The back story on this drone is that it was purchased from Best Buy brand new when they first were first released the gentleman recieved it put it in his closet and never used it. He thought it looked cool that's why he purchased it Totally sealed never been opened, oh yeah I got a second battery also.
He has had time during this covid BS and decided to do some cleaning up pulled this out and decided to get rid of it too put some $$$ in his pocket I picked it up cheap .
I had wanted one for 3 months since they seemed to have everything finally ironed out with it .
That sounds like you got a great deal. Check the batteries in the app. Note the voltage when fully charged. Compare the old stored unused batteries to your newer ones. If no differences, all good.. if any differences of more than a few tenths of a volt, that is a sign they are weakening.
The next test of the old batteries is go ahead and fly around in a park or field. Notice the data on the screen, and look at the flight time. If it drops faster, that battery has weakened. I time the flight time on my phone since the flight time indicator on the telemetry can vary for many reasons. It only takes one cell to sour and have the drone report "damaged battery" and auto return, or worse case if the battery has not enough power to RTH it just auto lands... this is where users panic either way. My experience with this is that the drone can still usually give the option to cancel say if you just took off, but if you are beyond VLOS, and it knows it cannot get back safely, there will be NO cancel RTH option, and it will land wherever it is. People like to take risks with these drones.. Don't !! Even though you got a great deal on yours, always always visually spot that bird. Too many fly BVLOS and too many report they lost their drone... 50% of that is user error, and 49% of that is NOT doing a preflight inspection, hover test, waiting GPS lock etc.
Batteries come charged to around 50%. That is the idle charge, but they can still, and will still break down over that years time even with no use. It's like inkjet cartridges when it comes to expendables. Drone LiPo batteries do NOT have a long shelf life. This is why Autel, and other companies are having shortages due to Covid and mfg limitations where the batteries are made.
I would prefer they make batteries like these, but have the cells replaceable by the user. When you think about it, the avg user gets about 50 flights in one battery before they start to fail... That is mostly the user that flies once a week. The Pro users can get 100+ flights as we do in our company here. Most of that within that first year. Then we mark our batteries as we notice the voltage they provide on the cells becomes less over time. For any distant flights, or flight requiring us to be over a lake or ocean, we ONLY use newer batteries.
For the 50 flight user, that ends up being almost $2 a flight on a battery...Our Evo batteries in the co see about 3-4 flights per day, and we keep them out of any heat source as much as possible. Seeing 200 flights on a battery can be standard stuff for those that use them as regularly.
Thing about LiPo's in drones is that either way... your time is limited to about a year before they start to really fail. Initially, users notice the battery not charging to 100% even when completely charged. You may start up, and battery level show 91%, and when it does that, don't plan on flying far... That is a clear sign that battery is dying... As you fly it more, you will notice flight time on the controller data drop rapidly. In some instances of fast flights, or heavy winds, that can be normal when in motion, but generally climbs back up once hovering. For weak batteries however, those numbers drop very fast, and faster the lower the battery percent becomes in flight. This is where users get into trouble... regardless of drone type or mfg... Always pay attention to those numbers. Part of preflight inspection for 107 users is checking battery cells, and many do not.... until it's too late.. Then they come on forums and complain their drone ditched by itself.
Our batteries, if over a year, we have a simple rule. NEVER fly them over water. Never fly them in heavy wind conditions. Only fly them to 40% battery remain. NEVER fly a weak battery to under 20%.... Many do this, and then it can cost them the $1000-$2000 drone itself. Batteries for drones are not cheap, but neither is the drone. Batteries are the life blood of the drone... ensure they are in good condition, and if questionable at all... do not use them.
Remember the limits on LiPo batteries, and you will understand and treat them most expendables for other products. LiPo's on power tools are pretty much the same, but they don't fly 400' in the air. The first thing on those tools is the user just notices weaker performance... and yeah, those batteries for similar current delivery are about the same price as drone batteries. Higher power ones are more costly... same for drone batteries. Proper care is required, however the packaging on a power drill will not allow them to swell... so in some instances, if the battery swells beyond the case limit they explode, catch fire in the area they are stored. Drone batteries swell and expand when hot, but flatten some as they cool. Just the nature of liPo batteries.
