aware of your rain suit and the fact that the battery is well sealed. It is a great solution and my hat's off to you for coming up with a weatherproof system.

Personally, I prefer to fly only in good weather so never felt the need to suit up with a wet suit.

However, a fix is needed to prevent batteries from ejecting in flight. I suggested a simple velcro strap with a compressible material over the battery to maintain contact in case the battery wants to go its own way.

I bought a battery retention buckle....here is the link to the previous discussion.

Mavic 2 Battery Retention

Has anyone ordered this battery strap/holder for their Mavic 2? If so, what is your feedback and comments? TIA. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Anti-Fall-Quadcopter-Battery-Holder-Buckles-Protector-for-DJI-Mavic-2-Pro-Zoom-/114024313843

mavicpilots.com

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Good idea, good info.
I just ordered the last Apex RC Products 16mm X 300mm HD Rubberized Battery Straps unit off of Amazon.

I do prefer amazon but I also use ebay. They seem to have plenty on ebay:

Apex RC Products 16mm X 300mm HD Rubberized Battery Straps - 5 Pack #3021 | eBay

Non-Slip Rubberized Coating - Holds Batteries & Electronics Securely In Place.

www.ebay.com

And it's from the US so it won't take 3 weeks.

 

[ajkm]

The problem with that is you might rely on the battery covers to get you thru the rain, and its not enough.
You also have the vents, sensors, and the drip off masks. I sent you a Pm with more details.

Sounds like you’re more interested in a sale than answering the original question. Three times you have advocated for your product in this thread. Personally, I feel that’s excessive.
[Edit: it was more than three times and, as someone pointed out, you didn’t at any point address the original question posted by the OP.]

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Sounds like you’re more interested in a sale than answering the original question. Three times you have advocated for your product in this thread. Personally, I feel that’s excessive.
[Edit: it was more than three times and, as someone pointed out, you didn’t at any point address the original question posted by the OP.]

In fact he’s starting to sound a little bit desperate.
This one wasn’t even about flying in the rain and he went on and on.
I’m sure he’s got a lot of money tied up in his stock and I feel for him so let him try.

 

[Terry63]

All LiPo Batteries will swell sooner or later. But 40 charge cycles is a pretty short life for a DJI battery. I go through a lot of LiPo batteries on my small quadcopters. A battery that has a tiny bit of swelling can swell up quite a bit especially if it is being run hard.
Flight times decrease and at some point they will become hazardous to charge. Manufacturing quality, how hard they are run and how far you discharge your battery on a typical flight will all affect battery life. From all the posts I have read on this forum battery swelling is the most common cause of batteries unlatching on Mavic Pros and even more so on Mavic 2s.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

So what you are saying (Terry63) is that the battery ejection problem is as prevalent on the Mavic Pro series as well as the Mavic 2 series? I had not read about any battery ejection problems on the Mavic Pro yet.

In my case, 2 of the 3 batteries that came with the Fly-More package are at 32 cycles and 35 cycles respectively. So the battery that was lost when my drone dove into a pond was probably more in the low 30's of cycles.

As I have said, no swelling had been detected either prior to or after flights.

I would recommend that anyone flying a Mavic use a battery strap to secure their batteries in place, in case their battery decides to suddenly eject in mid-air.

I ordered Apex RC Products 16mm X 300mm HD Rubberized Battery Straps upon the suggestion of another pilot.

 

[HWCM]

It was suggested to me that I post my experience in this forum since the cause of the crash was known:

I have just experienced a dive into water over the weekend. Luckily I was able to retrieve my drone the next day. It's now in a bag of rice to try to wick all the moisture from the drone. Also, lucky I have Care Refresh so once I get it dried out I will evaluate the need to use that service. If it works again, my loss so far is one battery (with less than 40 cycles and the props).

By the way, if anyone knows what can happen to a drone spending the night in a fresh water pond, please let me know. If there are any tests to perform to check the airworthiness of my drone, please chime in.

I have read quite a few reports of drones simply dropping out of the sky due to loss of power when batteries had enough charge to get them down safely.

This incident is also a good reminder not to fly over people or cars where a falling drone can cause injury or damage.

In my case, the reason the drone took a dive into water was clear. The battery separated from the drone while I was descending rapidly from 90 to 60 meters. The screen gave the red warning "disconnected" and as I looked up, the drone was falling with the battery about 10 feet above and beside the falling drone.

I discussed this failure with an industrial designer and pilot with 30 years of experience. His conclusion was that this is a design flaw, as a critical non-moving part such as the power source must have a fail-safe mechanism.

I had checked my battery for any sign of swelling or abnormality before every flight and I make sure to push it down firmly to hear the clicks by the locking mechanism so there was no error on my part.

The sudden and rapid descent caused the separation. Somehow the locking mechanism failed.

From now on, I will try the following fix:
Wrap a velcro strap around the body of the Mav Zoom and add a compressible material on the top to always maintain pressure, in case the locking mechanism fails again. Perhaps someone with talent can design this and add this fail-safe to existing models that use the same design as the Mavic Zoom.

Should I upload any other info? Flilght log, video, etc.? Not sure how to do this. Any suggestions?

Rice? Lol, I can't believe people still think this has any effect at all.
Set it on front of a fan for a day or so.
Rice does absolutely nothing.

 

[lannes]

Rice? Lol, I can't believe people still think this has any effect at all.
Set it on front of a fan for a day or so.
Rice does absolutely nothing.

Intel seems to give that advice

Newsroom Home

Intel Newsroom home page

newsroom.intel.com

 

[HWCM]

Intel seems to give that advice

Newsroom Home

Intel Newsroom home page

newsroom.intel.com

Lol, from 2012. Rice has to touch moisture to absorb it. This is why the rice in your cabinet doesn't absorb the rain outside or humidity.
You are not putting rice inside your electronics to absorb the moisture.
You are wasting your time. Many, many tech sites have debunked this time and time again. It simply does not work. It does nothing.
As a matter of fact, if you stick your electric in a sealed container with rice, you are doing more harm by trapping the moisture inside your electronics and not allowing it to evaporate.
Do a little more unbiased research.

 

[lannes]

Lol, from 2012. Rice has to touch moisture to absorb it. This is why the rice in your cabinet doesn't absorb the rain outside or humidity.
You are not putting rice inside your electronics to absorb the moisture.
You are wasting your time. Many, many tech sites have debunked this time and time again. It simply does not work. It does nothing.
As a matter of fact, if you stick your electric in a sealed container with rice, you are doing more harm by trapping the moisture inside your electronics and not allowing it to evaporate.
Do a little more unbiased research.

It is a balanced view from intel, using rice or silica gel to cover the item, vacuum cleaner to suck out standing water and even as you suggested a fan for drying.
I believe it covers all the necessary bases can't see anything else you could do other than trying to remove any visible corrosion/ sediment on the circuit boards and connectors with isopropyl alcohol (99% pure)

Any further suggestions from your research ?
There are still recommendations for rice

Wet Phone? There Are 2 Steps You Need to Do Before Putting It in Rice

There's definitely some truth to this tried-and-tested home hack.

www.popularmechanics.com

 

[Camino Ken]

Based on some pseudo scientific tests results I found it seems that many of you are correct. Rice is a desiccant, just not a very good one and the residue left behind can cause some issues.

Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone

If you drop your smartphone in water, take it apart as much as you can and place it in rice. It's been the most recommended method of cell phone rescue since the days of clamshells. In fact, it's usually the only thing recommended when searching for "how to save your wet phone." Turns out, we've...

smartphones.gadgethacks.com

How We Drowned Nine Phones and Found The Truth About Rice

We wanted to find the truth about rescuing drowned phones, so we gathered nine devices slated for recycli

www.gazelle.com

 

[G Lee]

I use velcro inside the compartment.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Using anything inside the compartment might defeat the purpose since I have read that battery swell on M2Zoom increases as the battery heats up in flight and expands. I have not heard of Mavic Pro series having this issue.

Which supports my theory that this is a design flaw in the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom drones.

Note that the Mavic 2 batteries are different in construction from the Mavic Pro series. The base of the battery on Mavic 2 series is relatively flat and there is no room for expansion, whereas the Mavic Pro batteries have a base with approx 1/32" space to the battery's bottom surface. Note also the Mavic 2 battery label showing wear near the bottom right. This is probably due to expansion and contraction during flight. See photo.

So I don't recommend adding anything to the battery compartment such as Velcro. I will be trying battery straps as indicated by other members on this thread.

My advice to Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom owners is to keep an eye on the base of the battery, especially the printed label, for signs of scuffing or wear or anything that might indicate that the base of the battery is getting wear to the printed label.

And use a strap to keep the battery locked in place.

I wish that there was a forum of NOTAM's (probably not the right "term" but inspired from aviation terminology) for each device so that when these design issues surface, that users can be made aware of the issues and take steps to avoid failures.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Intel seems to give that advice

Newsroom Home

Intel Newsroom home page

newsroom.intel.com

Although it’s on Intels site it’s not from Intel it’s an editorial with no attribution.

 

[Terry63]

So what you are saying (Terry63) is that the battery ejection problem is as prevalent on the Mavic Pro series as well as the Mavic 2 series? I had not read about any battery ejection problems on the Mavic Pro yet.

In my case, 2 of the 3 batteries that came with the Fly-More package are at 32 cycles and 35 cycles respectively. So the battery that was lost when my drone dove into a pond was probably more in the low 30's of cycles.

As I have said, no swelling had been detected either prior to or after flights.

I would recommend that anyone flying a Mavic use a battery strap to secure their batteries in place, in case their battery decides to suddenly eject in mid-air.

I ordered Apex RC Products 16mm X 300mm HD Rubberized Battery Straps upon the suggestion of another pilot.

Hi Ken. In finishing my 1st reply quickly I did not make things clear. The battery ejection issue was rare in the in the Mavic Pros. Happening usually in cases of visible battery swelling. Usually it was reported that the battery did not seem to latch firmly.

The Mavic 2's battery compartment design ( I am only going on what I have read because I do not own a Mavic 2 ) is different. In some peoples opinion this is a design flaw. I believe the reason for the change was to save weight. DJI does not recognize it as a flaw.

The battery ejection became more of an issue with M2s. The warning signs, battery not latching firmly and swollen battery were much more subtle so as to not be recognized as easily.

There were many threads written about it on this form back in 2019. For detailed discussions on this topic you could do a forum search on "battery ejection" or "battery"

A battery strap is a good Idea. To be able to see the battery swelling you could use a straight edge, like a precision steel ruler, and hold it against the bottom of your remaining batteries. The bottom of the battery should be absolutely flat with a full charge.

Of course something else could be the problem such as a faulty latch.
I would recommend reading some of the old threads if you want to get a full understanding of the problem.

I am relying on my own memory here so take it with a grain of salt. I hope you get your drone up and running and do whatever necessary to feel secure flying it.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

Hi Terry63.

Thank you for your informative post. I am new to this ejection issue. I see that you have done some research and your post will be very helpful to everyone on this forum..
I agree that the Mavic 2 series (Pro and Zoom) suffer from a design flaw. DJI should cover the losses which result from this design flaw.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Hi Terry63.

Thank you for your informative post. I am new to this ejection issue. I see that you have done some research and your post will be very helpful to everyone on this forum..
I agree that the Mavic 2 series (Pro and Zoom) suffer from a design flaw. DJI should cover the losses which result from this design flaw.

I’m not really disagreeing with you but I’m curious what is the design flaw?
Should they allow for more battery swelling?
No matter how good of latching system you have if the battery is swollen it’s just not gonna fit right.
My batteries latching pretty tight.
I just be interested to hear what the better idea is.

 

[Ken-Mav-Mtl]

It was not my opinion that this is a design flaw. The opinion is from an industrial designer that is both a pilot and designer for more than 35 years. In aviation matters, redundancy is a fundamental requirement. The battery has a latching mechanism on both sides, yet there is nothing to lock the battery in place.

Furthermore, the Mavic Pro series (my first Mavic) has a recess in the bottom of the battery housing that probably allows for a certain amount of swelling, whereas the Mavic 2 series has a flat bottom with no recess built in. (see photo).

The fact that battery ejection has become an issue on the Mavic 2 series and not on the Mavic Pro series is a compelling argument for a design flaw, which hopefully needs to be addressed by DJI.