Flying with hand warmers on battery? Planning to go up in 5F Friday

[eoren1]

So we have an arctic blast coming to MA which means good chance for shooting sea smoke. Brand new to flying drones and wondering if I could/should attach a hand/foot warmer to the battery area to try to keep the drone going. The foot ones come with an adhesive.

I've had an iPhone go from 100% to 5% in 5 minutes of video shooting in similar conditions last year.

Thanks!

 

[alokbhargava]

iPhone battery doesn't produce enough heat to keep it warm during such cold conditions but P4 batteries will heat up during flights. Only problem you might face is during take off as batteries might be cold at that time. It's suggested to get the batteries warmed up before flying.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[eoren1]

iPhone battery doesn't produce enough heat to keep it warm during such cold conditions but P4 batteries will heat up during flights. Only problem you might face is during take off as batteries might be cold at that time. It's suggested to get the batteries warmed up before flying.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Thanks! Planned on keeping Phantom in car with heat until ready to go and then keep spare in there while flying.

 

[alokbhargava]

Please note Lipo batteries can't deliver full currents at low temperatures and that's why we want them to be warm before using them.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[ianwood]

Keep Phantom cool / close to outside temps prior to flight. Keep batteries at room temp (70F / 21C) until just before flight.

 

[Raptorman0909]

iPhone battery doesn't produce enough heat to keep it warm during such cold conditions but P4 batteries will heat up during flights. Only problem you might face is during take off as batteries might be cold at that time. It's suggested to get the batteries warmed up before flying.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Yes, exactly, it would need to be REAL cold for the P4 battery to get colder during flight so as long as the battery is warm enough on takeoff you should be good to go. I'm not talking -40C here, but more typical cold temps. If it's real cold you might want to have the battery preheated to about 35C so that in the time it takes to put into the bird and get in the air the temp doesn't drop below, say, 25C.


Brian

 

[John Locke]

Keep Phantom cool / close to outside temps prior to flight. Keep batteries at room temp (70F / 21C) until just before flight.

I don't fly in the cold much, I'm in So Calif, but I'm curious about the advantage to keeping the craft cold. Does this prevent the lens from fogging or something?

 

[ianwood]

I don't fly in the cold much, I'm in So Calif, but I'm curious about the advantage to keeping the craft cold. Does this prevent the lens from fogging or something?

Amongst other things. Also IMU and barometer temp. Best to have your temperatures change smoothly. But what do I know, I'm in SoCal too!

 

[mudman]

Ive been flying mine since i got it in sub 0 weather (-2 f here now) i let the craft cool down for a bit before flight but keep the battery in my inside pocket to stay warm. I also stick to about 10 min flights, don't know if it matters but i know lip batteries can lose power quick when its cold so I don't take any chances.

 

[John Locke]

Amongst other things. Also IMU and barometer temp. Best to have your temperatures change smoothly. But what do I know, I'm in SoCal too!

OK, that makes sense. I'm glad I can keep my props warm so I don't have to handle ice cold props when installing them.... I'll keep batts and props inside a Playmate, snuggled together a hand warmer, wrapped in a blanky...... if I ever fly in the cold. Actually, I think I have one of those 12V car coolers that doubles as a warmer. That may be the ticket. Just keep the craft in the trunk.

 

[richardhurst]

I've flown my P3 in Sweden at -25 and kept the batteries in my pockets. Got about 15 minute flight times from them. It was my tablet that couldn't handle the cold

 

[JimHarris]

It was 25 degrees today with a nice 20 MPH wind and I couldn't fly for more than 5 minutes before my fingertips were so cold they were aching like I just smacked each one with a hammer.