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My First 3rd Party Battery - TOO HOT?

Not A Speck Of Cereal

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Apr 26, 2019
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I bought a Satonaka M2P battery off of Amazon and I have a question about heat.

I flew the battery yesterday (with velco strap just in case) and wore it down to the first warning and then some (all close by). I can report this:
  • In the end, the temp was 53c
  • No swelling was detected then (still warm) or now (the next day).
After that, I put in an official M2P battery (used, but still good) and it few just as well
  • Post-flight temp was 42c. I kept trying to get it higher with steady climbs at full throttle, but it didn't.
Question: is 53c too hot?

I must admit that I'd never paid attention to this before. Also, I only tested one of the regular DJI batteries yesterday (I probably should have tested a few to see if they all had about the same temps).

Additionally, I can report the following about the Satonaka battery:
  • It fit well
  • I kept a close eye on the 4 cells during the entire flight and they all stayed up in the same range, including slight dips and raising all at the same levels. I was looking for a weak cell and didn't find one.
  • The 4 lights at the power button are slightly sub-par compared to the DJI batteries, but only in that the DJI light segments were better segregated while the Satonaka lights bled (less internal barrier between the lights). While I was slightly apprehensive when I first noticed this, I soon realized that it's purely cosmetic.
I will continue to velcro-strap it on for several flights until I get comfortable with the thermal differences.

Ciao!
 
...thermal differences.
In general...

Higher temperatures = higher internal cell resistance = probably more pronounced voltage drops during load = increased risk of quicker electrolyte decomposition with gassing as a consequence = swelling.

This points to inferior LiPo cells... that the total pack doesn't show any major cell voltage deviation, just tells us that all cells in the pack are matched & have the same (bad?) performance during load.
 
I bought a Satonaka M2P battery off of Amazon and I have a question about heat.

I flew the battery yesterday (with velco strap just in case) and wore it down to the first warning and then some (all close by). I can report this:
  • In the end, the temp was 53c
  • No swelling was detected then (still warm) or now (the next day).
After that, I put in an official M2P battery (used, but still good) and it few just as well
  • Post-flight temp was 42c. I kept trying to get it higher with steady climbs at full throttle, but it didn't.
Question: is 53c too hot?

I must admit that I'd never paid attention to this before. Also, I only tested one of the regular DJI batteries yesterday (I probably should have tested a few to see if they all had about the same temps).

Additionally, I can report the following about the Satonaka battery:
  • It fit well
  • I kept a close eye on the 4 cells during the entire flight and they all stayed up in the same range, including slight dips and raising all at the same levels. I was looking for a weak cell and didn't find one.
  • The 4 lights at the power button are slightly sub-par compared to the DJI batteries, but only in that the DJI light segments were better segregated while the Satonaka lights bled (less internal barrier between the lights). While I was slightly apprehensive when I first noticed this, I soon realized that it's purely cosmetic.
I will continue to velcro-strap it on for several flights until I get comfortable with the thermal differences.

Ciao!
Nice to know that aftermarket batteries for the mav.2 series are being given a systematic work-out. With the model(s) being technically obsolete, the only option to keeping these stunningly excellent birds in service is the third-party manufacturers.

I'll be watching your updates on this thread with great interest.
 
Higher temperatures = higher internal cell resistance = probably more pronounced voltage drops during load = increased risk of quicker electrolyte decomposition with gassing as a consequence = swelling.

This points to inferior LiPo cells... that the total pack doesn't show any major cell voltage deviation, just tells us that all cells in the pack are matched & have the same (bad?) performance during load.

Oh I'm sure these aftermarket guys are using the cheapest of cheap cells!

I might be willing to risk it ... don't have much to lose, can't fly it anyway 🙃
 
That's a great price for a DJI certified and warranted battery. I would still test it for levels, temps, and swelling of course, but it looks like it's worth a try.

Chris
Mind you.... I recall that there was a couple of batches of the official DJI Mavic. 2 batteries that were more than a bit hinky, so I'd be inclined to expect the same with the 3rd party products once in a while.

Just as a matter of note: there is a Chinese company named HSABATT that makes/made the fully assembled 4-lipo cell+IFB board replacements for both the Mavic 2 and the Phantom TB47/8. I've used this company's products before and they've been top notch.
 
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