Battery Cycles - How Many?

[Eagle928]

I watched a video stream today with 808-State channel on Youtube where he talked about only getting 60-70 cycles on these $200 batteries.

Is that all you're getting too? I thought we should get at couple hundred at least.

 

[herein2021]

I watched a video stream today with 808-State channel on Youtube where he talked about only getting 60-70 cycles on these $200 batteries.

Is that all you're getting too? I thought we should get at couple hundred at least.

I have been sounding this warning for awhile....just because the batteries cost more doesn't mean they will last longer. I am currently right around the 1yr mark and so far all 4 of my original batteries are still working but I don't know how many cycles I've put on them.

I also think the longevity is affected by how each cycle was discharged. I tend to only need very short flights to get a few min of footage so mine might make it to 100+ cycles vs someone who flies every time until the battery is depleted.

 

[Eagle928]

I have been sounding this warning for awhile....just because the batteries cost more doesn't mean they will last longer. I am currently right around the 1yr mark and so far all 4 of my original batteries are still working but I don't know how many cycles I've put on them.

I also think the longevity is affected by how each cycle was discharged. I tend to only need very short flights to get a few min of footage so mine might make it to 100+ cycles vs someone who flies every time until the battery is depleted.

I was wondering how much it mattered as far as what percentage the battery is drained to each time. I generally stop/finish the flight with 10 or more minutes left on the clock. I guess time will tell.

I was hoping someone who has flown enough to go through a few batteries to the point of needing to replace them could confirm what 808-State was finding with his. He did say he was possibly being a bit overly cautious (paraphrased). He lives where it rarely gets cold enough to be an issue in that way (Hawaii).

 

[herein2021]

I was wondering how much it mattered as far as what percentage the battery is drained to each time. I generally stop/finish the flight with 10 or more minutes left on the clock. I guess time will tell.

I was hoping someone who has flown enough to go through a few batteries to the point of needing to replace them could confirm what 808-State was finding with his. He did say he was possibly being a bit overly cautious (paraphrased). He lives where it rarely gets cold enough to be an issue in that way (Hawaii).

I am not a battery expert but I do know heat kills battery life over the long term and discharging from 100% down to 20% on a hot day causes the batteries to get pretty hot so I would assume that the more often the batteries get that hot the shorter their life will be. 808 State lives in Hawaii where it gets very hot practically year around so I can see where maybe his batteries don't last as long as someone in a colder climate.

Another variable is how long the battery sat in a warehouse and on the shelf before it was purchased, leaving a LiPo discharged for too long also shortens its life just like leaving it charged for too long does. Basically, LiPo's are great for their size and capacity in relation to their weight, but so many things impact their longevity that it is no surprise that things like golf carts, cars, etc. (basically anything that doesn't need to save weight) sticks with the traditional lead acid or AGM batteries.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

One battery from my stock have 176 cycles. Works perfectly...no extra maintenance, we just load them with 24h before flight and after depletion (10% remaining) we recharge it 100% and leave it to discharge by itself...
It still able to keep the drone in air around 28 minutes...so I have lost around 4 minutes...The cells are still perfectly calibrated, difference is around 0.08V between cells.
So...depends on lot and luck...

 

[Eagle928]

One battery from my stock have 176 cycles. Works perfectly...no extra maintenance, we just load them with 24h before flight and after depletion (10% remaining) we recharge it 100% and leave it to discharge by itself...
It still able to keep the drone in air around 28 minutes...so I have lost around 4 minutes...The cells are still perfectly calibrated, difference is around 0.08V between cells.
So...depends on lot and luck...

Yes; it sure does seem to depend on a lot of different variables. Is it hot where you live and do you keep the batteries in a controlled environment?

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Yes; it sure does seem to depend on a lot of different variables. Is it hot where you live and do you keep the batteries in a controlled environment?

All batteries kept in 20-21 Celsius degrees, constantly...not a special room, just our office have the temp set at 20.5 Celsius.
All time I use them and they are depleted, I charge it at 5-6 hours at full and just leave them to get to half by auto-discharge.

 

[Eagle928]

All batteries kept in 20-21 Celsius degrees, constantly...not a special room, just our office have the temp set at 20.5 Celsius.
All time I use them and they are depleted, I charge it at 5-6 hours at full and just leave them to get to half by auto-discharge.

For us Americans that's 68.9 degrees F.

That's about what I set my thermostat to in the Winter. Summer is 80 F.

 

[herein2021]

One battery from my stock have 176 cycles. Works perfectly...no extra maintenance, we just load them with 24h before flight and after depletion (10% remaining) we recharge it 100% and leave it to discharge by itself...
It still able to keep the drone in air around 28 minutes...so I have lost around 4 minutes...The cells are still perfectly calibrated, difference is around 0.08V between cells.
So...depends on lot and luck...

I leave my batteries discharged after a day's worth of projects. I actually prefer to put the drone away with all 4 batteries fully discharged from the day's projects. I see battery charging cycles like mileage on a car......every time you recharge one to 100% you have less life remaining, so I don't see the point in recharging the flight batteries until I need them again.

Also, I don't trust Autel's discharging process, some of the batteries are discharged to 20% after two weeks and sometimes some of them are still 75% charged after two weeks.

 

[Isky]

I have 2 batteries that have just under 100 cycles that stopped working... One bad cell in each... When the battery is 100% at the beginning of the flight, and one minute into the flight it indicates ZERO and the drone is landing NOW sucks!!!!!

 

[herein2021]

I have 2 batteries that have just under 100 cycles that stopped working... One bad cell in each... When the battery is 100% at the beginning of the flight, and one minute into the flight it indicates ZERO and the drone is landing NOW sucks!!!!!

How old are they and do you live in a warm climate? Supposedly they have a 2yr warranty but I have yet to see anyone successfully get them replaced under warranty.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

I leave my batteries discharged after a day's worth of projects. I actually prefer to put the drone away with all 4 batteries fully discharged from the day's projects. I see battery charging cycles like mileage on a car......every time you recharge one to 100% you have less life remaining, so I don't see the point in recharging the flight batteries until I need them again.

Also, I don't trust Autel's discharging process, some of the batteries are discharged to 20% after two weeks and sometimes some of them are still 75% charged after two weeks.

Well, I set mine at 4 or max 5 days discharge...not 7-10 days...I don't know what is best, but I follow this practice as I see my oldest battery is still OK...(using it for close works at 30-50 m distance from me, as I do not confide in it 100% (old enough), for distant ones I use batteries with under 70-80 cycles)...

 

[Jbaker0024]

I have 2 batteries that have just under 100 cycles that stopped working... One bad cell in each... When the battery is 100% at the beginning of the flight, and one minute into the flight it indicates ZERO and the drone is landing NOW sucks!!!!!

Tell me about it. I just lost mine in a lake because of that very thing happening.

 

[Isky]

Never ever fly the Autel Evos over water or in any area where an IMMEDIATE, safe landing cannot be performed... Ya cant say I didnt warn everyone... Prior to this happening to multiple batteries, the Evo 2 was my primary drone after I ditched the Phantoms and Mavic 2's as my daily flyers... I have gotten away from Autel due to this battery situation and am enjoying the HECK out of my Mavic 3... And I would have stayed with Autel if this had been addressed....

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Never ever fly the Autel Evos over water or in any area where an IMMEDIATE, safe landing cannot be performed... Ya cant say I didnt warn everyone... Prior to this happening to multiple batteries, the Evo 2 was my primary drone after I ditched the Phantoms and Mavic 2's as my daily flyers... I have gotten away from Autel due to this battery situation and am enjoying the HECK out of my Mavic 3... And I would have stayed with Autel if this had been addressed....

I don't think is the case to talk about reliability of M3 versus Evo2Pro...
M3 is like a drunk goose in this case...
Only on M3 forum I read every week about fly away and crashes at RTH...
Not to mention the camera on M3 that have a good sensor and a crap optics, all is blurred a lot versus E2P and even Nano+..
So...
Enjoy it, but I would not compare it with E2P.

 

[Isky]

Geo, my post is for anyone who owns an Autel Evo 2 Pro or Autel Evo 2 8K. I own both and want everyone who has put over 100 charges on one of Autel's batteries for these drones to be careful. If you took my post as a sales pitch for the M3 or a criticizing of the Autel Evo drones, it was neither. I still fly my Evos but simply dont trust their batteries and or battery management system/algorithm.. Just Be CAREFUL with your EVO 2 Pro 6k and Evo 2 8K drones!

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Geo, my post is for anyone who owns an Autel Evo 2 Pro or Autel Evo 2 8K. I own both and want everyone who has put over 100 charges on one of Autel's batteries for these drones to be careful. If you took my post as a sales pitch for the M3 or a criticizing of the Autel Evo drones, it was neither. I still fly my Evos but simply dont trust their batteries and or battery management system/algorithm.. Just Be CAREFUL with your EVO 2 Pro 6k and Evo 2 8K drones!

I am, tks... Works that presume flying over sensitive areas are made with under 50 cycles batt...My oldest batt. is now buried, I had a 0.8V unbalanced cells (1st and last), so this is the sign that is finished. (still, was able to work for 20 minutes, not inflated, but...no more, is 2 years+ old).
Cheers.

 

[SixStarsDrone]

How do you determine how many cycles a battery has?

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

How do you determine how many cycles a battery has?

In Autel Explorer, you have BATTERY section.

 

[Droney007]

I have been sounding this warning for awhile....just because the batteries cost more doesn't mean they will last longer. I am currently right around the 1yr mark and so far all 4 of my original batteries are still working but I don't know how many cycles I've put on them.

I also think the longevity is affected by how each cycle was discharged. I tend to only need very short flights to get a few min of footage so mine might make it to 100+ cycles vs someone who flies every time until the battery is depleted.

From Copilot AI......The Autel Evo Lite+ battery is designed to last for a significant number of charge cycles. Typically, you can expect around 200 - 300 charge cycle before you start noticing a decrease in performance. This can vary based on how well the battery is maintained and the conditions in which it is used.