I was recently told that DJI advises not to charge the controller and a battery at the same time. I could not find the documentation on this. If this is true, can someone point it out to me?

It is true, but I cannot point you to anything in the manual that says so. I think it may have been in the P3 Manual.

The best way to charge your RC and flight pack simultaneously, buy a second charger.

That's what I did for my four flight packs.

The Phantom 3 RC battery stays charged through several, four battery flight sequences.

I'm not sure about the voltage capacity of the Phantom 4 RC.


RedHotPoker

Geebax Posted at 2017-5-12 21:23
It is true, but I cannot point you to anything in the manual that says so. I think it may have been in the P3 Manual.

I wonder if it is still the case, since the manual no longer references it.

I would also note that the P3 series had two chargers available, a 57W, and a 100W. I'm wondering if it has to do with the smaller capacity charger.

I think i saw where you should not charge the controller and battery at the same time in the downloads owners manual PDF. I do not believe you would save any time since the charger only puts out a little over one amp.. for example-pretend electrical current is water, take a gallon of water and fill it with a garden hose let's say it takes 10 seconds to fill it. Now take a second  gallon of water and fill it. it will take 20 seconds to fill both of them total. Now take the two gallons and fill them at the same time it will take 20 seconds to fill them since only half the flow goes into each.so you do not save any time ? If anything you just stress the charger. Just my thoughts.

Page 49 of the pdf manual in the FAQ section...

"We recommend that you never charge both items using the same charger at the same time."

pasaytenpete Posted at 2017-5-13 06:09
Page 49 of the pdf manual in the FAQ section...

"We recommend that you never charge both items using the same charger at the same time."

Which manual??

For what it's worth.. I have charged both my remote and batteries at the same time.. Even with the battery hub going for hours on end (I have five batteries) I have NEVER had an issue with it. I have charged the remote by itself before and the transformer block doesn't even get a tiny bit warm.. I think it is safe to do with the P4 series..

Mobilcams Posted at 2017-5-13 06:44
Which manual??

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/ ... 1.8_en_20160719.pdf

Whatever the manuals say or don't say, on the back of the charger it is written:
Total output                17.5 V 5.7 A     (that is 99.75 W...)
Output #1 (RC)           17.5 V  0  -  2 A   (That is up to 35 W...)
Output #2 (Battery)   17.5 V   0  -  5.7 A  (That is up to 99,75 W...)

So with both connected the total output would be up to 134.75 W which is more than the total rated output of the charger. I wouldn't connect both, but hey, that is just me

I will stick with the manufacturer recommendations. those guys with the the degrees, testing and engineering I feel knows the best, step outside of recommendation and you might get away with it for a while but down the road it will bight you.... food for thought...;

Mobilcams Posted at 2017-5-13 06:46
For what it's worth.. I have charged both my remote and batteries at the same time.. Even with the battery hub going for hours on end (I have five batteries) I have NEVER had an issue with it. I have charged the remote by itself before and the transformer block doesn't even get a tiny bit warm.. I think it is safe to do with the P4 series..

With the hub the batteries charge one at a time,  at about 1h 20 mins each, the RC would charge in 3 h 20 mins  (depending how discharged they were)  so the charger would run at full power (and maybe a little more) for a maximum of 3h 40 mins. Personally I wouldn't like it...  But, as they say, "chacun son goût "

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-13 07:25
I will stick with the manufacturer recommendations. those guys with the the degrees, testing and engineering I feel knows the best, step outside of recommendation and you might get away with it for a while but down the road it will bight you.... food for thought...;

Here's the thing though everyone here is not seeing.. No where in the P4 or P4P's manual does it say you cannot charge the battery and controller at the same time.. NO WHERE.. so I am not doing anything contrary to what the manual says i.e. engineers etc.. These power supplies are switching power supplies with thermal and current protection built into them..  I am sure they are built to give full power up to and not exceeding 100 watts, if the remote pulls a little more power from the power supply - your batteries may charge a little slower since that power is being divided up end of story. From what I have heard, it doesn't hurt the batteries to charge slower any way and can even extend their lives. I have over 300 miles now in flights with the same charger and it's still going strong..

Can I charge my Remote Controller and Intelligent Flight Battery at the same time? While the Remote Controller charger and Intelligent Flight Battery charger have been integrated into one unit for your convenience, it is recommended that you only charge one item at a time. We recommend that you never charge both items using the same charger at the same time. page 48 of the owners manual.

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-13 17:49
Can I charge my Remote Controller and Intelligent Flight Battery at the same time? While the Remote Controller charger and Intelligent Flight Battery charger have been integrated into one unit for your convenience, it is recommended that you only charge one item at a time. We recommend that you never charge both items using the same charger at the same time. page 48 of the owners manual.

yes, but... that is the Phantom 3 Owner's Manual...  Does it use the same charger as the Phantom 4 Pro?

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-13 17:49
Can I charge my Remote Controller and Intelligent Flight Battery at the same time? While the Remote Controller charger and Intelligent Flight Battery charger have been integrated into one unit for your convenience, it is recommended that you only charge one item at a time. We recommend that you never charge both items using the same charger at the same time. page 48 of the owners manual.

yes, but... that is the Phantom 3 Owner's Manual...  Does it use the same charger as the Phantom 4 Pro?

Yes the phantom 4 pro+ does not state that you should only charge one at a time it only stats the charger has 1000 MA output ?..I wish DJI would comment on this.

1000 MA=1.AMP battery is 1.4 amp which would take 1HR 20MIN to Charge from depleted?

Bottom line I have just two batteries and i don't save any time by charging a controller and battery at same time i don't think so just to play it safe for me I will charge one at a time. just food for thought...to each there own...

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-14 03:04
Yes the phantom 4 pro+ does not state that you should only charge one at a time it only stats the charger has 1000 MA output ?..I wish DJI would comment on this.

Hi squirrel, in my downloaded pdf version of the P4P/P4P+ manual it says (in the Appendix, page 64):

Charger
Voltage           17.4 V
Rated Power  100 W

Where do you see "1000 MA output" ?

Be aware that the output power of the supplied Phantom 4 Pro / Pro+ charger is 100W. 100*12=1.2 amps or 1200 MA my charger says output 1.4 amps

My friend has a phantom 4 pro+ and he charges battery and controller at the same time he also says his charger gets very warm, charging my battery or controller one at a time the charger stays at ambient temperature  

My mistake saying 1000 MA I will try to be more accurate

I don't have deep pockets.......

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-14 04:44
Be aware that the output power of the supplied Phantom 4 Pro / Pro+ charger is 100W. 100*12=1.2 amps or 1200 MA my charger says output 1.4 amps

I see what you mean, but the issue is not the INPUT rating, it is the OUTPUT rating.
If your charger is anything like mine, it says INPUT 100-240 V 1.4 A…
As I stated in my post #11, with picture of the charger backside, the OUTPUT is divided between 1 (RC) and 2 (Battery), with different OUTPUT ratings. Of course if one output in not connected, the relative A rating will be 0, if connected it will be up to the maximum A rated for that output…

ooops..... I will still only charge one at a time....

squirrel Posted at 2017-5-14 08:18
ooops..... I will still only charge one at a time....

That is what I do -either the RC or the battery (or batteries) through the hub.

No mention in the Phantom 4 Pro manual!

10. Can I charge the Intelligent Flight Battery and remote controller with the charger at the same time?

Answer from DJI

Last question here has the answer:

The DJI charger can charge the Intelligent Flight Battery and remote controller. But it is not recommended to charge the Intelligent Flight Battery and remote controller at the same time.
------


Not sure that settles the debate though.

theGrindLab.com Posted at 2017-5-15 10:27
10. Can I charge the Intelligent Flight Battery and remote controller with the charger at the same time?

Answer from DJI

LOL,  The core of the question is "at the same time", the answer at first says that "the charger can charge the Intelligent Flight battery and remote controller." (BUT it does NOT say "at the same time". It uses those words only in the second sentence, which starts with "But it is not recommended..."   ( And I will keep charging one item at a time...)

Antonio76 Posted at 2017-5-15 10:56
LOL,  The core of the question is "at the same time", the answer at first says that "the charger can charge the Intelligent Flight battery and remote controller." (BUT it does NOT say "at the same time". It uses those words only in the second sentence, which starts with "But it is not recommended..."

Exactly. "Not recommended" does not mean "do not do at all". That's why it's not a definitive answer. I still will charge only one device at a time myself.

It's not recommended because the charger can potentially overheat, but the act of charging both of the same time is feasible. You could get away with doing this if the batteries are halfway or mostly charged already, but not when both are completely close to drained.