To Snap or Not the Snap

[Rchawks]

Someone here years ago mentioned the fact the snapping the batteries in (that dji always shows) will wear down the plastic receptors on the drone over time. With my MA2 I always depressed the tabs to insert and never snapped the battery. I'm considering doing the same with my M3P, do you feel this is a concern for you?

 

[Macinfo]

There is probably various opinions on this, but for my 2 cents, I think the battery would wear out and require replacement long before the mechanism that holds the battery into the drone would fail.

 

[4wd]

On the other hand most DJI drones have eventually had instances of catastrophic power loss due to batteries not being held inside firmly enough to connect perfectly so can detach from the pins under load.
Anything which keeps that clipping action crisp is a good thing.

 

[Macinfo]

On the other hand most DJI drones have eventually had instances of catastrophic power loss due to batteries not being held inside firmly enough to connect perfectly so can detach from the pins under load.
Anything which keeps that clipping action crisp is a good thing.

That issue I think is different, not sure I would call that the same as trying to reduce the pressure by pressing the mounting buttons first before placing the battery in the drone.

Cases I read about were related to battery fails, where it was expanding and failed to properly insert and was not noticed, or was not seated all the way in the first place and came out in flight. One could say by not letting it snap in, you're guessing whether its properly seated in the first place.

 

[MS Coast]

Someone here years ago mentioned the fact the snapping the batteries in (that dji always shows) will wear down the plastic receptors on the drone over time. With my MA2 I always depressed the tabs to insert and never snapped the battery. I'm considering doing the same with my M3P, do you feel this is a concern for you?

I'd suggest that this is low on the list of concerns. The corners of the clips and notches might eventually get slightly rounded, but it's hard to imagine enough wear to allow a fully installed battery to loosen.

Reminds me of an instructor's favorite phrase in a calculus book that he used to tell us not to be concerned with something "[Fill in the blank] is negligible with respect to higher order terms."

 

[Rchawks]

My concern is not the battery tabs per sa, but the small plastic angle tabs inside of the drone that could (?) wear from the snap of insertion. I would think if the battery in flush with the back of the drone it would be locked

 

[Rchawks]

Thanks for the comments!

 

[Macinfo]

My concern is not the battery tabs per sa, but the small plastic angle tabs inside of the drone that could (?) wear from the snap of insertion. I would think if the battery in flush with the back of the drone it would be locked

I don't think that level of wear is a concern and I would not rely on it appearing flush to the back of drone as a means of determining whether the battery is secure..

As I noted in a prior reply, I *think* hearing it clearly snap in place is a more reliable means of determine whether the battery is secure in the holder, and you can also probably pull on it a little to try and verify that its secure, though thats probably not necessary..

 

[old man mavic]

@Rchawks ,from a personal point of view ,i would much rather hear the nice audible click as an indicator of the battery being correctly locked in place
on the other hand, i would be more concerned about damage happening to the tabs, when the battery was being removed from the drone, because the tabs had not been pressed in enough, to clear the locking mechanism

 

[Cymruflyer]

On the other hand most DJI drones have eventually had instances of catastrophic power loss due to batteries not being held inside firmly enough to connect perfectly so can detach from the pins under load.
Anything which keeps that clipping action crisp is a good thing.

I believe most of these were due to the battery being swollen and not noticed and then swelling even more during flight which resulted in that battery forcing itself out of the little plastic brackets that held it in place. Many of us had the swollen battery problem. Thankfully DJI replaced mine without any problem.

 

[WobblingWillie]

I believe most of these were due to the battery being swollen and not noticed and then swelling even more during flight which resulted in that battery forcing itself out of the little plastic brackets that held it in place. Many of us had the swollen battery problem. Thankfully DJI replaced mine without any problem.

Some of those batteries would remain swollen after they cooled but many would return to their normal size when they cooled. Then, when flying, they would heat up and expand and some would expand enough to overcome the latch system and disengage the battery connectors and the drone would fall out of the sky. I have 7 batteries for my Mavic 2 and I have had to retire the oldest 2 due to swelling after they get hot. The third oldest is now suspect and I keep a close eye on that one. I don't fly it many minutes and I never use sport mode with that battery and I rarely ever fly in sport mode with any of my batteries.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I believe that's what I said, they were swollen but not noticed and of course not noticed because the swelling was so minimal until it was in flight. Some are swollen and are obvious, some do go back down to normal after a while but then swell again.

I had three go bad and DJI replaced them all, even though they were passed the warranty. It has to do with the serial numbers. I think there must have been a bad batch that they did not want to admit to.

 

[Siam]

Personally, I do not think it is a concern. But the engineer/math guy in me asks this question:

A: How many recharges can the battery handle before failure or the battery needs to be taken out of service (i.e 500 charges)

B: What is the designed failure time for the locking mechanism? (how many clicks can the tabs endure before failure) (i.e 1000 )

If B is greater than A then there should be no worry since the battery should be disposed of since it hit its limit of recharge cycles

 

[Rchawks]

Ah, the Math equation

 

[WobblingWillie]

I believe that's what I said, they were swollen but not noticed and of course not noticed because the swelling was so minimal until it was in flight. Some are swollen and are obvious, some do go back down to normal after a while but then swell again.

I had three go bad and DJI replaced them all, even though they were passed the warranty. It has to do with the serial numbers. I think there must have been a bad batch that they did not want to admit to.

No, you didn't mention the fact that many did notice the swelling but the batteries returned to their normal size after cooling and that is an important piece of information. Many people thought that since it went back to its normal size, it was ok to use later and that is when they lost their drone. Once a battery starts swelling it is no longer safe to use.