We are all concerned with the temperature the Mini 3 seems to generate whilst sitting still on the desk whilst doing an update or playing with the app and some are using fans to keep it cool which is a great idea.

   

The problem supposedly goes away when flying due to the cooling effect of the props, or something similar I am led to believe.

   

Has anyone actually flown their Mini 3 in a hot area where the ambient temperature is 35C (95F) or more.

   

Where I live, the summer temperatures (December- February) are frequently over 38C (100F) and often into the mid 40’s (110F).

Though it is unlikely I would fly in the middle of the day, the temperatures can still be high 30’s at sunset and we get some beautiful sunsets to film.  
  

Has anyone as yet flown their Mini 3 Pro in the heat?

  

There are lots of snow and cold videos posts, just no “desert” ones.

   

Interested in hearing of anyone’s hot weather flying experiences and if there are any problems with the drone temps.

  

Would certainly use the fan method in summer to keep it “cool” when updating, even with our air conditioner on.

  

Cheers

David  

i would just go by whatever is in the manual:  "The operating temperature of this product is -10° to 40° C. It does not meet the standard operating temperature for military grade application (-55° to 125° C), which is required to endure greater environmental variability."

i flew in 30 and some C, all was perfect - actually the design is made in that way, so wind from back propellers enters the vents that are at the back of the body of the drone and that is how the cooling of it during flight is achieved. Just make sure you start engines fast and don't leave it turned on in the sun for long times on the hotter days and you would be fine

Hello there David. Good day and thank you for giving out these information. Just a friendly reminder that the DJI Mini 3 Pro has an Operating Temperature of -10° to 40° C ( 14° to 104° F ). Kindly please fly your DJI Mini 3 Pro following the recommended flight environment and temperature to avoid any unwanted incident that might cause damage to the DJI drone and might void its warranty as well. Thank you and fly safe always.

I do not think the local temperature is too important. More important is the airflow over and under the done. If it sits in 95F temperature at idle, it can be a problem for a long time as the temp rises; but the specs for the electronics are about 140F for most commercial products...so if it keeps moving not an issue normally. Just my opinion as a retired electronic test engineer ;-)
For what is worth I have flown all my drones (Mini, Mini2, Ma2. Ma2s, M2p, M3) in Florida in summer with the temps well over 90F ground temperature and had no issues.

I flew my Mini 3 at the seaside last weekend. The ambient temperature was 33C at the time I started, from 5:20PM to 6:45PM(sunset) without any issues with 2x intelligent flight battery plus.

Thanks everyone

Just won't do the Australian Outback or round where i live in the middle of the day in the middle of summer.  Too hot to go out of the Airconditioning anyway.

David

Hello, my maximum outside temp during flight was about 32°C and without any problem. Next weeks there should be temps up to 39°C so I'm curious of, but guess it will be ok.. Just not sit down for long time and take off immediately...

Just don't touch it on your desk!   

KLRSKIR Posted at 6-21 03:26
Just don't touch it on your desk! Quick FLIR test.

Yeah, the drone really got hot doing FW updates in that video.  Too bad there wasn't some other way to stay under 249G and keep an internal fan.  

Had a flight here at 34 Celsius (34 at shadow, in sun over 51 Celsius). No issues, but was damn hot when landed, like really hot.

DowntownRDB Posted at 6-21 05:17
Yeah, the drone really got hot doing FW updates in that video.  Too bad there wasn't some other way to stay under 249G and keep an internal fan.

Yep, but I'm good with less moving parts. Every time I fire up the A2S I worry. Until that fan warms up, it makes a disconcerting noise.

KLRSKIR Posted at 6-22 03:56
Yep, but I'm good with less moving parts. Every time I fire up the A2S I worry. Until that fan warms up, it makes a disconcerting noise.

That would make me concerned also.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 6-22 06:01
That would make me concerned also.

It's done it since launch and three out of four of my buddies A2S's also do it until warm. It's got almost 300mi. on it, I do trust it.

I'm in Southern NV, been flying in some sweltering heat.  105+, in the sun 110 even.  When the drone is in sports mode and you fly hard against the wind, it definitely complains about overloading the battery.  I fly w/ both + and regular batteries.  The load on the regular batteries might be a little less when flying harder, but anecdotally only, no hard proof.  I've also been doing some hovering shots in place for 10-15 mins, and it's been holding up well.  The lil bird does get quite toasty though when i fly it back!

KLRSKIR Posted at 6-23 13:44
It's done it since launch and three out of four of my buddies A2S's also do it until warm. It's got almost 300mi. on it, I do trust it.

It's great that you have trust in it.  

Nevada Flyer Posted at 6-23 15:38
I'm in Southern NV, been flying in some sweltering heat.  105+, in the sun 110 even.  When the drone is in sports mode and you fly hard against the wind, it definitely complains about overloading the battery.  I fly w/ both + and regular batteries.  The load on the regular batteries might be a little less when flying harder, but anecdotally only, no hard proof.  I've also been doing some hovering shots in place for 10-15 mins, and it's been holding up well.  The lil bird does get quite toasty though when i fly it back!

You are definitely testing the Mini 3 Pro's upper limits of operating in extreme temps.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 6-24 06:29
You are definitely testing the Mini 3 Pro's upper limits of operating in extreme temps.

Agree, but then again, based off where I am, do I have much of a choice to fly this beauty?

Nevada Flyer Posted at 6-24 08:15
Agree, but then again, based off where I am, do I have much of a choice to fly this beauty?

No viable option at all so keep on flying.  

These operating temperatures are generally determined by safety certifications (e.g. CE), which dictate that the operating temperature of no one part can exceed its rated specification even theoretically when used. The way they decide this is that they'll use the product normally and measure the maximum temperature of e.g. the battery, look at the rated temperature of that ("critical") component, and then separately measure the maximum temperature rise of the product under worst-case conditions, and derate that back to the original test temperature. What this means is that say the battery is rated to 60C and reached 45C during normal operation at 25C ambient, they'll separately test how the battery compartments temperature will rise in worst-case scenario  (e.g. no wind, props off, etc), and then take that temperature rise, add it to the 45C from the other test, and check that it's still less than the 60C rated temperature. If it is, the manufacturer has to put warnings/make firmware changes to ensure those worst-case conditions cannot happen. Meanwhile the 60C may be just the point at which long-term battery life starts to decline significantly, and not be an actual dangerous situation (yet this testing is all due for "safety" regulations).

That's probably quite confusing to read, and it is definitely annoying as a manufacturer to deal with - but there's nothing you can do about it other than to comply.

Long story short, there may, out of the necessity to comply with safety regulations, be a point at which your drone takes matters into its own hands if it gets too hot while flying like shutting off, doing an emergency landing, or RTH. I'm curious how DJI handle this, as anything  but a RTH (and even that sometimes) could pose more of a safety risk than just continuing the flight.

I just ruined a almost new (~20 cycles) mini 2 battery after flying in 40°C/104F weather in the Nevada desert a few times. It puffed to such a degree that it won't fit in my mini 2 anymore. I knew this would happen soon because I noticed weeks ago that these batteries come down way too hot. Never flew it below 20% but that didn't do much to extend its life I guess. Have to wait for cooler fall weather. I am sure Lion packs would last longer than high voltage lipo cells here as I have flown my other multirotors and planes with home made Lion packs without any problems for years.

I have the original mini that I've been abusing in this environment for years, granted I fly 1 cycle for my set of 3 batteries per session and allow them to charge in room temp.  They are still in good shape however and flight times are still reasonable.  I don't recall the stats on the batteries as I haven't flown it since my mini 3 came along, but if these batteries hold up like the original mini, I will be happy!