MrTitan
First Officer
United Kingdom
Offline
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Hi mouthpiec. Don’t worry it’s perfectly ‘safe’ to allow the batteries onboard micro-processor to initiate the battery de-charge function after 10 days. You can assist the battery draining process to try and look after your intelligent flight batteries as much as possible (using the usb adaptor and a suitable device such as an uncharged power bank is a good combination) but the procedure will only have a marginal positive effect on the long term usability of the DJI battery.
I'm sure you know that DJI use LiPo batteries which can store a wealth of power within their cells. The benefit of LiPo technology is that power can be stored and discharged quite quickly and without experiencing performance limiting voltage sag (in short, the higher the batteries ‘C’ rating the faster it can discharge larger levels of energy in short bursts) which is especially important for heavy drones like the Mavic as it assists sudden throttle changes and allows for fast acceleration from a ‘standing’ start etc.
The downside of LiPo tech is that the chemical process that takes place within the cells can cause damage to a battery over time or when under stress. DJI encase their batteries in a strong plastic shell to protect the internal LiPo cells and help them avoid any adverse physical pressures on impact (when crashing etc.) as LiPo batteries have the tendency to burst into flames when directly impacted.
The less dramatic downside of LiPo technology is the deterioration that takes place within LiPo cells that are storing large amounts of energy. Over time the chemical reaction experienced due to the pressures of a wealth of energy held 'dormant' in a LiPo cell causes degradation and damage to the cells ability to hold charge, which often leads to bloating - literally swelling the physical size of the LiPo battery. This issue's well recognised by multi-rotor enthusiasts (D.I.Y. quad builders and race quad users etc.) who have to manually charge and discharge their LiPo batteries for use and then storage (approx. 3.85v per cell is considered the magic number for storage). It's also why LiPo batteries sent through the post generally arrive needing to be charged: A LiPo battery is safer and much less likely to explode under pressure when its cells are each at approx. 3.85v. DJI have removed this responsibility of manual discharge by creating their Intelligent Flight Battery. It's basically just a standard LiPo battery with a micro processor 'brain' that can count the days since it was last charged and can initiate a discharge to storage level which, as mentioned, helps protect the battery from swelling and cell damage.
DJI's Mavic 2 Flight Batteries have a forced 10 Day Discharge Cycle built in (with some previous drones you were able to choose the number of days until a battery discharged itself from within the Go/Go4 App menu, but DJI have removed this function). 10 days is the maximum length of time I feel comfortable leaving a LiPo battery fully charged, but any damage caused to the battery during this time will be minimal.
Whilst I'm not entirely sure about this I get the impression that the LiPo battery in the remote controller is never actually charged to full capacity in order to allow it to safely remain at it's current charge level and avoid excessive wear on its cells when not in use for longer periods of time. When the controller suggests it is charged to 100% I wouldn't be surprised if that is only approx. 80% of the true capacity of the internal battery. As the controller does not demand as much power as the drone and so remains usable on a single charge for longer, reducing the maximum charge limit would be an easy way to provide convenience for the user whilst protecting the controller battery from damage. |
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