Really discouraged right now...

[mbsz53]

About a month ago my drone crashed to the ground like a rock. What happened is there battery swelled and disconnected in flight. Fortunately, it was close to the ground and there was minimal damage. Yesterday I flew again and my drone kept disconnecting from 30 feet away. I thought it was some sort of interference. When I landed to change batteries, the battery practically shot off from the pressure that had built up between the battery and the release. I'm really disappointed. It looks like I'm going to have to I replace four batteries that are only a year old and have only been used less than twenty times. It's going to cost $80 each to replace. That's $240!!!!!!! I get that batteries have a limited life, but only year? They still hold a charge and run for twenty minutes. The batteries swell, push away from the connectors and the drone disconnects. Best case scenario, the drone only disconnects. Worst case, it drops from the sky like a rock. How long do you think these batteries should last?

 

[Former Member]

How long do you think these batteries should last?

I have Lipos for my other RC vehicles that are over 10 years old and still going strong. I just monitor them while in storage and cycle them every month.

DJI batteries are solid as well, they have the self-discharge function that will help store them at minimum recommended storage voltage to prevent swelling. I have Phantom 2 batteries that are around 3 years old or older and they still work fine.

 

[msinger]

How have you been storing your batteries? How many months passed in between charging them?

 

[Superdaddy]

I too have lipos for RCs that are years old and still work well. Two things are important.

Keep them out of high heat (like inside a hot car). Heat is a common cause of swelling.

Keep them charged between 35-50% when stored. If a battery sits a couple of months, charge them again and let them discharge to storage levels.

 

[Former Member]

I too have lipos for RCs that are years old and still work well. Two things are important.

Keep them out of high heat (like inside a hot car). Heat is a common cause of swelling.

Keep them charged between 35-50% when stored. If a battery sits a couple of months, charge them again and let them discharge to storage levels.

That's why your batteries are years old, because you take care of them.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Are they the batteries you left in the Mavic until it turned off every ten flights? Did you charge them back up after the deep discharge?

If kept around 40% charge away from heat when not being used, not flown to very low charge level or kept constantly charged to 100% you should get several years and well over 100+ flights out of them.

As smart as the circuitry might be in the batteries we still need to deal with the known limitations of LiION chemistry. The quickest was to puff a pack is to take it to, and allow it to remain at a very low state of charge.

 

[Zeke]

Hopefully the last question on batteries... The little written guide says:

"Discharge the battery to 40-65% if it will NOT be used for 10 days or more. This can greatly extend the battery life."

Assuming the technology hasn't changed, I read this to mean that we should actively discharge the battery to these levels to ensure optimum battery life, rather than passively allow them to discharge to this point. Is this correct?

 

[Meta4]

Hopefully the last question on batteries... The little written guide says:
"Discharge the battery to 40-65% if it will NOT be used for 10 days or more. This can greatly extend the battery life."
Assuming the technology hasn't changed, I read this to mean that we should actively discharge the battery to these levels to ensure optimum battery life, rather than passively allow them to discharge to this point. Is this correct?

No need to do anything.
Rather than gradually discharging your batteries have a feature that actively discharges them to storage level for you.
In your app settings, you can set the number of days (1-10) before self-discharging starts.

 

[mbsz53]

How have you been storing your batteries? How many months passed in between charging them?

I keep them stored in my backpack. They are in the fireproof bags, with rubber protectors on the contacts.I try to fly every month or two. It's sporadic. They are set to discharge to 50% every 10 days and I take them to 0%

How have you been storing your batteries? How many months passed in between charging them?

I keep them stored in my backpack. They are in the fireproof bags with rubber protectors over the contacts. My flying is sporadic, but I try to fly once or twice, very month or two. They've been recharged right at twenty times. They are set to dump to 50% after ten days of not being used and I have them on a schedule to completely di

Hopefully the last question on batteries... The little written guide says:

"Discharge the battery to 40-65% if it will NOT be used for 10 days or more. This can greatly extend the battery life."

Assuming the technology hasn't changed, I read this to mean that we should actively discharge the battery to these levels to ensure optimum battery life, rather than passively allow them to discharge to this point. Is this correct?

The intelligent function of the batteries allows them to be discharged to 50% automatically after ten days of not being used. This can be adjusted in the general settings of the DJI app.

 

[mbsz53]

Are they the batteries you left in the Mavic until it turned off every ten flights? Did you charge them back up after the deep discharge?

If kept around 40% charge away from heat when not being used, not flown to very low charge level or kept constantly charged to 100% you should get several years and well over 100+ flights out of them.

As smart as the circuitry might be in the batteries we still need to deal with the known limitations of LiION chemistry. The quickest was to puff a pack is to take it to, and allow it to remain at a very low state of charge.

They were recharged back to 100% after deep discharge. I maintained these batteries to the best of my ability and knowledge. I googled the swelling issue and this is what I found, 'Bulging batteries mean only one thing- buildup of gas inside. The gases are produced due to electrochemical oxidation of the electrolyte. Such oxidation occurs usually due to overcharging of the battery due to a faulty battery, or faulty charging electronics in the phone or battery charger.' based upon this it makes sense that possibly I have a faulty charger that is overcharging. I use the charger that came with the drone and usually monitor the charging and remove immediately after completion. I'm so very concerned about this issue. I can't afford to have this happen again, particularly if there expected to last over 100 charges and mine lasted 20.

 

[charliesRig]

I May be Way off base .....
.

Your batterys are Swelling In flight.?
How are you flying.?
Mostly in sports mode.?
Do you Pre flight warm up before Flight.?
are your batterys warm before install Into your craft.?
.
I have had Lipos For years the Lipo need respect or you could damage them and they will get in a runaway state get hot and Buldge or catch on fire or both
............cR
.
.

 

[mbsz53]

I May be Way off base .....
.

Your batterys are Swelling In flight.?
How are you flying.?
Mostly in sports mode.?
Do you Pre flight warm up before Flight.?
are your batterys warm before install Into your craft.?
.
I have had Lipos For years the Lipo need respect or you could damage them and they will get in a runaway state get hot and Buldge or catch on fire or both
............cR
.
.

Yes, they are swelling in flight. I have not been warning them up before flying, nor recharging while still hot from a previous use. I rarely fly in sports mode.I use my drone primarily for photography. I treat the drone and accessories with the utmost care. I thought we were getting close to a reason with overcharging, but another member made the point that the overcharging protection is in the battery and all four would probably not fail at the same time. What would make for batteries swell to the point of disconnecting from the drone? The last one I took off shot back into my hand like it was spring loaded. Thank goodness the clasps held until it landed.

 

[DanMan32]

Bad batch of batteries? They would have to be obtained at the same time and source. Since the AC comes with one, at least that one should be a different batch.

 

[TuT]

Do you keep the batteries in the boot of your car? A few days in a hot car can cause them to swell.

 

[kidroc]

I mean this when I say if you really want your batteries to last. You really really have to use them at least every two weeks or so... the only way I have ever kept batts semi good for long periods is to store them in the fridge and then check them every couple of months to charge as they need it. Sorry for your failing packs but maybe you should get only two this time and really try to fly them more.

 

[Flycaster]

Drawing your batteries down to 0% (zero) is never good for them.

 

[xman1]

My batteries are 2 years old and going strong. I don't always fly after a full charge either as I rarely get to all the batteries I have.

Note that I have it set to discharge after 3 days. 10 days is too long and any battery stored at 100% charge is doing damage to the battery the longer you leave it there. Also note, it takes a while to discharge (days) after it starts to discharge so it is taking over 2 weeks probably to discharge to safe levels if you leave it at the 10 day setting. Not advised if you ask me.

 

[Flycaster]

I set mine to discharge after 3 days. Seems like it only takes about 2? days of "discharge" time, and there done.

 

[Kilrah]

I take them to 0%

How often? It initially was recommended not more than once every 3 months, and now isn't recommended at all anymore.

 

[Freebird32]

Yes, they are swelling in flight.....What would make for batteries swell to the point of disconnecting from the drone? The last one I took off shot back into my hand like it was spring loaded. Thank goodness the clasps held until it landed.

I would not rule out that you might have some sort of short/high discharge going on in the aircraft. The LIPO batteries shouldn't swell (that quickly) unless there is a high charge or discharge rate going on. In your case a high discharge. Are any motors too hot to touch after a swelling battery flight? Not sure if the logs would pick up the current/voltage data, but if so might be worth looking through.