Why arent we supposed to charge the RC and the AC at the same time?
- Thread starter 3rdof5
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I haven’t read anything official from DJI however I made the assumption early on it might simply be a power rating issue, that is the DJI power supply is rated to deliver sufficent current to safely meet the charging needs of the battery only. Having said that I have often ignored it and charged the remote and a battery together without a problem.
Just a quick edit to qualify- my experience was with the P3P charger which is 100w as opposed to the advance which if I remember correctly has a significantly lower rating.
Just a quick edit to qualify- my experience was with the P3P charger which is 100w as opposed to the advance which if I remember correctly has a significantly lower rating.
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I also own a P3P with the 100 watt charger and that's the charger that Dji specifically does NOT recommend charging both with at the same time. My guess is since the RC has half the voltage of the AC that's the issue.
The P3 batteries are, as you probably know, 68wh. The P3P charter is rated at 100W. DJI claims a P3P battery will charge in just over 1 hour. Most LiPO chargers operate at or above 80% efficiency. Worst case scenario a fully depleted P3 battery would require the charger to deliver 85W continuously. We know that won't be the case, simply because the LiPO charging scheme isn't one where constant current is applied. We do know that the P3 battery charges at 1C though, it might come close to hitting the max rating of the charger for part of the charge cycle however there will be some margin for additional power delivery. I didn't notice the power supply running noticeably hotter while charging both at once. I didn't do it frequently however, just on the odd occasion where I didn't have a lot of advance warning prior to needing to charge for flying.
Im not suggesting you ignore the DJI instruction. Simply offering my thoughts as to the reasoning and sharing my experience. I wouldn't hesitate in doing it again if I needed to. Its likely the worst outcome might be that the battery takes longer to charge or that the charger will shut down (protection circuit will operate).
Im not suggesting you ignore the DJI instruction. Simply offering my thoughts as to the reasoning and sharing my experience. I wouldn't hesitate in doing it again if I needed to. Its likely the worst outcome might be that the battery takes longer to charge or that the charger will shut down (protection circuit will operate).
Yip I'm same ,once batterys cold rc and batt go on together,never had a issue,,they wouldn't put double plug on it otherwise,,only my p3s has a single charge plug (rc usb),just my 1 & 1/2 cents worth 
Its purely a power demand situation. Dividing the power out capability lengthens the charge time ... and could in fact have PSU (DJI Charger) at its upper limit.
This of course only applies to the P3's with charger type Controllers - unlike the Standard which uses a mobile phone / USB format to charge.
I to have ignored the 'advice' and charged both together ... but now I have the 3+1 charger ... it makes no difference to charge time whether 1, 2, 3, + controller ... they all charge at full rate.
Nigel
This of course only applies to the P3's with charger type Controllers - unlike the Standard which uses a mobile phone / USB format to charge.
I to have ignored the 'advice' and charged both together ... but now I have the 3+1 charger ... it makes no difference to charge time whether 1, 2, 3, + controller ... they all charge at full rate.
Nigel
Thanks everyone!! Good to know. I've never charged both at the same time and i doubt I'll ever need to but in a pinch now i know it's possible.
When not flying, which can be days-weeks at a time,
I leave both RC & drone battery connected to charger.
Occasionally, one or other starts recharging briefly.
Factually, does this shorten life of either? Why?
Myth or reality...?
I leave both RC & drone battery connected to charger.
Occasionally, one or other starts recharging briefly.
Factually, does this shorten life of either? Why?
Myth or reality...?
Thats a very bad idea. These Lipo batteries do not like to be stored fully charged. Its even built into the app to auto discharge (by default this is set to 10 days, i keep mine on 2 days). You are definitely shortening the life of your battery doing that.
The best procedure for storing your battery is to charge your battery until the 3rd light starts to blink and then disconnect it and leave it alone. Fully charge only before flying and always let the battery cool down to room temp after flying before recharging.
its your money ..... doing that is most likely to mean you buying new batterys more often than others who store their gear properly.
Think of it like your Laptop computer ... running it on the mains all the time kills the battery till no longer can you rely on the battery to travel with it ...
Nigel
Good info here. Thanks but may i ask? The batteries (p3) have a protective circuit that will not allow charging while 'hot'. Is it ok to just plug a hot battery up while its cooling and let this mechanism start the charging process begin on its own?
It will work but it isn't ideal. The temp circuit is to prevent serious damage, not provide for more ideal conditions. Best to charge them closer to room temperature (20 degC). If you need to be charging that quick get a few more batteries and they will all last longer.
Its the universal solution to all really :
Get more batterys.
I reckon minimum for general hobbyist with a Phantom is 3 batterys ... that way you never really get to such situations of waiting for cooling down etc. 3 is usually enough for me to have reasonable amount of video of shows / meetings etc.
I rarely have to resort to field charging.
Nigel
Get more batterys.
I reckon minimum for general hobbyist with a Phantom is 3 batterys ... that way you never really get to such situations of waiting for cooling down etc. 3 is usually enough for me to have reasonable amount of video of shows / meetings etc.
I rarely have to resort to field charging.
Nigel
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