Ran a Mavic mini battery down to zero. Still good or toss it?

[Evmoius]

I had an incident today where I got stuck in some unexpected high winds as I flew down a valley. It was dead still where I took off but just a quarter mile away it was apparently blowing enough to overpower the Mini. I ended up having to ditch in a field and go for a little hike to find it, battery readout was 0%.

How does it work with these? If I flatlined a LiPo for one of my freestyle quads that would be the end of it. Does DJI build in some overhead to prevent over discharge?

 

[Thomas B]

Seems they do, but by reports it varies. Charge the battery fully and test it.

 

[Airbeaver]

Charge it up and see what happens.

 

[Evmoius]

Seems they do, but by reports it varies. Charge the battery fully and test it.

Thanks for the info. I've marked the pack and will keep an eye on it. Certainly won't be using it for any high risk flights any time soon.

 

[bumper]

Congratulations on your recovery!
The important thing is to charge it as soon as possible after it has cooled from the discharge cycle. Avoid storing it in a fully discharged condition.

 

[OurAngryBadger]

Charge it and see what happens. These are smart batteries, they even call them "intelligent" batteries on the label. If it says 100% charge, then well it's 100% charge and safe to use

 

[dirkclod]

If these are like the others 0% really isn’t really 0%.
I mean like the battery still has some power left in it
just not none we can use. Please correct me if I’m mistaken .
I have ran my other Mavic battery’s down to 0 and wasn’t
any issue charging back up. Know it’s not good but has happened. Have had them show 0 and still be spinning .
Unlike my Phantom’s when they showed 0 they would just drop..Saw a P3 landing hit 0 and it just stopped. Problem was it was at 36’?

 

[dirkclod]

If these are like the others 0% really isn’t really 0%.
I mean like the battery still has some power left in it
just not none we can use. Please correct me if I’m mistaken .
I have ran my other Mavic battery’s down to 0 and wasn’t
any issue charging back up. Know it’s not good but has happened. Have had them show 0 and still be spinning .
Unlike my Phantom’s when they showed 0 they would just drop..Saw a P3 landing hit 0 and it just stopped. Problem was it was at 36’?

 

[GerdS]

18650 cells have a different chemistry from LiPos and are usually tolerant to deeper discharge voltages. So I guess the built-in DJI controller will shut it down early before reaching this lowest tolerable voltage. I guess your battery will survive if you don't deep-discharge it reularly.

 

[msinger]

Does DJI build in some overhead to prevent over discharge?

The battery will auto shut off to prevent discharging to a dangerous level. Charge it up and go fly.

 

[new2mavic]

I have run mine down to zero and a couple of flights have been made afterwards. No problem seen

 

[Edman141]

I had an incident today where I got stuck in some unexpected high winds as I flew down a valley. It was dead still where I took off but just a quarter mile away it was apparently blowing enough to overpower the Mini. I ended up having to ditch in a field and go for a little hike to find it, battery readout was 0%.

How does it work with these? If I flatlined a LiPo for one of my freestyle quads that would be the end of it. Does DJI build in some overhead to prevent over discharge?

I have run one of my mini batteries down to 0 at least 4 times now and it shows no reduction in flight time. Still getting close to 25 min

 

[kingsnake11]

Almost all Lipo esc's (electronic speed controller) in RC aircraft nowadays have automatic LVC (Low Voltage Cutoff) circuitry that automatically shuts off further discharge from the battery to prevent damage. The usual level for it to activate is 3.2V per cell. Smart ESC's allow you to change this higher. So, while your indicater tells you that there is 0% left, in fact, there is voltage in your lipo. While technically your battery should not have been damaged, repeatedly doing this does. RC flyers generally fly down to about 3.7 to 3.8V per cell and have alarms or other indicators that let them know when this happens so they can land. With use, they can also figure out what this equates to in time, so transmitters will have a countdown timer of throttle time. Batteries are friggin expensive, and can be dangerous, so battery care is a must. Generally, when you see your battery indicator get to 30%, it's probably a good idea to start the landing process.

 

[bonmot]

No problem. Same as your phone goes to 1% and out.
they have over discharge cut off protection built in.

I don’t think DJI would go around that to pump out more (Yes you could as those LiPOs I have used) to save the drone from free fall. Probably they should. But just fly it to 0% is totally OK.

 

[Evmoius]

Almost all Lipo esc's (electronic speed controller) in RC aircraft nowadays have automatic LVC (Low Voltage Cutoff) circuitry that automatically shuts off further discharge from the battery to prevent damage. The usual level for it to activate is 3.2V per cell. Smart ESC's allow you to change this higher. So, while your indicater tells you that there is 0% left, in fact, there is voltage in your lipo. While technically your battery should not have been damaged, repeatedly doing this does. RC flyers generally fly down to about 3.7 to 3.8V per cell and have alarms or other indicators that let them know when this happens so they can land. With use, they can also figure out what this equates to in time, so transmitters will have a countdown timer of throttle time. Batteries are friggin expensive, and can be dangerous, so battery care is a must. Generally, when you see your battery indicator get to 30%, it's probably a good idea to start the landing process.

Yeah I've been flying planes and home built quadcopters for quite a while now. I never set my escs to cutoff, I'd much rather destroy a lipo but get my craft to a place where it can be reovered than have it lose power in flight. This is the first time I've ever had to ditch due to a flat battery ever actually, I'm usually very conservative with my LiPos as they aren't cheap.

With the Mini I usually bring it in even before 30%. Problem was with the wind I couldn't do much in the way of moving and as a result burned through the rest of the pack trying to get to a clearing where I had a reasonable chance of getting it back with no damage or having to climb some sketchy trees.

 

[Evmoius]

No problem. Same as your phone goes to 1% and out.
they have over discharge cut off protection built in.

I don’t think DJI would go around that to pump out more (Yes you could as those LiPOs I have used) to save the drone from free fall. Probably they should. But just fly it to 0% is totally OK.

Yeah it seems to be fine. Charged back up to 100% no issue. I cant test it right now though as the wind is really screaming outside. Would prefer not to have a repeat experience!

 

[Mikey's]

Yeah it seems to be fine. Charged back up to 100% no issue. I cant test it right now though as the wind is really screaming outside. Would prefer not to have a repeat experience!

Perfect! Don't worry about 0% left again. As beeing said, just do not keep it at 0% for a longer time.