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Battery Opinion

waverider

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The two original equipment batteries that came with my EVO 1 when it was new—nearly a year and a half ago—are now triggering "Battery Damaged" messages. They both started doing this within a couple weeks of each other. A newer third battery I bought later is still giving me over 20 minutes flight time. I'm wondering if this is simply the normal lifespan for these two original batteries and replacement is due ? Do these voltages look typical for batteries of this age and number of discharges?

Here are cell voltages when fully charged + number of recorded discharges:

Battery 1
4.254 4.268 4.265
115 discharges
Displays "Battery Damaged" message a few seconds after motor start-up.

Battery 2
4.279 4.289 4.284
110 discharges
EVO will take off and fly for about 5 minutes with this battery, then displays "Battery Damaged" and triggers RTH mode.
 
The lifespan is estimated between 150 and 200 cycles (depending on the good and bad treatment).
The main thing is to know the voltage of each element of your batteries to know which cell (s) are faulty and have not gone below 3 volts (the cell).
You would have to give the value of each cell of battery 1 and 2.
 
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LiPo batts typically last about a year or so before the cells start to fail. No matter the drone mfg or type. Flight time is the first to become lesser, and if you fly in high winds, battery life declines much faster. Compare newer batts to older ones, and you can see the difference in the voltage of the cells.

Another good test is monitoring the battery at idle, and again at hover, and then again in motion. I usually fly up, hover, then bring it down. No real distance, but testing vertically is enough to stress the battery, and look for differences in the cells. Batteries can often have lowered imbalanced cells, which isn't always a sign the battery is failing. Voltage drops as the drone current is pushed... just normal stuff there.

With Lipo it's more about the chemistry internally. It just breaks down over time, and it does not matter if you flew 20 or 200x in that year...

Swelling is another sign. look at the batteries. They may have slight scratch marks on the underside where they expanded (swelled) and were removed from the drone.

Storage and usage is paramount in battery longevity. TOO MANY users charge them all, and use maybe 1 battery in three on that flight, and then the others self discharge over that period until next use. This is very bad for batteries. Charge them 24-48 hrs before a flight. Store them at 40-50% charge. It is best NOT To let them self discharge.
 
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Thanks for that additional info. It turned out pretty much as you describe. Both batteries were >18 months old. One of them wouldn't even spool up the motors anymore Instant "Damaged Battery" message.. Battery #2 would start up , take off and fly okay horizontally, but when I tried to do fast vertical climb voltage in one cell would plunge down very low and not recover, inevitably triggering the "Damaged Battery" syndrome.

I went ahead and bought two new batteries. Not too thrilled about spending $200 at this particular time but I fly over lakes/rivers fairly often and the peace of mind is worth it.

Do you or anyone have any recommendation about what to do with these two worn-out OEM batteries? Is there some specific way to dispose or recycle?
Thanks again ...
 
Thanks for that additional info. It turned out pretty much as you describe. Both batteries were >18 months old. One of them wouldn't even spool up the motors anymore Instant "Damaged Battery" message.. Battery #2 would start up , take off and fly okay horizontally, but when I tried to do fast vertical climb voltage in one cell would plunge down very low and not recover, inevitably triggering the "Damaged Battery" syndrome.

I went ahead and bought two new batteries. Not too thrilled about spending $200 at this particular time but I fly over lakes/rivers fairly often and the peace of mind is worth it.

Do you or anyone have any recommendation about what to do with these two worn-out OEM batteries? Is there some specific way to dispose or recycle?
Thanks again ...
Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, and I think Batteries Plus will take them for recycle.

KEYS to keeping batteries around...

Limit heat and direct sunlight. Avoid storing in hot cars.
Always fly them down to 40-50% before storing them.
AVOID letting them self discharge... this really ruins their life. It is a safety feature only.

Expect to replace batteries every year or so. Only use newer batteries for flights over water, or distance flights beyond a few hundred yards. I have two orig batteries still working, but the cells run down fast in flight. Soon they too will report damaged battery, but until then, I keep them for RE photo work, routine land flights, close inspection work.
 
115 /110 discharges is reall getting old for battery.
I have play Phantom3/4 the battery near 100 round will get old, fly time less and less .
Some friend is about 30 round get a fat battery.
Battery can fix ,need't abandon , if you know where. I have no chance to fix evo battery
 
115 /110 discharges is reall getting old for battery.
I have play Phantom3/4 the battery near 100 round will get old, fly time less and less .
Some friend is about 30 round get a fat battery.
Battery can fix ,need't abandon , if you know where. I have no chance to fix evo battery
Batteries with failed cells are dangerous and can catch fire. If the battery cells are in good shape, then there is always a possibility of repair.
 
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Batteries with failed cells are dangerous and can catch fire. If the battery cells are in good shape, then there is always a possibility of repair.
@Ansia I know you've been busy but thought I'd check on something with you. I haven't flown since May. (COCO19) Batteries have been stored properly. Just took the EVO 1 out and did a shoot last week. Had 5 solid batteries but getting "Bad Battery Warning" on 3 of them. Discharges are relatively low in the 30's. A couple are about a year old so that could be it. I've had a couple of failures in the past but Alejandro replaced them at no charge but I'm way out of warranty. I bought a new one to see if it is a conflict with the drone/firmware but it works fine as does an old one from Aug. 2019.

I've tried every trick in the book trying to get the cells back in balance. I just ordered a new multi charger (not the hub) and I am curious if you have any tips or tricks I haven't thought of to get these "failed batteries" back into balance. There is just a small variance in the cells as I monitor them in the app. Using FW 1.58 and Explorer V1.0.1.45. (Should be the correct match up.)
Thanks in advance for any info you might have. Jim
 
@Ansia I know you've been busy but thought I'd check on something with you. I haven't flown since May. (COCO19) Batteries have been stored properly. Just took the EVO 1 out and did a shoot last week. Had 5 solid batteries but getting "Bad Battery Warning" on 3 of them. Discharges are relatively low in the 30's. A couple are about a year old so that could be it. I've had a couple of failures in the past but Alejandro replaced them at no charge but I'm way out of warranty. I bought a new one to see if it is a conflict with the drone/firmware but it works fine as does an old one from Aug. 2019.

I've tried every trick in the book trying to get the cells back in balance. I just ordered a new multi charger (not the hub) and I am curious if you have any tips or tricks I haven't thought of to get these "failed batteries" back into balance. There is just a small variance in the cells as I monitor them in the app. Using FW 1.58 and Explorer V1.0.1.45. (Should be the correct match up.)
Thanks in advance for any info you might have. Jim
sadly, I havent found a way to repair batteries with a damaged cell. I read somewhere within the XSP area of someone who was trying to replace a damaged cell, but he hasnt logged back in to confirm or deny if he was successful.
 
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