Battery performance and low temperature query.

[mahseve]

Lo all
I recently asked these questions but they were buried in the bowels of an unrelated post.
1. How does low temperature, i.e. 5°c to 0°c, affect battery performance?
I have read somewhere the batteries should warmed in cold weather.
2. At what ambient temp should one start warming them, and how?
Appreciate help.

 

[BigAl07]

LiPo batteries are just a chemical reaction and that reaction is significantly slowed in cooler temps. I'd say anything below 45 deg (F). For years I've kept my other non-smart LiPo in the "vegetable bin" in the fridge to help preserve the life for long storage.

If it's chilly on my fingers it's chilly on my batteries and we use hand warmers in a soft-sided cooler to keep our batteries warmed up. Once operating in the air they can maintain their own temp but putting a cold battery in the air could bring problems.

 

[ChiefStealth]

The one thing I know is that the battery doesn't last as long when its cold. I have no idea how much the battery power drops for any given temperature. I have no idea what temperature the battery needs to be at to provide full power.

 

[mahseve]

LiPo batteries are just a chemical reaction and that reaction is significantly slowed in cooler temps. I'd say anything below 45 deg (F). For years I've kept my other non-smart LiPo in the "vegetable bin" in the fridge to help preserve the life for long storage.

If it's chilly on my fingers it's chilly on my batteries and we use hand warmers in a soft-sided cooler to keep our batteries warmed up. Once operating in the air they can maintain their own temp but putting a cold battery in the air could bring problems.

Problems being?

 

[Cloudraker]

To add to this question, if i am keeping my drone/batteries in the house, if I walk outside on a day thats rather cold (sub 40F) as long as the battery isnt allowed to cool down to the outside temp, am i good to start flying? I would assume that the heat the battery generates will prevent it from getting too cold to fly?

 

[RodPad]

http://www.phantompilots.com/search/22967786/?q=cold&t=post&o=relevance

Rod

 

[BigAl07]

Problems being?

I assume you're asking what happens when the battery is below normal operating temps?

At a lower temp the battery performance is greatly decreased. Potentially below the MIN operating output to power your aircraft which in worse case scenario would mean falling from the sky. Updated Firmware has helped to stop "aircraft simply falling from the sky" but we need to understand our LiPo batteries and not rely on computer code to keep us safe.

 

[Michael O'Byrne]

Would keeping a battery in trousers pocket be an idea? Only problem be sure and clean the pocket out first and get rid of any small particles in case they get stuck up near the terminals. Read where it's a good idea to use tape over the terminal area.