What does the battery (pro) count as a charge?

[lion]

Obviously the battery has a charge counter, my question is what does the battery consider a charge? It is each time it is plugged in, or each time is is discharged and then charged again?

The reason I ask is sometimes I need to pack up and move before a battery has fully charged,and then resume when I reach my next destination, I don't know if this is bad practice for batteries or not, but it is necessity with time at the moment. If I charged up to say 75% then unplugged in and resumed an hour later up to 100% would that count as 2 charges?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Good question, as many people also don’t run their batteries totally down either.
Some return to base with 5% remaining, others feel they are pushing the envelope if it’s 15 to 20%.
Or simply shoot half a battery and that’s it.
So are 2 runs on a same battery where you use 50% each flight, and charged between, counted as 2 charges even though only partial, or does the process add up to cumulatively be counted as one 100% charge ?
Apart from trying to keep balanced use over x number of batteries for an even life, does it matter ??

 

[BerndM]

Why are you asking about this? Just curious.
If I am approaching the max flying time, I bring the MP back to me and just let it hover till it self lands.
This way all my batteries are always drawn down to the same levels
I don't know if this makes any sort of difference but it's just what I do.

 

[lion]

Good question, as many people also don’t run their batteries totally down either.
Some return to base with 5% remaining, others feel they are pushing the envelope if it’s 15 to 20%.
Or simply shoot half a battery and that’s it.
So are 2 runs on a same battery where you use 50% each flight, and charged between, counted as 2 charges even though only partial, or does the process add up to cumulatively be counted as one 100% charge ?
Apart from trying to keep balanced use over x number of batteries for an even life, does it matter ??

Good question on the discharge pattern, I would presume two flights on one battery would not move the counter if it is not put on charge. The rest it would be nice to know. If used then charged does it matter what percent it is down before charging counts? (say one were to make a quick flight that uses 9% and then they were to top up, would that count as a full charge cycle?) And does charging and then stopping and starting the charge again count as two separate cycles?

We use the MP as a piece of equipment and it has daily use of anywhere from 5 to 50 kilometers. I would like to know so we can monitor performance and plan battery life accordingly across the bank we have, and for planning replacements. One battery is at 75 cycles already, I hope they have come up with a cheaper and less wasteful method of refreshing them after the 200-500 stated cycles.

If we use each battery twice a day for a year say, that's 730 uses. That is between 2 and 4 replacements in a year. Let's say you need 4 batteries to work effectively, the difference is either eight or sixteen batteries. £640 or £1280. Big difference!

Now, I don't see why I should have to pay for a new case, circuit board, button, set of LED's, and all that rare earth metal that's being used in order to replace a few polymer batteries, and as new battery technology becomes available I don't see why the cells can not be replaced for better materials. We did not purchase a product that costs it's self in batteries to run each year, and will be flogging it for something more reliable if that is the case.

I have met a few hobby-makers now who build their own, I'm sure we can design something that will appeal to both professionals and anyone environmentally minded.

 

[BerndM]

Did I miss something??
It sounds like you are saying that the batteries have a max recharge counter that makes you have to replace them.
I guess I missed that, assuming it is in the manual

 

[lion]

Did I miss something??
It sounds like you are saying that the batteries have a max recharge counter that makes you have to replace them.
I guess I missed that, assuming it is in the manual

There is no counter like that, the life of any battery is finite, and depends on many factors ( How to prolong the life of your Batteries. ) It will stop working eventually. [EDIT: There is a charge count in the battery menu]

Thank JP Morgan for killing Nikola Tesla's free energy and locking the human race into a path of mass extinction...

 

[Searching81]

I'd really like a feature on the charger to recharge a battery only to storage level, rather than trying to do it manually and overshooting/forgetting and fully charging it... it's extra wear on the battery that isn't required

 

[BerndM]

 

[hootbird]

A charge cycle would be when the charge amounts equal 100%. Example, when a battery is at 60% and you charge it to 100%, that would be 40% of a charge cycle. The next time you charge it from example 40% to 100%, that 60% would be added to the previous 40% to equal 100% or one charge cycle. You may charge a battery several times before the total adds up to 100%, or one charge cycle. I ran into this using my Phantom 3 pro.

I knew I had charge a particular battery several times without the charge cycle increasing. I kept track of the battery per cent charged. Only when the total per cent charged equaled 100% was the charge count incremented.

 

[lion]

A charge cycle would be when the charge amounts equal 100%. Example, when a battery is at 60% and you charge it to 100%, that would be 40% of a charge cycle. The next time you charge it from example 40% to 100%, that 60% would be added to the previous 40% to equal 100% or one charge cycle. You may charge a battery several times before the total adds up to 100%, or one charge cycle. I ran into this using my Phantom 3 pro.

I knew I had charge a particular battery several times without the charge cycle increasing. I kept track of the battery per cent charged. Only when the total per cent charged equaled 100% was the charge count incremented.

That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought that! It is misleading to say the least.

 

[Kilrah]

Did I miss something??
It sounds like you are saying that the batteries have a max recharge counter that makes you have to replace them.

There is a counter but it is informative only so YOU can make sure you use your batteries pretty evenly.

 

[SunnyD]

A charge cycle would be when the charge amounts equal 100%. Example, when a battery is at 60% and you charge it to 100%, that would be 40% of a charge cycle. The next time you charge it from example 40% to 100%, that 60% would be added to the previous 40% to equal 100% or one charge cycle. You may charge a battery several times before the total adds up to 100%, or one charge cycle. I ran into this using my Phantom 3 pro.

I knew I had charge a particular battery several times without the charge cycle increasing. I kept track of the battery per cent charged. Only when the total per cent charged equaled 100% was the charge count incremented.

Thanks for doing the research on this. I hope this is the case across all DJI lipo batteries.
A much better practice to fly till you get the footage you need (whether 5% or 75%) and know you're not damaging your batteries for "underuse".

 

[whiskeylover]

Apart from trying to keep balanced use over x number of batteries for an even life, does it matter ??

What's the point of balancing the batteries? In applications where you use multiple batteries in parallel (in an electrical circuit), it makes sense to keep them balanced. Otherwise, can you explain the reason to keep them balanced?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

What's the point of balancing the batteries? In applications where you use multiple batteries in parallel (in an electrical circuit), it makes sense to keep them balanced. Otherwise, can you explain the reason to keep them balanced?

I suppose to ensure you get the most from them all over time, but perhaps more so not overuse 1 or 2 of them and bring them to a premature early end of life.

Why have the counter if there is not good reason to utilise it, it must have some importance.
So too people numbering their batteries.
Almost everyone seems to do this, but even then using the next in the series might not be enough to maintain even usage long term, the occasional check on the stats will be interesting.
So far I haven’t done this yet, just use 1-2-3-4-1-2- and so on.