Swollen battery or not?

pinzmann · May 17, 2022

I have a mini 2 battery that is somewhat tight when I insert it into the drone. The other 3 slide in easily. Holding it doesn’t feel any different from the others. Voltage is balanced and it has 23 cycles. Battery is 15 months old. Should I be concerned?
Have no experience with swollen batteries. Well actually I do but those were battery packs for airsoft guns , I think.

Phantomrain.org · May 17, 2022

One of the threats of the swollen battery is that as it heats up pop and disconnect and your drone will drop to the ground because it lost the battery power.

Best thing you can do is to trash the battery properly as they can explode like a smoke bomb. Been there !

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mini 2 in the Rain. Land on the Water.

fgurnee01 · May 18, 2022

Mine is the same as yours. Hasn’t gotten worse. I looked at DJI description of swollen for replacement and mine didn’t qualify. If it changes I will dump it.

pinzmann · May 18, 2022

Now I have another question. I have 2 drones and I keep the batteries with the drone stored in a heavy plastic case.
Should the batteries be stored separately?

cheddar-man · May 18, 2022

Put a straight edge (6" rule) along all sides. If it rocks at all, throw the battery away, don't risk it!

Deleted member 154384 · May 18, 2022

I have heard that they should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for 24 hours which should cause them to completely deflate .. but I have never tested this system.

I recommend STORAGE every time you are done flying or if you are not going to fly the same day, bring the cells to 3.85 volts
A lot of times problems like yours happen because you store charged (or too low) batteries for days.

cheddar-man · May 19, 2022

Just let the battery do what the manufacturer has designed them to do, self discharge to around 96% after one day idle and 75% after 9 days.
Gas generation in lithium ion batteries is a normal thing. Even if you don’t abuse your battery, the normal everyday use of your battery will generate gas through a process called electrolyte decomposition. This decomposition occurs even faster if you overdischarge a battery or overheat a battery. During the decomposition the electrolyte gives off oxygen and it is this which causes the battery to swell. Anybody with a modicum of physics understanding will know that oxygen, in excess is DANGEROUS and with the right conditions HIGHLY COMBUSTABLE.
Dispose of a swollen battery in the correct manner, DON'T use it or play with it, it is not recoverable.

cheddar-man · May 19, 2022

pinzmann said:
Now I have another question. I have 2 drones and I keep the batteries with the drone stored in a heavy plastic case.
Should the batteries be stored separately?

Theoretically, yes, just in case one does decide too combust. Must admit my three batteries are kept in the supplied storage/charging unit. When I'm going to fly I just put the unit on charge and it will top up the batteries ready to fly.

Jam0ne · Jul 22, 2022

cheddar-man said:
Theoretically, yes, just in case one does decide too combust. Must admit my three batteries are kept in the supplied storage/charging unit. When I'm going to fly I just put the unit on charge and it will top up the batteries ready to fly.

I haven't flown in a couple of weeks.
I had purchase the Mini 2 Fly More Combo
I leave 3 batteries stored in the hub charging unit, as you do, then plug-and-charge to full on days of flying...
Yesterday i updated software/firmware and today decide to check my batteries level,
when i found the 3-stored in the Hub was difficult to insert/eject from the AC..
looked at em, the Original 3 that came with the AC at purchase, has swollen up

Now i have to scrap them ...

have 2 additional batteries that were purchased after, those 2 seems fine.I have all the batteries numbered, and i rotate them equally when i fly.

Let me go check what the warranty is on Batteries from DJI

Guess which 2 batteries in the line up is "After-Market" batteries.

Jam0ne · Jul 22, 2022

Steve L · Sep 24, 2022

cheddar-man said:
Put a straight edge (6" rule) along all sides. If it rocks at all, throw the battery away, don't risk it!

Mavic 2 owner here and with four batteries that swell after flight. DJI does not want to admit there’s a problem. They want their sheep to run out and regularly buy more new batteries at $149 ea. The forums a full of battery swelling complaints, and the problem is allowed to continue. DJI needs to stop blaming the consumer.

Phantomrain.org · Sep 24, 2022

Considering you have 4 Batteries you might want to look to see if your charger is Dis Charging Properly.

Sometime the Power Button can be Compromised to where the battery will no longer charge discharge , but in this case , being that its all 4 , I would look into getting a better charger if you do not already have one.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. land on the Water.

Steve L · Sep 24, 2022

Phantomrain.org said:
Considering you have 4 Batteries you might want to look to see if your charger is Dis Charging Properly.

Sometime the Power Button can be Compromised to where the battery will no longer charge discharge , but in this case , being that its all 4 , I would look into getting a better charger if you do not already have one.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. land on the Water.

Thank you. The charger is the original DJI and seems to be fine. The batteries all charge normally with no protracted charging times. I have the discharge set to 5 days and never run the batteries down below 20%, which I might add shortens the flight time. They’re stored indoors, not exposed to extreme temp changes. I know for a fact that complaints regarding their batteries swelling is a very common theme.

Phantomrain.org · Sep 24, 2022

This is true, but the all 4 raised the flag for a bad charger, considering I have had some bad chargers that did not discharge as noted , its worth checking.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

Steve L · Sep 24, 2022

Phantomrain.org said:
This is true, but the all 4 raised the flag for a bad charger, considering I have had some bad chargers that did not discharge as noted , its worth checking.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

Steve L · Sep 24, 2022

The Mavic 2 is the only drone I have. Is battery swelling a common theme on other DJI models as well? I am suspicious that some of these lost drones and fall from the sky scenarios are related to battery decoupling and power loss. This notion of frequent battery replacement can become VERY expensive.

Phantomrain.org · Sep 24, 2022

The Mavic 2 had both the Pro and the zoom model so there were quite a few incidents reported.

There was talk of a bad batch / Year and model . Many batteries swelled during flight and Popped up disconnecting the drone. Some used a strap others used the Wet Suits to keep the Battery Snug , sealed and protected. The Newer Air 2 Drones did not suffer as much as the Mavic 2 did from the Forum posts.

As mentioned the Power Button on the Mavic 2 were very susceptible to moisture / Rain and Sand and Snow to Comprising the battery to swell.

I would let DJI know that all 4 or your Batteries swelled and see what they say.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

Steve L · Sep 24, 2022

Yes I contacted DJI and of course the ‘tech’ person read from her script that they’re out of warranty and I was free to visit their web site and buy yet more batteries. Genius level stuff. I am inclined to contact the FAA and appraise them of the battery swelling issues. They may actually show some interest as this a potential safety issue. I am not inclined to alter the original aircraft design by strapping the battery in place. By The Way- this Mavic Pro is flown is clear VFR conditions. No rain or moisture. I expect that somewhere in the future this battery swelling issue will go mainstream?