Battery life

[Phantombandit]

How can I determine how much life is left in my batteries?

 

[WV. Rootman]

Press and hold the on button on the battery for 5 seconds. Let go and see how many lights light up. That will tell you the approximate life left. If all 4 light up you are good. Really there are a lot of factors. Cell deviation is another. The number of charges all factor in on battery life. Read the manual on the battery section and archive post on this forum. It is somewhat of a guess and how well you have taken care of your battery. Check You Tube also. There is some good information there too.

 

[Phantombandit]

I will do just that. Thank you.

 

[N017RW]

The ‘life meter’ is a calculation. The best measure is flight time.

You have to judge based on your flight profile/regime. A new P2 batt gives about 20 min. if I recall correctly.

As they age this will reduce and slight puffing may occur.

Life can be extended by proper storage levels (40-60% charge)
And not discharging to the point of warning lights under the arms flashing red.

 

[jason]

How can I determine how much life is left in my batteries?

Here's the best way to know what condition your batteries are in.

Before charging.

After charging.

Check the current capacity before and after charging. Batteries that come with used quads are generally in poor condition and it doesn't have anything to do with the number of times they were cycled but in how they were stored.

The low current capacity of 3012mAh doesn't tell you much but that battery was only good for 3 minutes of flight time and nearly caused a crash. In other words, it lost more than 50% of that current in those 3 minutes and climbing just over 100 feet when I noticed the voltage was 10.6 volts. If you'd like to see the video with telemetry I have it.

 

[Phantombandit]

Jason,

Do these readings look ok or out of line? I started charging the battery when it had 1 solid and 1 blinking light. All of a sudden it jumped to fully charged.

William

 

[jason]

Jason,

Do these readings look ok or out of line? I started charging the battery when it had 1 solid and 1 blinking light. All of a sudden it jumped to fully charged.

WilliamView attachment 108285

Take another reading once a battery cools down. Those readings do not look good at all for a new battery. Where did you buy it?

 

[Phantombandit]

Here is my second reading after we talked.

 

[jason]

Here is my second reading after we talked.

I'd send it back for a replacement or refund.

 

[Phantombandit]

In the process of all this I had ordered another battery from the same vendor. I have charged it up and here are the readings. Should it be sent also. The "Current" value seems low compared to the pictures you sent me. But the voltage on the cells looks ok. It did set for a while so these are cold readings.

 

[jason]

In the process of all this I had ordered another battery from the same vendor. I have charged it up and here are the readings. Should it be sent also. The "Current" value seems low compared to the pictures you sent me. But the voltage on the cells looks ok. It did set for a while so these are cold readings.View attachment 108301

For a new battery, those readings are not good. Ask for a refund.

 

[Lurch175]

Also keep a log of your batteries... I have 6 total. 5 in proper working condition and 1 that died. From my understanding after you have done 20 flights you need to completely discharge the battery down to 0% and then give it a full recharge. This will help your battery life even just by a little. Each battery will tell you how many times it has been used in flight... the one that died was at 20 when I found out this information... I am still looking to see if there is any way to bring it back from the dead...