Quickest way to safely drain MP2 batteries

[Obsidian Sereniti]

Hello Everyone,
I am taking a flight with my bird and while I’ve never had anyone check, I wanted to see what is the best and safest way to drain the batteries beforehand.

Thanks

 

[sar104]

The quickest way to drain them is to fly - nothing can safely pull as much current as the motors. Bear in mind that you don't want to drain them completely - just down to around 50% - and even that's not a requirement.

 

[Former Member]

The quickest way to drain them is to fly - nothing can safely pull as much current as the motors. Bear in mind that you don't want to drain them completely - just down to around 50% - and even that's not a requirement.

^^^ what he said

 

[AMann]

If you can’t fly to drain them, your kit should have a USB adapter for the batteries. It’s has two - 2 amp outlets, and so you could safely use it to charge up a phone, iPad, etc., all at the same time.

 

[Former Member]

If you can’t fly to drain them, your kit should have a USB adapter for the batteries. It’s has two - 2 amp outlets, and so you could safely use it to charge up a phone, iPad, etc., at he same time.

Alternatively, you could just leave the drone on with the battery inside. It will drain down to storage in less than an hour.

 

[AMann]

^^^ what he said

For the quickest method period, there’s always the salt water treatment...

Alternatively, you could just leave the drone on with the battery inside. It will drain down to storage in less than an hour.

Yeah, but didn’t you say once that we shouldn’t do that without putting a fan in front of the drone because the board might overheat? I stopped running my drone parked to discharge it because of this. You were right, the exhaust air gets very warm quickly.

 

[raylo32]

See also the long thread on this topic in the M2 General forum... Here is a good discharger that does the job fast and easy. Also good to have around to put charged but unflown batteries in storage configuration. To use this you need to splice a Mavic battery connector onto the supplied lead.

GForce GD250 35 Amp LiPo Battery Discharger (35A/250W) [GFC0317]

The GForce GD250 35 Amp LiPo Discharger is a high current discharger capable of discharging all hobby batteries! Maximum discharge capacity of 35 A /... GFC0317

www.amainhobbies.com

 

[raylo32]

I also would worry about the video transmitter overheating without the airflow that is generated by the props and flight movements. This was a big deal with some of my other drones and video txs I have had. Fried them right quick. Had to disconnect the video tx to do any extended bench testing of the AC.

Yeah, but didn’t you say once that we shouldn’t do that without putting a fan in front of the drone because the board might overheat? I stopped running my drone parked to discharge it because of this. You were right, the exhaust air gets very warm quickly.

 

[Former Member]

For the quickest method period, there’s always the salt water treatment...

[emoji6] usually done by accident!

 

[Former Member]

Yeah, but didn’t you say once that we shouldn’t do that without putting a fan in front of the drone because the board might overheat? I stopped running my drone parked to discharge it because of this. You were right, the exhaust air gets very warm quickly.

That is absolutely the case for Phantom threes, but I did some testing with the mavic a couple of years ago. You can let the mavic sit on a table for an entire battery discharge and not hurt the electronics whatsoever. Not only that, but you could leave the gimbal bubble on while sitting on a table and going through an entire battery discharge and not do any damage to the internal electronics. The cooling fan does a very efficient job at keeping everything at 107ﾟ or lower which is a very comfortable temperature for the internal elecktronicks. No ram air flow required from flight.

 

[Former Member]

I also would worry about the video transmitter overheating without the airflow that is generated by the props and flight movements. This was a big deal with some of my other drones and video txs I have had. Fried them right quick. Had to disconnect the video tx to do any extended bench testing of the AC.

Do you mean the core board inside the drone? That is really the only component susceptible to heat damage, and as long as your fan is working, there won't be a problem. It's when this fan stops working where the board gets fried. Here is a graveyard of fried core boards. The fans stopped working but the owner insisted on flying them anyway. Big mistake.

 

[raylo32]

****... how would one know if the fan was broken in the first place?

Do you mean the core board inside the drone? That is really the only component susceptible to heat damage, and as long as your fan is working, there won't be a problem. It's when this fan stops working where the board gets fried. Here is a graveyard of fried core boards. The fans stopped working but the owner insisted on flying them anyway. Big mistake.

View attachment 72410

 

[Former Member]

****... how would one know if the fan was broken in the first place?

Heres an old thread:

Anybody have an issue with Fan after crash

So I did something stupid crashed my drone. I fixed the obvious damage to the gimbal (it works great), but the fan won't engage. Anybody have a similar experience and solved the issue? To save some time, no I don't have refresh or insurance. No I haven't run a firmware update. Thanks for any...

mavicpilots.com

Also a new one:

Ask Thunderdrones; Thunderdrones Repair Thread

This is a thread for folks who have problems and would like my help in solving them. I will update it regularly with answers to questions and problems already answered.

mavicpilots.com

 

[msinger]

I am taking a flight with my bird and while I’ve never had anyone check, I wanted to see what is the best and safest way to drain the batteries beforehand.

Most (no?) airlines require DJI batteries to be discharged to a certain level before flying. Check out your airline's website if you have any doubts.

 

[Obsidian Sereniti]

Great answers and discussion, thank you all so much!

 

[Former Member]

Ask Thunderdrones; Thunderdrones Repair Thread

This is a thread for folks who have problems and would like my help in solving them. I will update it regularly with answers to questions and problems already answered.

mavicpilots.com

 

[stonecherub]

Alternatively, you could just leave the drone on with the battery inside. It will drain down to storage in less than an hour.

Not my experience.

Flying season is over for me until October. I only fly in the Mexican desert, by choice, and the daytime temperatures will be a bit toasty until then. I just spent the last hour trying to drain a battery, first by setting out the Mavic and turning it on. After 10 minutes of barely noticeable drain, I put a rock on its back (it was next to my desk in my office), started the motors, and let it run for 50 minutes. The battery reported 62% capacity, two lights steady and the third flashing, on shutdown.

 

[AMann]

Not my experience.

Flying season is over for me until October. I only fly in the Mexican desert, by choice, and the daytime temperatures will be a bit toasty until then. I just spent the last hour trying to drain a battery, first by setting out the Mavic and turning it on. After 10 minutes of barely noticeable drain, I put a rock on its back (it was next to my desk in my office), started the motors, and let it run for 50 minutes. The battery reported 62% capacity, two lights steady and the third flashing, on shutdown.

Put it on a stand and use it as a fan?

Are you limiting yourself to flying in the desert because how the heat is for you or for your Mavic? I have the same issue in the Mojave Desert here as well, but my part-time work calls for me to fly during the hot part of day in summer sometimes.

 

[Former Member]

Not my experience.

Flying season is over for me until October. I only fly in the Mexican desert, by choice, and the daytime temperatures will be a bit toasty until then. I just spent the last hour trying to drain a battery, first by setting out the Mavic and turning it on. After 10 minutes of barely noticeable drain, I put a rock on its back (it was next to my desk in my office), started the motors, and let it run for 50 minutes. The battery reported 62% capacity, two lights steady and the third flashing, on shutdown.

Well, thats one way to do it, but not the way I prefer. Wouldnt it be easier to just fly it for 5 minutes?

 

[stonecherub]

Well, thats one way to do it, but not the way I prefer. Wouldnt it be easier to just fly it for 5 minutes?

You're right, takes too much time. But, I got to read the day's porn in the Times, the Post, and Atlantic Mag.