Discharging your drone

[Dnallov]

From what I understand from advice given by others, it is good practice to discharge the phantom after 20 flights.

So I decided to do this yesterday directly after my 20th flight. I landed my drone at 30% and let it run for what seemed like ages until it got to 10%, and stopped as I have read you shouldn’t under any
circumstance let your battery fall below 10% ( is the correct?).

So is this the correct procedure? I felt guilty running it for 15 minutes not flying, and I’m afraid that it could affect the life of the motors?

 

[msinger]

You should run your Phantom with the motors and props off until the battery shuts off. Then, charge it up again. It would be a good idea to point a fan at your Phantom while it's running -- or do it outside if it's cold where you live. It'll generate a lot of heat just sitting there without the props spinning to keep it cool.

 

[Dirty Bird]

You can discharge a lot faster if you allow her to hover nearby at 5-10' until she gets down to 8%. You will have to apply throttle the last 2% to get her not to autoland.

 

[octaver]

I agree it is much better to hover the bird until getting at least 10% battery life. The Propeller serves as cooling fan on the motor rather than running the motor without the prop.

 

[msinger]

I agree it is much better to hover the bird until getting at least 10% battery life. The Propeller serves as cooling fan on the motor rather than running the motor without the prop.

You'll still need to run the Phantom with the motors and props off even after doing this. Well, unless you're good enough to fly until the battery shuts off and manage to catch it in the air

 

[Dirty Bird]

I may be mistaken but I thought DJI recommended deep discharging to only 8%?

You'll still need to run the Phantom with the motors and props off even after doing this. Well, unless you're good enough to fly until the battery shuts off and manage to catch it in the air

 

[msinger]

I may be mistaken but I thought DJI recommended deep discharging to only 8%?

Per DJI's battery guidelines:
"Discharge the battery until there is 8% remaining power or until it can no longer be turned on"

 

[Dnallov]

Thanks guys for your replies

I should clarify that I did run down the battery without the props on.

You see…. my problem is that I am an engineer in the HVAC world; in this world I have been taught that moving parts should not be run when they are not under a working load or under any unnecessary pressure. We do this to increase the lifespan, reliability and efficiently of moving parts.

With this in mind; could I just not leave the Phantom on, without the motors running, until it reaches discharge?

 

[msinger]

With this in mind; could I just not leave the Phantom on, without the motors running, until it reaches discharge?

You can. But, as mentioned above, it'll take a lot longer to discharge the battery if you don't first fly your Phantom until the battery is very low.

 

[Dnallov]

You can. But, as mentioned above, it'll take a lot longer to discharge the battery if you don't first fly your Phantom until the battery is very low.

That’s what I plan. So every 20th flight I plan on flying until my drone reads 10% (normally I would only fly to a min of 30%, but on discharge day @ 30% I’ll bring her close to me & close to landing until 10%), then I'll bring her down, leave her on (motors off), and then pack her away in her case. The next time I plan on flying her, I'll make sure the battery is flat (i.e. not turning on) and charge it to 100% the same morning.

Does the above sound okay?

 

[msinger]

Yes -- other than packing her away in the case and then charging the battery at a later time. She'll get mighty hot if she's running while packed away in the case. And, it's not best to store the battery below 30%.

 

[Dnallov]

Yes -- other than packing her away in the case and then charging the battery at a later time. She'll get mighty hot if she's running while packed away in the case. And, it's not best to store the battery below 30%.

Ok, so for best practise; I should discharge out of the case (to disperse any heat), and once discharged charge back to 30% (weather flying or not).

I’ve seen the above 30% rule elsewhere on the forum; why the need to have the battery charged to 30%?

 

[msinger]

I’ve seen the above 30% rule elsewhere on the forum; why the need to have the battery charged to 30%?

DJI's battery guidelines recommend storing batteries with a charge between 30-50%. If above that, the battery will auto discharge itself (no worries there). If below 30%, you could damage your batteries if you store them for a long time.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I posted this on another thread, but might apply here as well:

Their question:
From what i understood and have read on this forum - once you do your first deep cycle that could very well bring it back to 100%

My response:
You will get "100%" after a deep cycle, but that is ONLY a calibration so the percentage is correct for flying, auto land at low battery etc. You will NOT get your performance back or the flight times of a new battery. You will always get a decreased performance the more cycles you have on the battery

The best thing you can do for your batteries is to NOT store them for long periods at full charge, but rather about 50%... and in a cool area (not hot). Also do not discharge them past 20%.... I shoot for 25% for best life.

This is why after 10 days (the DJI default - you can change this in the app) your P3 batteries will start to auto discharge down to 50%....