Battery Life Cycles (new 15.2v 4480mAh)

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So I've seen the expected life cycles of the older P2 batteries to be around 50 - 300 cycles. And I do realize that battery care and maintenance will determine how many cycles one gets from his battery. But I was just wondering how many cycles should be expected with these newer 15 volt batteries and the 100w chargers.

Also, How many charges does your Phantom 3 battery show so far in your Pilot app?

Please - P3 4480 batteries only please.
 
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They have the auto discharge feature which ought to help.
It's pure guesswork really but I'd hope average life will be better than earlier P2 ones without that.
Even so I think you'll be doing well if you get more than 100 cycles without seeing reduced performance if not issues that more or less make it unusable.
 
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I fly the P2V+ and have 4 batteries with two more on the way. I am still trying to get over 50 cycles before having to replace my batteries due to puffiness or their loosing time holding voltage. Even if the assistant said the battery had 80 % usage left it would drop from 65% remaining to 8% in less than 6 minus flight time. When they do that its replacment time. The key to maintaining the battery is after Evey 20 cycles to run the battery to below 8% or where it has no more power then charge to 100%. This recycles the pack and helps reset the battery memory so it knows what the bottom and top of the charg is. Also found recently that it is very, very helpful to let the battery sit for 30 minutes after use before re-charging it. That gives the lipo's time to cool and helps prevent to fast of a recharge and puffing the battery. Hopefully this is where my mistake was and will help me extend my battery life even more. This same cycle applies to the P3 according to the manual.
 
A nifty little feature of the Smart Battery is the Batter Life Check.
When the battery is turned off, press and hold the Power Button for 5 seconds to check the
battery life. The Battery Level Indicators will light up and/or blink for two seconds then the LED indicators will show remaining life level as indicated on page 19 of the user manual.
 
I have 22 cycles on mine. Still get solid 20mins flight. Still charges to 100% works great. Over 70 flights since 5-04-15 when I got it.
 
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A nifty little feature of the Smart Battery is the Batter Life Check.
When the battery is turned off, press and hold the Power Button for 5 seconds to check the
battery life. The Battery Level Indicators will light up and/or blink for two seconds then the LED indicators will show remaining life level as indicated on page 19 of the user manual.

Don't think there's much intelligence there.
It's not diagnostic, just a graphical based on the charge cycle counter.
 
Since I only have one....I've put 62 flights on mine and I checked the battery last night by holding down the button for 5 seconds. Still reads 4 bars. No signs of degen in flying time and no puffiness.
 
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I have 22 cycles on mine. Still get solid 20mins flight. Still charges to 100% works great. Over 70 flights since 5-04-15 when I got it.

Excellent!! But wait a minute...

How do you have over 70 flights and show only 22 cycles?

...that's like 3 flights per cycle or recharge...

If a battery lasts ~20 minutes, and you get 3 per charge?

Do you only fly for 7 minutes at a time?

Just curious.

Since I only have one....I've put 62 flights on mine and I checked the battery last night by holding down the button for 5 seconds. Still reads 4 bars. No signs of degen in flying time and no puffiness.

Nice! Thanks delirious!

Have you looked at the battery page in the pilot app to see how many cycles so far?
(view video at timeframe 8:18)

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Excellent!! But wait a minute...

How do you have over 70 flights and show only 22 cycles?

...that's like 3 flights per cycle or recharge...

If a battery lasts ~20 minutes, and you get 3 per charge?

Do you only fly for 7 minutes at a time?

Just curious.



Nice! Thanks delirious!

Have you looked at the battery page in the pilot app to see how many cycles so far?
(view video at timeframe 8:18)

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


I wondered the same thing myself. The logs definitely don't keep track as they should. But while in Maui some flights were just a few minutes as I stopped for some quick pics or videos.
 
Battery cycles are different from # of flights.
 
Good video and info. Battery cycles are calculated by the smart battery and are not same as number of flights.
 
Show me one source for your claim that LiPos need conditioning by running them empty.
And not the words from a battery producer or seller...
I agree. Most important thing is, do not let cell voltage drop below 3.00 V. LiPo battery has not got "memory"...
 
Don't think anyone said run them empty only to 8% or when they shut off. The smart feacher shuts them off at the critical level which is around 8%. At 8 % the lipo voltage is above 3.1 votes which is where it should be on the bottom end.
 
The battery should always be able to be run down to zero. In the case of needing to land safely the battery should always sacrifice itself for the sake of the drone. $150 batteries are cheaper than $1000 Phantoms.

In normal day to day usage however to maximize the life of the battery it should almost never be run down below 20%. As FCPhantom and reboot81 have said these batteries do not have a memory effect and cycling them does nothing but stress the battery and shorten its life. Of course DJI would love to sell more batteries I'm sure.
 
The deep cycling isn't to improve the charge capacity (as yes lipos have no "memory"), but rather to improve the battery controller's knowledge of the cell's real capacity.

And in fact, this procedure is described and recommended in the official manual.

FWIW, my ThinkPad and selected other lipo using devices also have this procedure.
 
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The battery will auto shut off before it reaches a damaging low level. At 8% critical battery low level the craft will auto land.. No matter where it is.
 

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