Who’s used swollen batteries?

Bone4Drone · Feb 9, 2021

Ben01 said:
Two of my original p4p batteries are very swollen. They’ve been swelling up more and more for around a year now and they’re now to the point where it is somewhat difficult to get them in and after flying they are very difficult to get out.

I have another battery that I purchased maybe a year or 18months after the originals and this is now also starting to swell - yet nowhere to the extreme as the other two.

Today whilst flying with my newest battery, within 2 minutes of flying I got an error message up the top of screen saying “Damaged battery.” I have taken the attitude that now every time I fly it may be my last flight so I proceeded with the flight taking images without further incident. I only discharged it to around 55%.

The two older ones however have never caused me an issue. They don’t drain fast, they don’t show errors, and apart from the swelling you would never know there’s an issue. I want to point out that yes I am aware charging these can potentially be dangerous so I always charge these when I can supervise it completely.

Call me crazy but this drone cost me a lot of money and I’m not prepared to fork out for new batteries so the writing is on the wall. I’m curious if anyone has used a pin or similar to release the swelling of the battery to make getting it in and out easier?
I have seen people on YouTube suggest putting them in the freezer (which must work as I know on colder days they aren’t as swollen) but they still swell up further during flight and it’s difficult to get them out.

Thanks for any comments.

Not to worry. Swollen batteries just add more security against a battery accidentally falling out in flight. There's some spectacular stuff in store for ya. Soon your batteries should start smoking and the contrails they'll produce are a real crowd pleaser for sure.

Finally, after a few more flights, your bulging power pack will catch on fire and you're gonna have to land pretty quickly and remove the battery before it does any damage to your smoking bird. Drop the battery in a bucket of water and you might get a couple more flights out of it.

At that point, you might shop around for a used battery cheap. Maybe one that's just started to smoke. No sense in taking any chances by trying to push the batteries you currently use too far

quaddamage · Feb 10, 2021

Drone batteries are kind of special case in regard to batteries, as their failure will wreck your drone and may possibly harm people if the flight was near anyone.

But don't go ape crazy on anyone experimenting with batteries.

Is this dangerous without training? Yes, but trying to cross a road without training can cause you far more harm, so keep the perspective.

Are batteries serviceable at home? No, but anyone should be able to verify that him/herself, on their own risk. Fixing a car is far greater risk, and still many people take pleasure and pride by doing that after hours.

Fearmongering in this area is only in the interest of corporations. They have interest in you not being able to fix your device, and their wet dream is that you won't even be able to replace a battery. Because everyone knows it's dangerous!

Corporations put money in popularizing that point of view:

Kristina Fowler · Oct 20, 2021

Ben01 said:
Two of my original p4p batteries are very swollen. They’ve been swelling up more and more for around a year now and they’re now to the point where it is somewhat difficult to get them in and after flying they are very difficult to get out.

I have another battery that I purchased maybe a year or 18months after the originals and this is now also starting to swell - yet nowhere to the extreme as the other two.

Today whilst flying with my newest battery, within 2 minutes of flying I got an error message up the top of screen saying “Damaged battery.” I have taken the attitude that now every time I fly it may be my last flight so I proceeded with the flight taking images without further incident. I only discharged it to around 55%.

The two older ones however have never caused me an issue. They don’t drain fast, they don’t show errors, and apart from the swelling you would never know there’s an issue. I want to point out that yes I am aware charging these can potentially be dangerous so I always charge these when I can supervise it completely.

Call me crazy but this drone cost me a lot of money and I’m not prepared to fork out for new batteries so the writing is on the wall. I’m curious if anyone has used a pin or similar to release the swelling of the battery to make getting it in and out easier?
I have seen people on YouTube suggest putting them in the freezer (which must work as I know on colder days they aren’t as swollen) but they still swell up further during flight and it’s difficult to get them out.

Thanks for any comments.

I've had almost identical experiences with swollen batteries. I have a total of 11 batteries, 4 of which are swollen. The only negative I see so far is what you mentioned about pulling out of the battery compartment (I have weak hands. I started bringing a pair of rubber-coated gloves with me expressly for those times.) I also had 2 of them with identical warnings. I charged them up, flew them in hover down to 15%, and landed with no issue. The warnings have gone mute. Out of an abundance of caution, I put them at the bottom of my rotation.

I've tried putting them in the fridge overnight which did reduce the swelling considerably, but eventually, they returned to a swollen state. What part of the battery is actually swelling? It looks like there may even be a "bladder" that's swelling. Has anyone tried simply puncturing the swollen membrane?

BigL · Oct 20, 2021

Kristina Fowler said:
I've had almost identical experiences with swollen batteries. I have a total of 11 batteries, 4 of which are swollen. The only negative I see so far is what you mentioned about pulling out of the battery compartment (I have weak hands. I started bringing a pair of rubber-coated gloves with me expressly for those times.) I also had 2 of them with identical warnings. I charged them up, flew them in hover down to 15%, and landed with no issue. The warnings have gone mute. Out of an abundance of caution, I put them at the bottom of my rotation.

I've tried putting them in the fridge overnight which did reduce the swelling considerably, but eventually, they returned to a swollen state. What part of the battery is actually swelling? It looks like there may even be a "bladder" that's swelling. Has anyone tried simply puncturing the swollen membrane?

Very bad idea to puncture the battery unless you are a pyro.

ribjig · Oct 20, 2021

pin pricked ~2 yrs ago without any follow-up issues AFAICT
read post #16; I pricked outer ?vinyl? cover at very shallow angle
original battery is now 4 yrs 10 mos old...

PhantomWetSuits · Oct 20, 2021

A simple accidental puncture and the Phantom 4 battery Blew Black Smoke for 20 minutes , my only saving grace was that it happened in the Garage. Took years before the smell went away as that smoke is Thick and Toxic .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Phantom 4 in the Rain.

ribjig · Oct 20, 2021

> A simple accidental puncture

vs. very steep angled very shallow 1/8th inch pin prick thru just vinyl cover
yours was simple?? doubtful...likely multi-layered mixing chemistry
what we have here are two different animals;
hence my working battery, your fire;

feather

vs sledgehammer

PS. as previously reported, I was influenced to do this
after watching my smartphone repairman, who'd done it
hundreds of times over decade, do same kind of pin prick
to my bloated smartphone battery...yes, to each their own...

BigL · Oct 20, 2021

ribjig said:
> A simple accidental puncture

vs. very steep angled very shallow 1/8th inch pin prick thru just vinyl cover
yours was simple?? doubtful...likely multi-layered mixing chemicals
what we have here are two different animals;
hence my working battery, your fire;

feather vs sledgehammer

It just means I am not going to gamble my investment on a battery that has to have a hole poked in it. Each to his own.

Bone4Drone · Oct 20, 2021

Kristina Fowler said:
I've had almost identical experiences with swollen batteries. I have a total of 11 batteries, 4 of which are swollen. The only negative I see so far is what you mentioned about pulling out of the battery compartment (I have weak hands. I started bringing a pair of rubber-coated gloves with me expressly for those times.) I also had 2 of them with identical warnings. I charged them up, flew them in hover down to 15%, and landed with no issue. The warnings have gone mute. Out of an abundance of caution, I put them at the bottom of my rotation.

I've tried putting them in the fridge overnight which did reduce the swelling considerably, but eventually, they returned to a swollen state. What part of the battery is actually swelling? It looks like there may even be a "bladder" that's swelling. Has anyone tried simply puncturing the swollen membrane?

No! Do not puncture the battery. When they get too swollen to fit in the battery compartment, try putting them in a vice and placing both battery & vice in the refrigerator the night before you plan to fly. If the fit is still too snug, run the batteries over a belt sander a few times to take down the high spots. Do not break down and buy a new battery! That would be paramount to cheating.