Can I ask a stupid question about batteries?

[mikeL]

With the current weather I am finding I charge batteries that then don't get used for a while and I have to run them down inside the house.

Could I just connect the battery to a 24v light bulb or will that damage the battery?

I would like to order a "Inspire Angel" but as I will have to pay customs charge it will be expensive.

Any other suggestions?

Mike

 

[IrishSights]

No customs to pay if you are in the UK. Alec lives in Greece

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[mikeL]

The other question - is there a simple plug in battery checker that will work on the Inspire batteries giving the cell voltages without the hassle of having to setup the aircraft?

 

[mikeL]

No customs to pay if you are in the UK. Alec lives in Greece

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Well thats good - I made and assumption as I saw the $ sign - my fault. I might just order one one then and play it safe.

 

[IrishSights]

Mike, Not per cell as far as know.

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[mikeL]

I must admit I am not a fan of these "smart" batteries - I would rather have a smart charger!

 

[IrishSights]

All my flights get uploaded to healthydrones.com. I can check how each battery performs under load after each flight. Some of the data is information overload but it helped me spot a potential failing battery before I had to retire it for testing only.

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[IrishSights]

I must admit I am not a fan of these "smart" batteries - I would rather have a smart charger!

The charging and balancing circuitry IS in the smart battery. The 'charger' is not really a charger at all, it's just a power supply.

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[mikeL]

Thats what I mean - i would rather have the extra smart charger tech on the ground built into a smart charger and not being flown around. Normal lipo batteries are a 3rd of the price of theses smart batteries and much less hassle. It one of the few things I like with my Yuneec Typhoon H over my P3.

 

[IrishSights]

Mike, you can set any battery to start to self discharge after 2 days (in the GO app) for example. Then you only need to fully charge the used ones and avoid the temptation to press the battery buttons...which will rest the discharge timer.

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[eldorado]

Mike, you can set any battery to start to self discharge after 2 days (in the GO app) for example. Then you only need to fully charge the used ones and avoid the temptation to press the battery buttons...which will rest the discharge timer.

Great thread! So I interpret this to mean that it is better to let the batt self discharge on it's own (2 day) and the hassle of burning a bulb is overkill and not really necessary?
Second question related... A year ago DJI was adamant about calibrating the battery. That seems to have disappeared. I have not been prompted to calibrate in 6 months or more?

 

[mikeL]

How quickly will they discharge from full to 50% and will topping them up from E.g. 90% be ok?

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[eldorado]

How quickly will they discharge from full to 50% and will topping them up from E.g. 90% be ok?

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Not sure how fast they discharge.
I always power on the batteries and charge to auto power off even if they were charged to 100% the night before.

 

[IrishSights]

Great thread! So I interpret this to mean that it is better to let the batt self discharge on it's own (2 day) and the hassle of burning a bulb is overkill and not really necessary?
Second question related... A year ago DJI was adamant about calibrating the battery. That seems to have disappeared. I have not been prompted to calibrate in 6 months or more?

I have the Angel but I use it for cycling the battery. I do it every 20 charges. l can't remember where that came from originally but it's in my Ops manual. I think it is only to recalibrate the charge with the % values displayed in the GO app as it seems to get out of sync...just my observation. It also seems to be used, or used to be used, by the flight controller to manage various warnings and cutoffs. Maybe over successive firmware updates the internals have moved away from depending on the % value towards actual values.

I don't fly by watching the the % so much as watching the voltage.

Up to recently I used the Angel for storage but with up to 6 batteries it was a right pain. They are all set to 2 day discharge which is the way I did it before I got the Angel. It's just the way it works best for me.

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[mikeL]

Is there any difference in just plugging in the charger or powering on the battery then plugging in the charger?

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[Kilrah]

If you don't power it on it won't start charging if it's already above 95% or so, so you might lose a couple of %. Doubt it changes much in practice, but those of us with OCD tendencies absolutely HAVE to be sure it's as full as it can be

 

[mikeL]

I didn't know that - must read the manual properly!!

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[Tanzer16]

I know it's probably in a thread somewhere , but what individual cell voltage is your limit rather than going by percentage?


Thanks

 

[eldorado]

I have the Angel but I use it for cycling the battery. I do it every 20 charges. l can't remember where that came from originally but it's in my Ops manual. I think it is only to recalibrate the charge with the % values displayed in the GO app as it seems to get out of sync...just my observation. It also seems to be used, or used to be used, by the flight controller to manage various warnings and cutoffs. Maybe over successive firmware updates the internals have moved away from depending on the % value towards actual values.

I don't fly by watching the the % so much as watching the voltage.

Up to recently I used the Angel for storage but with up to 6 batteries it was a right pain. They are all set to 2 day discharge which is the way I did it before I got the Angel. It's just the way it works best for me.

My OPs manual has the same calibration procedures but I have not seen any of the warnings (reminders ;-) I used to get in the GO APP. IF the batteries do not need to be deep cycled anymore that would be better for their working lifespan. I so watch the % closely though at one point was watching all six cel levels like a hawk.