I know there are loads of battery questions and I have done some research, but I couldn't find what I needed.From what I gather optimum way to store for a week or more is to have the battery at 60%.
I went out yesterday and had a long flight, battery is now at 15% (I don't normally run them this low) I'm not going out for another week or 10 days with the drone.
So do I leave the battery at 15% and charge it just before I go out, do I fully charge it and let it sit at 100% and let the auto drain feature kick in or do I charge the batterry to roughly 60% and pull it off the charger?


Not sure if it's wise to part charge a battery and pull it off the charger?

Cheers

I always recharge my batteries to 50% (third LED starts blinking) as soon as I get home and they have cooled down. Far healthier than charging to 100% and leaving them to discharge to 60% over several days. Leaving them at 15% for a week should be fine but not for longer periods though as I say, I always recharge to 50%. I've never had a swollen or defective battery having owned 12 DJI drones over the past four years.

Hello there BostonMavic. Thank you for reaching out and for the information you have posted. The DJI Mavic Air 2 intelligent flight battery has an Auto-Discharging function to prevent the battery for swelling, the battery automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when it is idle for one day and automatically discharges to 60% of the battery level when it is idle for 5 days. It is normal to feel moderate heat being emitted from the battery during the discharging process. For additional reference I will post a list of the intelligent flight battery safety guidelines. Thank you.

Hi I work my original Mavic Pro batteries as AJ does, I fly down to 30% (low battery setting) the when home and cool recharge them till the 3rd light starts flashing and then continue charging for 3 minutes. No battery problems so far.

A J Posted at 8-6 12:53
I always recharge my batteries to 50% (third LED starts blinking) as soon as I get home and they have cooled down. Far healthier than charging to 100% and leaving them to discharge to 60% over several days. Leaving them at 15% for a week should be fine but not for longer periods though as I say, I always recharge to 50%. I've never had a swollen or defective battery having owned 12 DJI drones over the past four years.

Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed response.
Looks like I will be following your battery care guide from now on, thanks for clarifying things

DJI Stephen Posted at 8-6 20:56
Hello there BostonMavic. Thank you for reaching out and for the information you have posted. The DJI Mavic Air 2 intelligent flight battery has an Auto-Discharging function to prevent the battery for swelling, the battery automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when it is idle for one day and automatically discharges to 60% of the battery level when it is idle for 5 days. It is normal to feel moderate heat being emitted from the battery during the discharging process. For additional reference I will post a list of the intelligent flight battery safety guidelines. Thank you.

[view_image]

Thank you

UKMoose Posted at 8-7 03:36
Hi I work my original Mavic Pro batteries as AJ does, I fly down to 30% (low battery setting) the when home and cool recharge them till the 3rd light starts flashing and then continue charging for 3 minutes. No battery problems so far.

Great to hear another flyer who is doing the same thing with partial charging, I will follow the same routine myself.
Thanks

I recharge batteries to full if they are below 60% then they discharge on their own to 60%.  My batteries don't inflate like this as do others.  I don't even put the P4 batteries switched to storage mode on the charger, only charge and had Zero issues for over 2 years.

BostonMavic Posted at 8-7 19:23
Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed response.
Looks like I will be following your battery care guide from now on, thanks for clarifying things

You're welcome. Other important considerations are not to leave the battery in the drone after flight - always take it out after turning it off and let the batteries cool down naturally. Rapid changes in temperature are not good for the cells either - so don't put them in a fridge or on top an air con unit to cool them quicker. Leave them standing for 20 minutes or so and keep them away from direct sunlight and never leave them inside a car on a hot day etc. Also, never get them wet and fully charge then discharge to less than 30% once a month. Use it or lose it is very much the case. The main consideration is always heat though - store the batteries in a cool, dry area of your house when not in use.

A J Posted at 8-6 12:53
I always recharge my batteries to 50% (third LED starts blinking) as soon as I get home and they have cooled down. Far healthier than charging to 100% and leaving them to discharge to 60% over several days. Leaving them at 15% for a week should be fine but not for longer periods though as I say, I always recharge to 50%. I've never had a swollen or defective battery having owned 12 DJI drones over the past four years.

50% is not normal storage voltage.  60% is.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 22:05
50% is not normal storage voltage.  60% is.

Yes it is - in fact 40% is preferable. Leaving the batteries on 100% for days then allowing them to get warm for another couple of days as they auto discharge to reach 60% will do far more harm to the batteries than turning off the charger at 50%. Further more, what a complete waste of electricity. If you use the discharge to storage feature on the charging hub of the Phantom 4 Pro it is set to 50%... Explain that!

A J Posted at 8-7 22:10
Yes it is - in fact 40% is preferable. Leaving the batteries on 100% for days then allowing them to get warm for another couple of days as they auto discharge to reach 60% will do far more harm to the batteries than turning off the charger at 50%. Further more, what a complete waste of electricity. If you use the discharge to storage feature on the charging hub of the Phantom 4 Pro it is set to 50%... Explain that!

Ideal voltage for lipos is 3.8V but I'm not sure what 60% is for DJI.  Leaving them undercharged can make them inflate too.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 22:11
Ideal voltage for lipos is 3.8V but I'm not sure what 60% is for DJI.  Leaving them undercharged can make them inflate too.

Well I do - on the Mavic Air 2 3.8v per cell is 40% - 60% is 3.9V. I rest my case!

A J Posted at 8-7 22:14
Well I do - on the Mavic Air 2 3.8v per cell is 40% - 60% is 3.9V. I rest my case!

If DJI keeps them at 60% then its 60% for a reason though.  We can say 3.8V where it's supposed to be but those batteries don't last 30+ minutes like DJI batteries do.  We can rest our case using methods that are used somewhere else but used here can produce worse results.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 22:17
If DJI keeps them at 60% then its 60% for a reason though.  We can say 3.8V where it's supposed to be but those batteries don't last 30+ minutes like DJI batteries do.  We can rest our case using methods that are used somewhere else but used here can produce worse results.

No they do not produce worse results at all. I have never had a swollen battery in four years of flying and ALWAYS charge to 50% whether it's a Spark or an Inspire battery. Leaving batteries on 3.85v (50%) or 3.9v (60%) will make no difference to the health of the batteries. Leaving them on 100% for days at a time will therefore turning off the charger at 50% as any experienced drone operator will tell you is best practice.

I have the Mavic Air 2 with four batteries - again, always cut the charger at 50% and not a single problem with any of them after nearly 80 flights in nearly three months.

A J Posted at 8-7 22:23
No they do not produce worse results at all. I have never had a swollen battery in four years of flying and ALWAYS charge to 50% whether it's a Spark or an Inspire battery. Leaving batteries on 3.85v (50%) or 3.9v (60%) will make no difference to the health of the batteries. Leaving them on 100% for days at a time will therefore turning off the charger at 50% as any experienced drone operator will tell you is best practice.

I have the Mavic Air 2 with four batteries - again, always cut the charger at 50% and not a single problem with any of them after nearly 80 flights in nearly three months.

How come DJI keeps it at 60%?

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 22:32
How come DJI keeps it at 60%?

Probably because it won't take as long to fully recharge from 50% and auto discharging from 60% to 50% will take an extra day keeping the battery warmer for longer. 40% - 50% is optimal for storage. 60% won't damage the battery.

You do not need to fully recharge your batteries to 100% and rely on the auto discharge to store them. If that is your preference then fine but do not make the mistake of advising others that cutting the charge at 50% will damage the batteries - it is actually the best method.

A J Posted at 8-7 22:41
Probably because it won't take as long to fully recharge from 50% and auto discharging from 60% to 50% will take an extra day keeping the battery warmer for longer. 40% - 50% is optimal for storage. 60% won't damage the battery.

You do not need to fully recharge your batteries to 100% and rely on the auto discharge to store them. If that is your preference then fine but do not make the mistake of advising others that cutting the charge at 50% will damage the batteries - it is actually the best method.

If you've made it 4 years, great but don't advise people into thinking 60% isn't ideal for 40-50% when DJI has it stored at 60%.  Right now, we don't know what method is best.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 22:45
If you've made it 4 years, great but don't advise people into thinking 60% isn't ideal for 40-50% when DJI has it stored at 60%.  Right now, we don't know what method is best.

Yes we do - 40-50% has always been best.

Taking your advice you are telling the OP to fully recharge each of his batteries. That takes 1.5 hours from 15% to 100% per battery - then store them at 100% which is damaging to the cells only to allow 40% of that energy to be auto discharged over a period of one-week during which time the battery will be warm as it slowly disperses it's energy - note that heat is very detrimental to the batteries. Then once he is ready to fly again he recharges the battery AGAIN from 60% - 100% before flying...

Taking my advice which has proven to be effective he will simply recharge to 50% which takes less than 30 minutes and stores his battery. Done! No discharge required, no storing at max levels, no batteries getting warm when stored! Then he recharges the night before to 100% and flies again. No damage to the cells, long battery life, no waste of electricity/energy and no repeat charging required saving hours in unnecessary charging.  

You clearly have not thought this through. As I say, I rest my case as I'm pleased to see the OP has taken the right advice anyway!

A J Posted at 8-7 23:07
Yes we do - 40-50% has always been best.

Taking your advice you are telling the OP to fully recharge each of his batteries. That takes 1.5 hours from 15% to 100% per battery - then store them at 100% which is damaging to the cells only to allow 40% of that energy to be auto discharged over a period of one-week during which time the battery will be warm as it slowly disperses it's energy - note that heat is very detrimental to the batteries. Then once he is ready to fly again he recharges the battery AGAIN from 60% - 100% before flying...

I don't want to watch the batteries go to 50% each (1 tick on 3rd bar) as a babysit.  Maybe the reason why our batteries never failed is the other people have non-authentic DJI chargers and/or non-authentic DJI batteries.

I've always ordered all my stuff directly from DJI unless it's parts that don't really need to be DJI like Yagi antennas.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-7 23:57
I don't want to watch the batteries go to 50% each (1 tick on 3rd bar) as a babysit.  Maybe the reason why our batteries never failed is the other people have non-authentic DJI chargers and/or non-authentic DJI batteries.

I've always ordered all my stuff directly from DJI unless it's parts that don't really need to be DJI like Yagi antennas.

Precisely - you choose your method because you find it easier - not because it is the most effective or efficient way of maintaining the batteries as has been clearly laid out in this thread now. And you don't need to watch the batteries - it takes 25 minutes. Leave them, return after that time then switch off the charger - very simple especially as you should not leave batteries unattended whilst charging.

Many threads on here showing stock DJI chargers being used and batteries still swelling. The reasons can be very varied and not always the fault of the owner.

The original post is questioning the most effective way of maintaining batteries in regards to charging methods - he has his answer and relying on the auto discharge from 100% is clearly not it.

A J Posted at 8-8 00:27
Precisely - you choose your method because you find it easier - not because it is the most effective or efficient way of maintaining the batteries as has been clearly laid out in this thread now. And you don't need to watch the batteries - it takes 25 minutes. Leave them, return after that time then switch off the charger - very simple especially as you should not leave batteries unattended whilst charging.

Many threads on here showing stock DJI chargers being used and batteries still swelling. The reasons can be very varied and not always the fault of the owner.

Leave it AJ you are just wasting time and battery, you are happy doing the 3rd led 50% I'm happy doing the same and I'm sure the OP IS now happy.
Futher more I'm very happy as we are shortly setting off for a week at Loch lomond and looking at the weather for the week it's good all week with low winds and warm,

UKMoose Posted at 8-8 00:52
Leave it AJ you are just wasting time and battery, you are happy doing the 3rd led 50% I'm happy doing the same and I'm sure the OP IS now happy.
Futher more I'm very happy as we are shortly setting off for a week at Loch lomond and looking at the weather for the week it's good all week with low winds and warm,

You're right Have a great time and don't forget to take the drone - we're heading up to the Peak District on the 17th.

A J Posted at 8-8 01:04
You're right  Have a great time and don't forget to take the drone - we're heading up to the Peak District on the 17th.

It's all packed and the boyfriend of my mates daughter has just bought the MA2 so really looking forward to seeing what it can do, the trip is really a water-skiing week but I'm a bit olld for that now.
Have a great trip in the Peak District, beautiful area.

UKMoose Posted at 8-8 01:38
It's all packed and the boyfriend of my mates daughter has just bought the MA2 so really looking forward to seeing what it can do, the trip is really a water-skiing week but I'm a bit olld for that now.
Have a great trip in the Peak District, beautiful area.

Bit of active tracking on the lake - sounds cool mate

A J Posted at 8-8 00:27
Precisely - you choose your method because you find it easier - not because it is the most effective or efficient way of maintaining the batteries as has been clearly laid out in this thread now. And you don't need to watch the batteries - it takes 25 minutes. Leave them, return after that time then switch off the charger - very simple especially as you should not leave batteries unattended whilst charging.

Many threads on here showing stock DJI chargers being used and batteries still swelling. The reasons can be very varied and not always the fault of the owner.

How do we know they are even stock?  Because they said so or didn't say anything but we assume?

c

AntDX316 Posted at 8-8 02:10
How do we know they are even stock?  Because they said so or didn't say anything but we assume?

Do you ever read other peoples threads - if you do you’ll know the answer.

AntDX316 Posted at 8-8 02:11
So you doing 30% say it's ok
A J is saying 40-50% is ok
I'm saying 60% ok

It is clearly not the % that is the answer but the way in which you obtain it. Anyway, it’s a futile conversation as always with you - enjoy storing on 100% and double charging lol And I suggest you read UKmooses reply again - he never said 30% - he said he recharges until the third LED starts blinking as most do - thats 50%...

A J Posted at 8-8 03:08
Do you ever read other peoples threads - if you do you’ll know the answer.

I have but I don't think you've read mine.  Authenticity cannot be guaranteed if you do not buy straight from DJI.  Counterfeit products do exist.

A J Posted at 8-8 03:11
It is clearly not the % that is the answer but the way in which you obtain it. Anyway, it’s a futile conversation as always with you - enjoy storing on 100% and double charging lol And I suggest you read UKmooses reply again - he never said 30% - he said he recharges until the third LED starts blinking as most do - thats 50%...

ok 40-60% is ok then, we should just keep it at 50-60% and move on to make life simple

AntDX316 Posted at 8-8 05:40
I have but I don't think you've read mine.  Authenticity cannot be guaranteed if you do not buy straight from DJI.  Counterfeit products do exist.

I don't think DJI include counterfeits with their own drones

AntDX316 Posted at 8-8 05:42
ok 40-60% is ok then, we should just keep it at 50-60% and move on to make life simple

Your arguement has been the need to fully recharge to 100%, store the batteries and allow the battery to auto discharge even going as far as to state that my advising to cut the charge manually at 50% was wrong... You can try and riggle out of the fact you were wrong all along by repeating '60%' in every reply but it doesnt change the fact you obvously don't understand the efficient and effective way of maintaining batteries. By your own admission you can't be bothered to monitor the batteries during charge and don't even know what the cell voltages are at the key percentages of the charge as you don't even own the drone in question. At least you havent tried to derail the discussion by taking the thread off topic by talking about the moon, universe, Amercian politics and the meaning of life (at a high school level) like you normally do when you have egg on your face LOL

I'm more than happy to move on now the record is straight...

Fly every day.  Problem solved.

A J Posted at 8-8 05:51
I don't think DJI include counterfeits with their own drones

I'm saying other companies could counterfeit DJI products and sell them as authentic.  It happens all the time with Amazon camera filters.

Spazoo Posted at 8-8 06:31
Fly every day.  Problem solved.

You fly everyday?

AntDX316 Posted at 8-8 15:09
You fly everyday?

Lately I've been flying every day.  

I was just kidding with my suggestion.  I don't suppose flying everyday is an option for most people.

Anyways... I'm  having fun.  I'm thinking about buying a Phantom.  I see you have quite a lineup.

Quite the discussion!! and some good information given so thank you all. I would love to fly everyday, but having a little one it’s just not possible.
I will charge part way and store and then go to 100% the night before. Usually I stop flying around 40/50 so no need for charging, but occasionally longer flights do happen.

Spazoo Posted at 8-8 18:28
Lately I've been flying every day.  

I was just kidding with my suggestion.  I don't suppose flying everyday is an option for most people.

Some people fly FPV everyday which is cool.  Yeah, the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 captures better images than the M2P if we aren't talking color.  I only use it for Inspections every now and then but prefer the M2Z as you can zoom in closer.  If you are going to do video I wouldn't say it's worth it but C4K60 with the 1" is great for capturing fireworks at night.

I really don't like to fly unless I'm trying to gather some intel.  You run the risk of losing your drone and it landing on something.

BostonMavic Posted at 8-8 19:22
Quite the discussion!! and some good information given so thank you all. I would love to fly everyday, but having a little one it’s just not possible.
I will charge part way and store and then go to 100% the night before. Usually I stop flying around 40/50 so no need for charging, but occasionally longer flights do happen.

Perfect