Batteries

[R.Perry]

I wanted to get some feedback from those of you that use more than one battery or sets of batteries. Our lithium ion polymer or LiPo batteries have some of the same weaknesses as the other lithium batteries.

Over heating seems to be one of the quickest ways to damage these batteries. When I first started flying drones I noticed once the battery fell below 20% it got hot. After my first battery failure I decided to land and change batteries once they hit the 30% mark. This obviously causes more frequent battery changes but the battery temp remains relatively low, and hopefully prolongs the life of the batteries.

Also, most days I will only use three or four pairs of batteries. I was told to rotate the batteries and I now rotate my batteries so they all get the same usage. Considering the cost of these batteries I want to get as much life out of them as possible.

Knowing these batteries have a limited number of recharging cycles am I being too cautious changing batteries at 30%? Any other advice on battery care would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MapMaker53]

I regularly change batteries out at around 30% and recharge. (1) I don't like flying any distance away when they drop into the 20-30% range, preferring to be heading home at that point and (2) I wouldn't fly another mission if at or below 30% unless it literally was a shot I needed to take right in front of me. I'm guessing this is one reason why I've had my Phantom so long.

 

[BigAl07]

We typically try to land in the 30% range. I'd rather have a couple extra batteries on hand than to try and stretch it out and lose the aircraft. In the last year I can only remember starting a new flying session at less than 50% and it was literally straight up, shoot some PANO shots and straight down.

We inspect monthly all batteries and log their "status". This allows us to see which batteries are getting more frequent use and also gives us an opportunity (at least in theory) to see a trend with a specific battery.

We err on the side of caution and thus far it's paid off for our company. YMMV