Restoring aging lithium ion batteries

[JoelP]

Despite careful storage at 50% charge my 5-yr old batteries have degraded to about 30% of their original flight time. Another 3yr old battery is at 50%. To my knowledge there is no way to restore these batteries. I had read that there was a technique developed to do so back in 2018, but it requires an extra electrode. (See link)

Groundbreaking invention can restore old lithium batteries to 95% capacity

Does anyone know if DJI is adding this capability to their newer drone battery designs, such as the Mavic 3? While a 46 min flight time sounds great it might me more like 35 minutes in real world use. In time if these degrade like my 5-yr old batteries I won’t be so happy.

 

[old man mavic]

@JoelP its not just the storage part of the battery care that eventually leads to their demise
every Charge/Discharge cycle ,has the same effect
unfortunately over time the cells ability to hold ,and discharge voltage slowly diminishes
due to the nature of the chemistry involved this is not reversible, whatever someone might claim
heat /cold ,undercharge /overcharge ,will all shorten the life expectancy of a lipo battery
it might not matter to much in a phone ,or battery operated power tool if the battery does not perform at its best
in a drone it is critical to have a fully charged battery at the start of the flight ,and also one that has the capability to be able to produce enough current to keep the drone airborne
batteries are, and always have been an ongoing expense in the RC hobby
so the only way you are going to keep flying, is to invest in some new ones i am afraid

 

[JoelP]

@JoelP its not just the storage part of the battery care that eventually leads to their demise
every Charge/Discharge cycle ,has the same effect
unfortunately over time the cells ability to hold ,and discharge voltage slowly diminishes
due to the nature of the chemistry involved this is not reversible, whatever someone might claim
heat /cold ,undercharge /overcharge ,will all shorten the life expectancy of a lipo battery
it might not matter to much in a phone ,or battery operated power tool if the battery does not perform at its best
in a drone it is critical to have a fully charged battery at the start of the flight ,and also one that has the capability to be able to produce enough current to keep the drone airborne
batteries are, and always have been an ongoing expense in the RC hobby
so the only way you are going to keep flying, is to invest in some new ones i am afraid

Sadly this is for my old Mavic Air 1 for which DJI no longer is offering new batteries. There are some in distribution for more than 2x the price that these sold for on the past from DJI. It seems that it’s time for a new drone, but will keep the old MA for group pictures and other tasks that can be done without long battery run time.

 

[tlswift58]

Despite careful storage at 50% charge my 5-yr old batteries have degraded to about 30% of their original flight time. Another 3yr old battery is at 50%. To my knowledge there is no way to restore these batteries. I had read that there was a technique developed to do so back in 2018, but it requires an extra electrode. (See link)

Groundbreaking invention can restore old lithium batteries to 95% capacity

Does anyone know if DJI is adding this capability to their newer drone battery designs, such as the Mavic 3? While a 46 min flight time sounds great it might me more like 35 minutes in real world use. In time if these degrade like my 5-yr old batteries I won’t be so happy.

My 1.5 yr old Air2 batteries seem to have an issue, but I know with age and use - they will slowly degrade.

Battery technology is constantly evolving and hopefully DJI is staying up on that. Battery makeup within the Lithium market keeps shifting too. Read where Tesla is going back to Li-Fe batteries. Mostly due to cost of product. Lithium batteries have come a long way from just a few years ago when they were catching fire / exploding in some products. You don't hear too many stories of that these days.

I want to buy 1-2 more batteries for my Air2, but at $115 a pop - that hurts. No idea what the Air1's go for. As with most things - it's the "accessories" prices that kill you to cover a lower price on the actual product they go on.