New Drone - Battery Question

[Salter]

Hi all. I just bought my Mavic 2 Pro this week and am loving it. Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn’t find anything with this specific question.

As far as I understand it I need to be conservative with battery charging and not just keep “topping it up”. I was flying today and came home with a 50% battery. This happens half the time I’d say.

Should I be topping the battery up, and add to the charge count? (Especially if this happens regularly)

Or should I go out tomorrow with a 50% battery.

I’ve seen some conflicting advice on the internet about this one. Would love to hear what the community thinks.

 

[msinger]

Should I be topping the battery up, and add to the charge count? (Especially if this happens regularly)

Or should I go out tomorrow with a 50% battery.

You should always charge the batteries to 100% before heading out to fly.

 

[johnnybflyguy]

Hi all. I just bought my Mavic 2 Pro this week and am loving it. Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn’t find anything with this specific question.

As far as I understand it I need to be conservative with battery charging and not just keep “topping it up”. I was flying today and came home with a 50% battery. This happens half the time I’d say.

Should I be topping the battery up, and add to the charge count? (Especially if this happens regularly)

Or should I go out tomorrow with a 50% battery.

I’ve seen some conflicting advice on the internet about this one. Would love to hear what the community thinks.

This might help Mavic 2 Battery - Best Practices?

 

[CanadaDrone]

Always start a flight with a fresh battery - there are reasons beyond simply having enough juice to return home, such as making sure voltage is in check. Even if you end your flight with 75%, if you are doing anything more than messing around in your backyard or something, always put a freshly charged battery in before starting another flight.

Best practice is to return home around 25-30% battery, so if you started with 50% you wouldn't have much flight time left anyway - it's very hard on the batteries if you run them down close to 0%, and even worse for them if you leave them with such a low charge for a long period of time. Also never put a battery away if it has less than 40-50% charge or so - charge it up until you get 2 solid lights and the third light blinking, then pull it off the charger and it's ready for up to 3 months storage before best practice calls for another charge cycle. If you leave your batteries at 100%, that is not good for them either, but to protect against this they will automatically discharge to below 65% after 10 days time - just not something you want to make a habit of.

 

[Mossiback]

...As far as I understand it I need to be conservative with battery charging and not just keep “topping it up”...

Always start your flight with a fully charged battery ... unless you are going to keep it very close. The way I understand it is the estimated fight time may not be accurate if the battery was not fully charged

I fly at least one battery every day weather permits until Go 4 tells me I need to bring it in* and always recharge when I get home. Going on two years now with no noticeable drop in battery efficiency or flight time. The batteries will auto-discharge after 10 days of non-use to under 65% to keep them healthy. Number your batteries and rotate their use and they should last a long time.

*Go 4 will estimate battery strength needed to return to the home point but does not factor wind speed. Many crashes or losses have happened because the pilot did not notice wind direction and speed aloft and the battery did not have enough power to fight a head wind on the return. I start returning well before the indicator reaches the return to home point and then fly close until that point is reached.

 

[Former Member]

I guess Im the exception to the rule. If I am flying and need to change a filter, and I have only 50% battery left, Im going back up with 50% battery. That will usually give at least a few minutes of flight time to catch a sunset, or other Kodak moment before Im down to my 35-40% personal mandate.

Im a firm believer in starting the day with a charged pack, but theres no need to go overboard and charge after every single flight if it's a continuation of a recent flight..

 

[Mossiback]

True enough. Although rare, I have stopped a flight for some adjustment and then continued, turning the battery off and on in the process. What I do not do is start the day on a partially-spent battery.

 

[Salter]

Hey all. I really appreciate the replies here. I had a follow up question, but the replies have answered it.

I have 2 batteries so will make sure and rotate

Thanks all.

 

[msinger]

To clarify my statement above, topping off the battery does not hurt it. There is no reason to not top off the battery if you only want to use fully charged batteries.

On the topic of flying with a half charged battery (for other unrelated reasons) -- while it's possible to do so, keep in mind that your flight time will be limited. And if you accidentally fly until the battery reaches the critically low level (easier to do when starting with a half charged battery), the Mavic will auto land at its current location. That auto landing cannot be cancelled.

 

[offtheback]

Hey all. I really appreciate the replies here. I had a follow up question, but the replies have answered it.

I have 2 batteries so will make sure and rotate

Thanks all.

Buy more batteries!You’ll never regret it.

 

[JakeRobinson]

Is there a risk in leaving a battery in the AC in its case? Should the battery always be removed and stored separately?

 

[msinger]

Is there a risk in leaving a battery in the AC in its case?

No -- assuming the battery is not damaged/defective.

 

[Mossiback]

Is there a risk in leaving a battery in the AC in its case? Should the battery always be removed and stored separately?

It depends on length of storage. If for a short time there is no risk leaving a battery in the AC. If extended time or you do not know how long until the next use then remove it from the AC. Like any battery, you run the risk of corrosion on the contacts if left in too long.

 

[Former Member]

It depends on length of storage. If for a short time there is no risk leaving a battery in the AC. If extended time or you do not know how long until the next use then remove it from the AC. Like any battery, you run the risk of corrosion on the contacts if left in too long.

I agree. The last thing you want is to have a bloated or leaky battery in your Mavic. Plus the battery should be removed from the drone at least once a month and cycled.

 

[Former Member]

Is there a risk in leaving a battery in the AC in its case? Should the battery always be removed and stored separately?

I agree with what @Mossiback said. If you are not sure when the next time you will be flying is, take the battery out.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Is there a risk in leaving a battery in the AC in its case? Should the battery always be removed and stored separately?

Not a big risk no, but if you aren't going to be flying for a while, best practice would be to remove it and store it separately, ideally in a LiPo bag.

 

[SweDrone]

Just technically, I am wondering about this battery discharge after 10 days. Energy can’t just disappear, so what happens? Is it transformed into heat? And is this mechanism in the battery itself?

 

[msinger]

Energy can’t just disappear, so what happens? Is it transformed into heat? And is this mechanism in the battery itself?

Yes, the battery will become warm while it self discharges. It should not become hot enough to damage anything even if left in the drone or a case.

 

[Former Member]

Just technically, I am wondering about this battery discharge after 10 days. Energy can’t just disappear, so what happens? Is it transformed into heat? And is this mechanism in the battery itself?

Yes the mechanism is triggered by an internal timer. The timer resets itself by the batteries internal clock and it monitors power off and power on activity.

Once the battery is powered off, the timer starts. If the battery has not heen turned on for 10 days, a charge is applied to an internal circuit that runs through a resistor. The resistors job is to drain the battery down to a predetermined safe storage level. It is normal for the resistor to get warm or hot, depending on the batteries level prior to self discharge. The battery will stay hot or warm until it is discharged down to storage level.

This is why it is good practice to remove the battery after every flight, or at least get it back down to storage level, especially if it has been fully charged and it will not be used for a while.

 

[SweDrone]

Yes the mechanism is triggered by an internal timer. The timer resets itself by the batteries internal clock and it monitors power off and power on activity.

Once the battery is powered off, the timer starts. If the battery has not heen turned on for 10 days, a charge is applied to an internal circuit that runs through a resistor. The resistors job is to drain the battery down to a predetermined safe storage level. It is normal for the resistor to get warm or hot, depending on the batteries level prior to self discharge. The battery will stay hot or warm until it is discharged down to storage level.

This is why it is good practice to remove the battery after every flight, or at least get it back down to storage level, especially if it has been fully charged and it will not be used for a while.

Thank you Thunderdrones!

There is so much talk about these batteries, that it keeps me kind of confused.

I understand that they should not be drained. So, can one say that when not flying for an unknown number of days (weather affects my flying a lot), is it fine to either fly your drone down to 50-60% battery charge, or alternatively charge the battery to 50-60% (2-3 blinking lights) and then the battery will look after itself? Does a battery need ’rest’, thus requiring one to have more than one battery (yes, I understand that more than one battery is practical when flying a lot)? Or is there just no concensus on this subject?