Hello! I heared that you should discharge Your battery every 3 months to 8%. So i did by hovering in air. Is this the best method? Or how to do it better? Or should I even do it?

Hello and good day Filip Kyzek. Thank you for the inquiry. Please avoid draining your intelligent flight battery lower than 8%. For additional reference, I will be posting a link on how to properly maintain the battery of your DJI Phantom 4 Pro. I hope this can help you. Thank you.

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... y+Guidelines+En.pdf

The battery can be used in the following ways:

- Fly the drone (the easiest method)
- Turn the drone on with the props and motors off and let it run until the battery shuts off (run the drone in a cool place or point a fan at it to keep it from overheating)
- Connect the battery to the DJI USB Charger via the DC Power Cable and charge another electronic device until the battery shuts off

Note: There's really no need to discharge batteries below around 20%.

You can find other tips on caring for your batteries here:
HOW TO: Maintain and store your DJI Phantom batteries

DJI Stephen Posted at 1-25 09:26
Hello and good day Filip Kyzek. Thank you for the inquiry. Please avoid draining your intelligent flight battery lower than 8%. For additional reference, I will be posting a link on how to properly maintain the battery of your DJI Phantom 4 Pro. I hope this can help you. Thank you.

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_4_pro/20170125/flight+battery+safety+guidelines/Phantom+4+Series+Intelligent+Flight+Battery+Safety+Guidelines+En.pdf

Okay! So that’s wrong thing to charge it and discharge it every 3 months? Because it says it in the manual you send me. It was meant to discharge like normally for example to 20%?

Filip Kyzek Posted at 1-25 11:15
Okay! So that’s wrong thing to charge it and discharge it every 3 months? Because it says it in the manual you send me. It was meant to discharge like normally for example to 20%?

Read the post again.  He's saying don't discharge it below 8%.  "Below 8%" and "to 8%" are two different things.  "Below 8%" was recommended for the P2 batteries.  "To 8%" first appeared when the P3 was introduced.  Then DJI edited it completely out of the recommendations so that no discharge maintenance was recommended at all.  Then they added it in again later.  As the P4 was introduced, we've seen the percentages range from all the way down to 2% to as high as 8%.  At this point, it seems nobody is really sure what the best maintenance bottom discharge is, including DJI.  On any particular day, opinions on the best bottom discharge percentage vary like the wind.  

...

There is quite a bit of controversy regarding this type of discharge maintenance.  Many of the veteran DJI pilots on this site and others don't do this type of deep discharge at all and claim their batteries stay in good health and last for years.  That includes me.  

Good luck.

It is actually bad policy to discharge ANY LiPo cell to low values.

For DJI cells - the ONLY advantage is resetting the charge control counter ... it does NOTHING else good ..

Its a myth hanging over from old days when LiPo's first arrived and balance charge was literally little known .. Then it was common for people to discharge to a low level to try and equalise cells before mass charging back up again. Unfortunately - I am old enough to remember those days ! Luckily common sense then prevailed and balance info became known.

Looking after LiPo cells is based on storage levels of 30 - 50% charge ... not running down cells too low ... most RC LiPo users will try not to go below 20% at any time.

If you really want to go low ... and I suggest you only do it rarely ... then please get a discharger instead of beating the poor old Phantom / Mavic etc...

DJI will one day amend its literature to be inline with other battery studies / info.

solentlife Posted at 1-25 11:27
It is actually bad policy to discharge ANY LiPo cell to low values.

For DJI cells - the ONLY advantage is resetting the charge control counter ... it does NOTHING else good ..

When I fly I usually fly down to about 25%. I then store it at that until I charge it again for next flight. Do you think it's better to charge it to about 50% or am I ok leaving it at 25%?

solentlife Posted at 1-25 11:27
It is actually bad policy to discharge ANY LiPo cell to low values.

For DJI cells - the ONLY advantage is resetting the charge control counter ... it does NOTHING else good ..

Agree

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 1-25 11:31
When I fly I usually fly down to about 25%. I then store it at that until I charge it again for next flight. Do you think it's better to charge it to about 50% or am I ok leaving it at 25%?

Depends on when your next flight is.  

ALABAMA Posted at 1-25 12:49
Depends on when your next flight is.

During the non winter months i usually fly about 2 times a week. During winter its maybe once every 2 weeks.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 1-25 13:44
During the non winter months i usually fly about 2 times a week. During winter its maybe once every 2 weeks.

It should be fine then.

Surely DJI are capable of outlining the correct charge/discharge/storage method ??  If your method as outlined in the owners manual is correct then please confirm it.  If it is not,  then please amend it & advise !  There has been so much written on the forum about the do's & don't's.  
DJI where are you ?????????????????????????????

One other point...

My understanding is, the percentages read out that we see on our apps have been mucked with over the years as the more modern Phantoms have been released.  My understanding is, 0% on the old P2 batteries was very close to actually being 0% of useable power.  8% was 8%, and so on.  But to prevent the idiot public from flying too far and crashing their DJI drones, DJI made slight changes in the percentage readings with the P3 and P4 batteries.  So 8% on the read out was actually more than 8% of useable voltage.  0% was actually not 0%, it was more than 0%.  This minimized the number of crashed drones and also made it harder to damage the batteries by flying them too low.  But this meant DJI had to lower the deep discharge rate, because the so-called calibration isn't triggered unless the battery power is discharged low enough.  Hence, the recommended bottom discharge percentage for maintenance dropped.  

ALABAMA Posted at 1-25 12:49
Depends on when your next flight is.

Exactly ....

If you plan to fly one or two days later - then leaving at 25% is fine. 50% is actually near the top of recc'd range level for storage (recc'd for all LiPo's normal and HV is from 3.7V to 3.85V per cell).

I usually have my batterys standing at 25 - 30% .... even when I travel on business .. never had any problems when I return. I am a regular flyer though once home.

If you plan to leave them for a longer period - then I suggest a simpler plan .... charge up full and let the Auto-Discharge function do its job. No need to fiddle about with 50% and such ...

Nigel

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 1-25 13:44
During the non winter months i usually fly about 2 times a week. During winter its maybe once every 2 weeks.

No problem at all ..

Manxmann Posted at 1-26 01:20
Surely DJI are capable of outlining the correct charge/discharge/storage method ??  If your method as outlined in the owners manual is correct then please confirm it.  If it is not,  then please amend it & advise !  There has been so much written on the forum about the do's & don't's.  
DJI where are you ?????????????????????????????

You'll be lucky ... so many requests for various but nothing happened.

My suggestion to newcomers is to trawl the web through battery sites and formulate own plan ... incorporating the DJI Battery system board into it ... which basically comes down to that auto-discharge routine. Not much else you can do I reckon.

Mark The Droner Posted at 1-26 04:46
One other point...

My understanding is, the percentages read out that we see on our apps have been mucked with over the years as the more modern Phantoms have been released.  My understanding is, 0% on the old P2 batteries was very close to actually being 0% of useable power.  8% was 8%, and so on.  But to prevent the idiot public from flying too far and crashing their DJI drones, DJI made slight changes in the percentage readings with the P3 and P4 batteries.  So 8% on the read out was actually more than 8% of useable voltage.  0% was actually not 0%, it was more than 0%.  This minimized the number of crashed drones and also made it harder to damage the batteries by flying them too low.  But this meant DJI had to lower the deep discharge rate, because the so-called calibration isn't triggered unless the battery power is discharged low enough.  Hence, the recommended bottom discharge percentage for maintenance dropped.

Tests carried out by myself and others I communicated with / plus other club members found that our P3 batterys shut down ~3.00V per cell. One or two dipped below to about 2.9V.

If a cell dipped below 3.0V ... only a fixed voltage supply such as the DJI charger can get it back up again. Programmable LiPo chargers will default to variable voltage and fails to trigger the charge control board ... Once cells are all above 3.0V each -  then LiPo chargers will work as long as battery is switched on first.

But the main point is the 3.0V per cell shut down.

Manxmann Posted at 1-26 01:20
Surely DJI are capable of outlining the correct charge/discharge/storage method ??  If your method as outlined in the owners manual is correct then please confirm it.  If it is not,  then please amend it & advise !  There has been so much written on the forum about the do's & don't's.  
DJI where are you ?????????????????????????????

Unfortunately DJI's technical communication is as bad as their drones are good.

Just look at the different and incorrect compass information they still put in the manuals of some of their drones.
And they still don't have a warning that you should never launch from a steel or reinforced concrete surface although it is well known that this is very risky and has been responsible for the loss of many drones.

solentlife Posted at 1-26 08:55
You'll be lucky ... so many requests for various but nothing happened.

My suggestion to newcomers is to trawl the web through battery sites and formulate own plan ... incorporating the DJI Battery system board into it ... which basically comes down to that auto-discharge routine. Not much else you can do I reckon.

If it looks like no flying for a week or so - I reset the 'days to discharge' setting  follow either the 2 day auto discharge system  or I fly the batteries down to about 50/55% and park em up.  I leave the RC turned on until it discharges to the same approximate level.
It is interesting that there is very little info on correctly storing the RC.  Comments have been made such as "Oh,  it's a far smaller battery"  etc.  That means nowt to me,  but does make me wonder if the 60/65% battery storage level is designed for the longevity of the battery or for SAFE storage ????

solentlife Posted at 1-26 08:59
Tests carried out by myself and others I communicated with / plus other club members found that our P3 batterys shut down ~3.00V per cell. One or two dipped below to about 2.9V.

If a cell dipped below 3.0V ... only a fixed voltage supply such as the DJI charger can get it back up again. Programmable LiPo chargers will default to variable voltage and fails to trigger the charge control board ... Once cells are all above 3.0V each -  then LiPo chargers will work as long as battery is switched on first.

This is where we start confusing capacity with voltage init ?

Labroides Posted at 1-26 13:05
Unfortunately DJI's technical communication is as bad as their drones are good.

Just look at the different and incorrect compass information they still put in the manuals of some of their drones.

Yeah,  there is just sooo much steel about & then you look at all the EMF around major towns,   cities & other structures.

I must admit that on the odd occasion I have been guilty of launching from my car rooftop,  although nowadays if the ground surface is a bit iffy I hand launch & retrieve.  Quite happy to do that.

Manxmann Posted at 1-27 00:53
If it looks like no flying for a week or so - I reset the 'days to discharge' setting  follow either the 2 day auto discharge system  or I fly the batteries down to about 50/55% and park em up.  I leave the RC turned on until it discharges to the same approximate level.
It is interesting that there is very little info on correctly storing the RC.  Comments have been made such as "Oh,  it's a far smaller battery"  etc.  That means nowt to me,  but does make me wonder if the 60/65% battery storage level is designed for the longevity of the battery or for SAFE storage ????

Technical vs practical.

RC uses LiPo ... 1S in the P3 standard ... 2S in the Adv / Pro versions ... (I don't have Mavic or Spark).

Technically - yes reducing to storage level of 30 - 50% is same as flight packs being LiPo.

Practical ? Its same as the general Rc Tx's where LiPo's are used ... most people just keep them charged up as the current draw when working is so low as to not create problems with internal resistance.

Its a different story with flight packs of course - because of the watts demand ... means high amps and that when confronted with high internal resistance creates a large voltage drop and short time.

It is good practice to storage level the RC battery - cannot be denied ... but it is not so critical as the flight batterys.
I have 5 RC Tx's with LiPo's (all ex flght batterys that with high IR are not good for flight but excellent for Tx) ... and my P3 RC's (3 of them) ... all charged up to use. The RC Tx's have been like that for years ... my P3's for as long as I have had them. No problem.

Manxmann Posted at 1-27 00:54
This is where we start confusing capacity with voltage init ?

Because there is no practical way to determine capacity without charge - discharge tests ... Voltage is the only reasonable way to gauge.

LiPo's have a tabulated capacity vs voltage reference that is perfectly adequate for our use.

solentlife Posted at 1-27 01:32
Technical vs practical.

RC uses LiPo ... 1S in the P3 standard ... 2S in the Adv / Pro versions ... (I don't have Mavic or Spark).

I'm with you ............  

solentlife Posted at 1-27 01:37
Because there is no practical way to determine capacity without charge - discharge tests ... Voltage is the only reasonable way to gauge.

LiPo's have a tabulated capacity vs voltage reference that is perfectly adequate for our use.

mmmmm,  I am not sure about that one.  Maybe the critical word is "adequate"

Have had numerous discussions with caravaners about the "capacity" readout of their house batteries which are generally GSM - never wet cell.  Maybe I am too old to have kept up with technology,  nah,  there's no maybe about it,  however it's got me stuffed how they can be getting a capacity readout as in a/hrs to run.

Manxmann Posted at 1-28 00:46
mmmmm,  I am not sure about that one.  Maybe the critical word is "adequate"

Have had numerous discussions with caravaners about the "capacity" readout of their house batteries which are generally GSM - never wet cell.  Maybe I am too old to have kept up with technology,  nah,  there's no maybe about it,  however it's got me stuffed how they can be getting a capacity readout as in a/hrs to run.

Gees,  I think I may be well out of my depth here.........  I'll stand by & wait for the broadside !
       

Manxmann Posted at 1-28 00:46
mmmmm,  I am not sure about that one.  Maybe the critical word is "adequate"

Have had numerous discussions with caravaners about the "capacity" readout of their house batteries which are generally GSM - never wet cell.  Maybe I am too old to have kept up with technology,  nah,  there's no maybe about it,  however it's got me stuffed how they can be getting a capacity readout as in a/hrs to run.

Its similar to here on the DJI ...

I have boats and they have exact same requirements - in fact greater demand for battery info and care ... due to often not 'parking up' near to mains power !

The A/Hr capability or charge of the Accumulators is still based on voltage reading. Whether Wet Cell or GSM makes no difference except to high high the amp rate they can supply.

When I lived in UK - my first wife was not a boatie person - so we had both boat and caravan. The Caravan had a sophisticated power panel that maintained the onboard twin battery system. It gave Voltage and corresponding capacity readings display. When the batterys were 'tired' and needed replacement - those readings were no different even though they could not supply power for as long as they should or were reported to be by those readings.

Trouble is many people tend to think that just because a battery has xxxx capacity that it can do xxxx work. Not correct. The work it can do is based on Internal Resistance ... actual voltage after voltage drop under load ... amps and then capacity ... let alone determined by demand ...

solentlife Posted at 1-28 02:11
Its similar to here on the DJI ...

I have boats and they have exact same requirements - in fact greater demand for battery info and care ... due to often not 'parking up' near to mains power !

I am with you there.  A lot more to V A & A/hr than the man on the street comprehends.  Perhaps there has been too much Salesman type BS over the years.  And,  as I say of a group of aged caravaners "If there is a group 10 - at least 11 of them will be experts !"  That applies to whatever subject you care to discuss IMHO.