Drone Charging batteries

[Jack]

As I own now 2 drones, I still confused when I have to charge them batteries, obviously before I'm going out. But do I have to keep them charged if I'm not using them?

 

[Phil Nicholson]

As I own now 2 drones, I still confused when I have to charge them batteries, obviously before I'm going out. But do I have to keep them charged if I'm not using them?

Morning Jack, good question I have wondered that too. I own a mavic air 2 and mini 3 pro. I have read the operator's manual for both, and it would appear that when the discharge gets to 5% the batteries (which are referred to as intelligent batteries) go into hibernation, to get them out of hibernation you just need to charge them. I hope this helps?

 

[Jack]

Morning Jack, good question I have wondered that too. I own a mavic air 2 and mini 3 pro. I have read the operator's manual for both, and it would appear that when the discharge gets to 5% the batteries (which are referred to as intelligent batteries) go into hibernation, to get them out of hibernation you just need to charge them. I hope this helps?

So basically I have to wait for the till they completely discharge ? I also don't want to charge them a lot of time and this will affect its battery lifespan.

 

[Phil Nicholson]

So basically I have to wait for the till they completely discharge ? I also don't want to charge them a lot of time and this will affect its battery lifespan.

I guess if I understand you correctly? it will take time to recharge them, but from a personal point of view I charged mine a week ago with the intention of flying but the weather put a stop to that. However I try to keep them with some charge in on the off chance I get an opportunity to fly, if only to take a few photos. In my case if the batteries wear out I would just buy some more. But as I say that is my own choice.

 

[Jack]

I guess if I understand you correctly? it will take time to recharge them, but from a personal point of view I charged mine a week ago with the intention of flying but the weather put a stop to that. However I try to keep them with some charge in on the off chance I get an opportunity to fly, if only to take a few photos. In my case if the batteries wear out I would just buy some more. But as I say that is my own choice.

I did charged batteries of my both drones, however due of bad weather as well, I did took out only my mini 3. With my air 2s can't really fly in the town as is bigger and heavier drone. I do fly more during the summers.

 

[BH2]

Yes Phil is correct. The newest DJI intelligent batteries are Lithium-Ion batteries and they will discharge themselves when needed. So really keeping them charged and not using them for an extended period shouldn't hurt them. Happy droning

 

[Jack]

Yes Phil is correct. The newest DJI intelligent batteries are Lithium-Ion batteries and they will discharge themselves when needed. So really keeping them charged and not using them for an extended period shouldn't hurt them. Happy droning

Then not point for me charging them if ain't flying soon. I thought, they should be kept charged at all times.

 

[Snook911]

Good Question, what I do is hook them up to the controller so i can see the percentage of the charge before i go out flying. Anything lower the 95% and I throw it on the charger before I go. I have a 4 battery fast charger though so It does not take too long to charge up.

 

[Jack]

Good Question, what I do is hook them up to the controller so i can see the percentage of the charge before i go out flying. Anything lower the 95% and I throw it on the charger before I go. I have a 4 battery fast charger though so It does not take too long to charge up.

Do you take in consideration the lifespan of the battery ?

What I'm thinking to do, is to charge them only before I go to fly them. So I can have them for longer, as they aren't cheap.

 

[Phil Nicholson]

Do you take in consideration the lifespan of the battery ?

What I'm thinking to do, is to charge them only before I go to fly them. So I can have them for longer, as they aren't cheap.

Personally I don't consider the life span. I charged my batteries last week some time, and I flew my mini pro 3 today and the charge was still 85% which I consider to be really good after at least a week! When the weather is unpredictable I try to take advantage when there is an opening in the weather, but then I am retired so therefore I am able to do that as opposed to someone who is still working.

 

[Snook911]

Do you take in consideration the lifespan of the battery ?

What I'm thinking to do, is to charge them only before I go to fly them. So I can have them for longer, as they aren't cheap.

Honestly not really too worried about the longevity. I fly too much to not have them charged at all times. I might decide to go flying on a moment's notice and don't want to have to wait an hour and 45 minutes to charge the batteries. If you fly a few times a week I don't think you will have any trouble with the batteries discharging enough to make any real difference while they are not in use.

 

[Jack]

Personally I don't consider the life span. I charged my batteries last week some time, and I flew my mini pro 3 today and the charge was still 85% which I consider to be really good after at least a week! When the weather is unpredictable I try to take advantage when there is an opening in the weather, but then I am retired so therefore I am able to do that as opposed to someone who is still working.

You have more free time than me. I try to fly my mini 3 at least once a week, depending on the weather of course.

I flew my drones recently and 2 batteries are dead, but haven't charged them yet. I'm thinking to charge them before I'm about to go out again.

 

[Jack]

Honestly not really too worried about the longevity. I fly too much to not have them charged at all times. I might decide to go flying on a moment's notice and don't want to have to wait an hour and 45 minutes to charge the batteries. If you fly a few times a week I don't think you will have any trouble with the batteries discharging enough to make any real difference while they are not in use.

I try to have them batteries for as long as possible. And I really hope the DJI won't stop making them batteries with new drone releases.

 

[Phil Nicholson]

You have more free time than me. I try to fly my mini 3 at least once a week, depending on the weather of course.

I flew my drones recently and 2 batteries are dead, but haven't charged them yet. I'm thinking to charge them before I'm about to go out again.

Hi Jack, if for example I plan to fly say on Friday I would charge mine on Thursday evening.

 

[Snook911]

I try to have them batteries for as long as possible. And I really hope the DJI won't stop making them batteries with new drone releases.

Yeah, in my case I doubt I will have the drone long enough for the batteries to wear down. I tend to like to upgrade my electronics quite a bit and when I do I will sell my current drone to finance the next drone. Plus I have been buying my batteries on Amazon Refreshed. It has worked out pretty good as I have bought 3 batteries for $60 each and 2 of them had 2 cycles on them and one had 5. All 3 have preformed exactly the same as the battery that came with the drone.

 

[Jack]

Yeah, in my case I doubt I will have the drone long enough for the batteries to wear down. I tend to like to upgrade my electronics quite a bit and when I do I will sell my current drone to finance the next drone. Plus I have been buying my batteries on Amazon Refreshed. It has worked out pretty good as I have bought 3 batteries for $60 each and 2 of them had 2 cycles on them and one had 5. All 3 have preformed exactly the same as the battery that came with the drone.

Not bad, but if you sell your drones, you loose money by selling it. I don't plan to sell my equipment once is purchased.

 

[Jack]

Hi Jack, if for example I plan to fly say on Friday I would charge mine on Thursday evening.

That's what I do as well, charging before planning to fly the drone.

Hope I can fly my drone this weekend, if the weather is OK.

 

[Snook911]

Not bad, but if you sell your drones, you loose money by selling it. I don't plan to sell my equipment once is purchased.

I don't really consider it losing money. Everything depreciates over time but you take into account the amount of use while you had the drone (or whatever you are selling) it kind of evens out. I don't sell all my equipment but lets say in 6 months I want to upgrade my drone to the Mavic 3 Classic what would I do with my Air 2S? Sure I could keep it as back up but in my experience that just means it will pretty much sit at home and rarely be used or I can sell it and it accessories and probably make up more then half of the cost for the upgraded drone. Now if I was buying a totally different piece of equipment for instance an FPV drone I may not sell my Air 2S because thats not really an upgrade and more of a completely different kind of drone.

 

[Jack]

I don't really consider it losing money. Everything depreciates over time but you take into account the amount of use while you had the drone (or whatever you are selling) it kind of evens out. I don't sell all my equipment but lets say in 6 months I want to upgrade my drone to the Mavic 3 Classic what would I do with my Air 2S? Sure I could keep it as back up but in my experience that just means it will pretty much sit at home and rarely be used or I can sell it and it accessories and probably make up more then half of the cost for the upgraded drone. Now if I was buying a totally different piece of equipment for instance an FPV drone I may not sell my Air 2S because thats not really an upgrade and more of a completely different kind of drone.

I do agree with you here. But don't forget, once you purchased the item and used, you lost the value. Because there probably are a lot of people who think like you, there will be lots of second hand air 2s let's say, so in order to sell the drone, depending how quick you want to sell, you'll have to keep low price.

To be honest, I haven't used my air2s for 2 months now, and because the weather is not great here, I prefer to take my mini 3 Pro for taking images in the town. And I still don't consider upgrading or selling my air 2s.

 

[Snook911]

I do agree with you here. But don't forget, once you purchased the item and used, you lost the value. Because there probably are a lot of people who think like you, there will be lots of second hand air 2s let's say, so in order to sell the drone, depending how quick you want to sell, you'll have to keep low price.

To be honest, I haven't used my air2s for 2 months now, and because the weather is not great here, I prefer to take my mini 3 Pro for taking images in the town. And I still don't consider upgrading or selling my air 2s.

Yes, you are correct that I would not be able to get the what I paid for my Air 2S if I sell it but I am willing to take less and factor in the value of the amount of time I used it. As you said I probably would not sell my Air 2S if I was in the market for a Mini Pro 3 as I would think that is about the same or maybe even a slight downgrade from the Air 2S. In some places having a Mini Pro 3 is an advantage because of its sub 250 rating but I can fly my Air 2S everywhere I can fly a Mini Pro 3 which is why I chose the Air 2S in the first place. But lets say at some point because of the better camera ( or other new features) you decided to buy the the New DJI Mavic 3 Classic would want to keep both the Air 2S and the Mavic 3 Classic? Its a personal choice but I wouldn't see the need to keep 2 very similar drones for my needs.