Battery temp question

Joined
Nov 27, 2015
Messages
755
Reaction score
225
Age
63
Given the posts I have read on acceptable battery temps I started paying more attention than before and today, like other days I had two flights with an ending temps higher than some have suggested as safe, i.e., today's batteries temps on landing were 127F & 131F.
The batteries started at room temperature 75F, current outside air temp is 82F, starting elevation is about 4000 feet, wind approximately 10 mph and I flew the batteries down to 30 to 25 percent upon landing. Max speed was in the neighborhood of 12 mph.

For the environment I described, are battery temps in this range normal. I have read that anything at or above 140F could be catastrophic, and last week I had a reading of 140F when the outside air was around 91F.


Appreciate any thoughts on this.




Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Last edited:
You mention the batteries were 55C but then mentioned that the air temp was "82 degrees". As you just mentioned the battery temp in C, I can only assume you are using the same scale so the air temp was 82C or 182F. If it was that hot your batteries were probably the least of your issues.

So I can only assume that you are changing temp scales without indicating this.


Just so we are on the same page... it's 82F/28C air temps and the batteries ended at 55C/131F.

You state that after the flight the batteries felt wamn. I'm going to guess that they felt.... 55C/131F warm? I'm assuming when you mentioned batteries and then an "ending temp" that the ending temp was that of the batteries. What I'm not clear on is why you think this might be a bad reading. As power is drawn from the batteries they get warm. You only state that there was "cool to cold" on start up. I have no idea what temp that is. So I only know after you flew for 20 minutes that they were at 55C/131F. I don't see that as an issue.

A cold IMU setting has nothing to do with battery temps.
 
Thanks,
Your right I did jump between C and F.
Changed the post a bit.
I hope that is more clear.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
When thinking about battery temps, I like to use Centigrade.

And yeah, I like to keep track of the temps. I don't want it to go above 60 C and I don't want to fly with the temp below 20 C.

I even overlay the battery temps in my videos so afterwards I can see the changing temp as I fly. So far, the highest I've gotten is 53 C flying on a day with surface air temp at 75 F. But on that particular day, I had left my AC outside for an hour because I decided I needed to charge my controller, so it started hotter than it normally would.

I like to fly in weather that is not too hot - so I prefer mornings. I don't want to overheat the battery or the motors or the transmitters.

Having said that, I haven't read many posts of aircrafts bursting into flames mid-flight because of an overheated battery.
 
Having said that, I haven't read many posts of aircrafts bursting into flames mid-flight because of an overheated battery.

I have, lipo's will do that for sure, but not at 55C. I'd consider ~70C where you need to start worrying as they could puff and their performance and capacity will deteriorate. thermal runaway happens only at much higher temps, far above 100C.

Of course, don't charge your batteries at 55C, let them cool first, but during operation, its completely fine.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,355
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.