Swelling batteries

[gnirtS]

It's important to note that these batteries all still show/indicate and behave within normal specs but due to their swelling they are much more difficult to snap into the aircraft. My concern is this "tightness" is actually creating a PreLoaded Spring effect and any mishap with a locking tab could, in theory literally cause a battery ejection scenario.

When using mine swollen a gust of wind dislodged one side of the clip once (Go4 warns you if it detects battery not latched). A second time simply releasing the stick from forward flight so it braked caused the same.

No matter how tight you tape them its very hard to keep the contacts themselves firm.

Im fairly convinced these batteries degrade at substantially lower temperatures than DJI claim.

 

[wco81]

Need to use social media and other high visibility venues to shame DJI.

Maybe lodge a complaint with the FTC. I think they have a consumer affairs complaint form on their site.

 

[mavicn00b]

Need to use social media and other high visibility venues to shame DJI.

Maybe lodge a complaint with the FTC. I think they have a consumer affairs complaint form on their site.

Class action lawsuit would work just as well assuming the batteries are truely faulty.

 

[BigAl07]

Class action lawsuit would work just as well assuming the batteries are truely faulty.

They most likely are NOT faulty (although it's possible but not likely). They aren't like Duracell units that can take a licking and keep on ticking. LiPo batteries are a chemical reaction and not the most stable platform. As they age they Off Gas (which is a natural part of LIPO battery operation) it creates "Puffing" because the gas it held inside the battery in a semi-flexible covering. If they are left at full charge for longer periods of time (it's accumulative) they Off Gas (puff). If they are over discharged they Off Gas (puff) but the SMART circuitry helps to eliminate that option usually. If they are exposed to higher temps at a higher charge level they Off Gas (puff).

LiPo batteries are expendable and even though they "could" last a long time (if properly cared for) they aren't going to last forever and it only takes a small amount of "Puffing" to make them not fit into the battery compartment securely and just a bit more and performance starts to suffer.

Unless you just got your batteries less than 6 months ago and you've not done anything to damage them.... the likelihood of any manufacturer replacing them is little to none.

We used to take a hand full of batteries to the flying field and when one "puffed" you disposed of it without a 2nd thought and grabbed then next one from your battery bag. Now the DJI batteries are SMART and more expensive but the battery chemistry is pretty much the same as years before. Those NEW to the hobby/industry don't see them as expendable and want them to last like their cell phone battery or drill battery does. That's not how it works.....

 

[gnirtS]

Those NEW to the hobby/industry don't see them as expendable and want them to last like their cell phone battery or drill battery does. That's not how it works.....

Those new or not so new would realistically expect a battery operated, stored and maintained within spec to get more than 20 cycles.

 

[BigAl07]

Those new or not so new would realistically expect a battery operated, stored and maintained within spec to get more than 20 cycles.

Those QUOTING might include more of my statement as to not change the message I was sending.....(See below)

Unless you just got your batteries less than 6 months ago and you've not done anything to damage them.... the likelihood of any manufacturer replacing them is little to none.

 

[msinger]

Those new or not so new would realistically expect a battery operated, stored and maintained within spec to get more than 20 cycles.

Lots of people don't know how to operate, store, and/or maintain a DJI battery within spec. This is likely why many of them fail.

 

[gnirtS]

Lots of people don't know how to operate, store, and/or maintain a DJI battery within spec. This is likely why many of them fail.

Quite possibly. But certainly not all.

It also seems M1 batteries had substantially less of a problem. You wouldnt expect M2 owners to suddenly start mistreating batteries more than mavic1 in large numbers yet the swelling rates of M2 is far higher.

Again im convinced its related to maximum temperature and its significantly lower than M1 and lower than DJI claim is ok.

 

[BigAl07]

Quite possibly. But certainly not all.

It also seems M1 batteries had substantially less of a problem. You wouldnt expect M2 owners to suddenly start mistreating batteries more than mavic1 in large numbers yet the swelling rates of M2 is far higher.

Again im convinced its related to maximum temperature and its significantly lower than M1 and lower than DJI claim is ok.

M2 is the new kid on the block so you'll see (we are seeing) lots more NEW operators flying M2 now so statistically they will have a higher problem/failure/pilot error rate. We saw the same thing when the Mavic came out... the Phantom "problems" started declining and the Mavic problems increased exponentially. Same situation with M2 variants over the MP and MPP variants. By this point most of the NEWBIE mistakes with MP and MPP are behind us (I said most because we are still seeing them) but M2 variant problem/failure/pilot error reports are indeed increasing.

This is the normal Rise & Fall we see with any changing of the guard in terms or aircraft variants and IMHO no indication of a manufacturer defect. I could be proven wrong but I doubt it.

 

[gnirtS]

We didnt see significant numbers of users reporting mavic 1 batteries swelling between 6 and 11 months after release. The battery behaviour is different.
Mavic 2 batteries are being operated within limits and more are swelling and becoming unusable far far earlier than mavic 1 batteries.

 

[Mike4884]

Lots of people don't know how to operate, store, and/or maintain a DJI battery within spec. This is likely why many of them fail.

Truth cant say it enough....all 3 of my mavic 2 lipos are doing just fine. But i have been around lipos forever so know how to take care....i think i have 61 cycles on 1 55 on 2 and 55 on 3 not a hint of swelling....and im in pa near philly it has been hot! Hottest summer i can remember thats for sure

 

[paulatkin73]

We didnt see significant numbers of users reporting mavic 1 batteries swelling between 6 and 11 months after release. The battery behaviour is different.
Mavic 2 batteries are being operated within limits and more are swelling and becoming unusable far far earlier than mavic 1 batteries.

It is due to new chemistry of those 4.35v hi voltage lipos. To be honest, i am not a fan. They do pack a bit of more energy into a cell, but, much more sensitive to discharge and abuse. I have an emax tinyhawk that uses 1 cell hi voltage lipos, so, out of a dozen batteries i got for it only 5 of a specific brand survived. Rest died - some swelled, some simply stopped holding charge - instead of a 3min flight they were doing 1.5min or so. Keeping them charged for long time definitely kills them, very fast. An old CNHL 100c lipos for my racing drone i keep sometimes charged up for a week or so - and it never has issues, i have a dozen of those, in 1500mah.

 

[Mike4884]

It is due to new chemistry of those 4.35v hi voltage lipos. To be honest, i am not a fan. They do pack a bit of more energy into a cell, but, much more sensitive to discharge and abuse. I have an emax tinyhawk that uses 1 cell hi voltage lipos, so, out of a dozen batteries i got for it only 5 of a specific brand survived. Rest died - some swelled, some simply stopped holding charge - instead of a 3min flight they were doing 1.5min or so. Keeping them charged for long time definitely kills them, very fast. An old CNHL 100c lipos for my racing drone i keep sometimes charged up for a week or so - and it never has issues, i have a dozen of those, in 1500mah.

Well lets be honest also there is no such thing as good or lasting 1s or 2s packs.....small lipis just never last especially in your situation with the tinyhawk....just the nature of it.....thats why i have a **** load of 1s and 2s lipis for my nano cpx brushless, mcpx, bl , nano qx etc....but yea man kinda irrelevant to this topic if im being honest for hv cells or regular cells being 1s or 2s....i def agree on "keeping them charged for a long time kills them"...that is very true!

 

[paulatkin73]

Well lets be honest also there is no such thing as good or lasting 1s or 2s packs.....small lipis just never last especially in your situation with the tinyhawk....just the nature of it.....thats why i have a **** load of 1s and 2s lipis for my nano cpx brushless, mcpx, bl , nano qx etc....but yea man kinda irrelevant to this topic if im being honest for hv cells or regular cells being 1s or 2s....i def agree on "keeping them charged for a long time kills them"...that is very true!

Hv cells die way faster than regular cells.

 

[Mike4884]

So my p4p mavic pro and zoom batteries ( all hv) last as long as my non HV 12 s, 14s stick packs, 6s packs and my 4s packs. So by your logic thats wrong

 

[bkushner]

Has anyone else experienced swelling of their batteries with fairly little use?
I bought the drone in September, standard fly more pack. Each battery has had between 18 and 22 charges according to the Go4 App, never run down below about 20%, usually 50% max. Charged with the standard DJI charger. Sport mode is never used - its a photo bird so 75% of its time is spend in the hover and very little else.

Ive reached the point now all 3 of my batteries are so swollen underneath the slightest bang on the drone unlocks one side of the clip leaving the whole thing help on by just the clip on one side which is obviously a recipe for losing the drone if the other side detaches.

One of the batteries after a flight is so tight the power button is recessed to the point i cant push it down to power off any more.

Do these things just not like operating in warm temperatures? I live in the tropics with ambient air temps in the mid 30s celcius.

My old Mavic 1 batteries also swelled up but that was after a year of fairly heavy use.

Is there any chance of a warranty claim here or am i just screwed as its "wear and tear"? Ive just bought a new, 4th battery for flights over water as i dont trust any of the current 3 not to detach in flight and if they do, i want the drone back for a refresh claim!. View attachment 68249

Every battery I bought when the drone was released has puffed once warm weather hit. Something obviously wrong with production and no longer under warranty.

 

[johnsctt78]

I have a mavic pro battery that is showing a verysmall sign of bloat(fully charged in pics),should this just monitored at this point or discarded

 

[Mike4884]

Every battery I bought when the drone was released has puffed once warm weather hit. Something obviously wrong with production and no longer under warranty.

Weird....me and u are from same area.... And mine have been fine in warm / hot weather....

 

[Greenflash]

My three batteries also show “swelling” at about 70 charges each. Not to serious but putting strain on the two latching points. I am using thin velcro ties to keep the battery in place. So far so good!

 

[Mike4884]

My three batteries also show “swelling” at about 70 charges each. Not to serious but putting strain on the two latching points. I am using thin velcro ties to keep the battery in place. So far so good!

I wouldnt trust that man because if the battery just wiggles a little bit Where the two connection points meet it's game over