Winter Battery Storage?

[harleymhs]

Hey Guys, I live in the NY area and do not fly much in the winter months.. What do all you guys do with the charge levels of your batteries when storing for the winter months.. The Mavic battery discharges itself in time anyway so topping them off seems to be a waste being they will discharge anyway in a week or so! I put them away with 25% charge on them... thanks!

 

[msinger]

Here's what I do:

• I set the appropriate days to discharge time in DJI GO for each battery (2 days in my case since I mostly only fly on weekends)
• I don't constantly press the battery button to check the current charge level (since that resets the time to discharge counter)
• I check the charge level on my batteries once per month by pressing the battery button
  
• When the 2nd battery light is blinking, I charge the battery until the 3rd light starts blinking (that way it doesn't have to discharge down from 100% again)

Pressing the button on the battery shows its current charge level. Here's what the lights mean:



Note: The red box is where you want your batteries to be while in storage.
Note: DJI recommends storing batteries between 40%-65% charged in the Battery Safety Guidelines.

 

[53-63-6f-74-74]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. They are called 'smart' batteries for a reason. After a certain amount of discharge/time they will supposedly enter a hibernation mode. At the most I might check on them or put them on the charger once every two or three months, but I'm not sure that's even really necessary.

 

[royster]

Msinger -
Do you follow these same charging rules with your RC batteries?
I fly a P3A & Mavic pro, between them, i have 7 batteries to babysit.

 

[msinger]

Do you follow these same charging rules with your RC batteries?

I recharge my RC batteries when they are down to one light (or before flying).

 

[Jameslavis]

I didn’t think you could change discharge on MA batteries. I just charge before use. Typically weekends only.

 

[ScottinPollock]

If you must store your batteries for weeks/months at a time, 33% is ideal.

But if you want to keep them in tip top shape, you must regularly cycle electrons through them. Consider getting one of the power bank adaptors and use your DJI batteries to charge/power your USB devices occasionally. That way you can run them down a bit (doesn't really need to be all that much - say 20-30%) and recharge them.

 

[msinger]

I didn’t think you could change discharge on MA batteries.

You're correct. The Mavic Air batteries default to 10 days and that setting cannot be changed since it's hidden in DJI GO.

 

[Turn11]

Note: The red box is where you want your batteries to be while in storage.

Why not charge to 100% then let it discharge to 25% - 37.5%? I am not challenging, asking for information.

 

[msinger]

Why not charge to 100% then let it discharge to 25% - 37.5%? I am not challenging, asking for information.

While you could do that, it's nothing more than a waste of time since the auto discharge process will discharge the battery down to ~65% within 12 days (or less).

 

[Turn11]

While you could do that, it's nothing more than a waste of time since the auto discharge process will discharge the battery down to ~65% within 12 days (or less).

Thank you

 

[Turn11]

Note: The red box is where you want your batteries to be while in storage.

I know from personal experience with a RC Rock crawler (after trashing a battery) that this is the correct procedure. I looked (maybe not hard enough) where does DJI Mavic state how to store batteries for a long period of time. I couldn't find it in the Battery PDF or the MPP User Guide. It talks about auto discharge but I couldn't find where it says when to charge them.

 

[msinger]

I couldn't find where it says when to charge them

You should charge the batteries when the current charge level is outside of that red box.

 

[ScottyV]

I set the appropriate days to discharge time in DJI GO for each battery (2 days in my case since I mostly only fly on weekends)

Is it bad to have them fully charged for a week?

 

[Mossiback]

Is it bad to have them fully charged for a week?

Since DJI sets the auto-discharge default to 10 days, I don't think you need to worry about having them charged for 7 days.

 

[msinger]

Is it bad to have them fully charged for a week?

No. However, your batteries probably won't last as long if you continuously charge them and then let them wait a full week before auto discharging. Try to keep the charge level within the red box (from my image above) as much as reasonably possible.

 

[ScottyV]

No. However, your batteries probably won't last as long if you continuously charge them and then let them wait a full week before auto discharging. Try to keep the charge level within the red box (from my image above) as much as reasonably possible.

Cool, thanks for the info

 

[basophil]

I've charged the MA batteries to about 40% since I don't anticipate using them for a month or two. Is it safe to store them in the flymore pack and drone airframe? Or do they require special storage packs?

 

[Turn11]

Is it safe to store them

Suggest seeing post #2.
@msinger might give his thoughts on using these guidelines on the MA.

 

[Mossiback]

...Is it safe to store them in the flymore pack and drone airframe...

A general rule for any battery operated device, remove the battery from the device if it will not be used in the near future. It would rule out battery corrosion on the connectors.

Regarding storage, I have yet to read about a DJI Mavic battery catching fire while being stored. They get warm while in use and charging but not in storage so leaving in the flymore pack should be fine.