I want to ask, I have been using the Autel Evo II Pro Version 2 drone for 2 years. Recently, I have been experiencing issues with the battery depleting quickly, and I have noticed some batteries swelling, with some even displaying notifications of battery damage on the screen when in use. According to friends, what is the typical lifespan of the Autel Evo II Pro drone battery when used intensively? Is it normal for me to replace the battery after two years of use?
How long does an Autel battery last if used intensively?
- Thread starter farid.halfero
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This has been discussed many times, here is one such thread. Long story short is that 2yrs or 100 cycles, whichever comes first is pretty common. With that said, how you take care of your batteries also has a large impact on how long they last. I fly extensively as well, and in the Florida heat, my batteries are 3yrs old and every one of them still last like the day I got them, but I take many precautions to extend their life as much as possible.
What would you say is the most important thing to do or not do to make your batteries last as long as you have?
New to drones and drone batteries, but from what I've researched, store at 30 to 50% between uses, charge up the day of or day before flight. Don't leave them in a hot vehicle. Don't leave uncharged for long periods of time and check them occasionally during storage to insure that they haven't bled off the charge they have to very low levels. Read all the threads that discuss batteries.
Below are what I do to make the batteries last as long as possible despite heavy usage and living in FL where it is blazing hot nearly year round. I am not a battery engineer so these are not scientific certainties, but I have used high capacity LiPo batteries for many years. I also used to fly RC helis and they had massive 3C up to 6C batteries and you had to charge and balance them yourself by inputting all of the proper parameters so you gain a lot of experience working with them.
So below are what I consider important to LiPo longevity and ranked in order from most to least important:
1 - Storage. No matter how much you fly, batteries spend most of their time in storage so in my opinion it is the number one source of longevity or lack thereof. You should always try to store your batteries with at least 30% - 50% remaining.
2 - Discharge Level - If you consistently fly until you discharge the battery down to 5% then try to charge the battery to 30 or 50% the battery will be unbalanced and you will have wasted a charge cycle. So, the hard truth is you simply should always try to land with at least 30% battery life remaining. Yes, that cuts into your already short flight time, but if you want to maximize your battery life that's the best way to do it. If your focus is on maximizing your flight time, then the tradeoff will be shorter battery longevity.
3 - Temperature - You should do whatever you can to minimize the amount of time a LiPo spends either very hot or very cold. The battery might still work properly at either extreme. but battery longevity will suffer. While flying I keep my case in the shade or covered with a white towel. I only take the number of batteries that I need for that day, I keep my drone case in the air-conditioned part of the car (vs the trunk which is not air conditioned), and I try not to leave the case in the car before or after a job if I can help it. If I have to leave it in the car, I try to park the car in any shade that I can find.
4 - Drops - You should never drop a LiPo battery. I have an entire routine that I follow when prepping for a flight and when switching batteries and it involves ensuring the battery is never more than knee level from the ground when it is not in the case. I bend down when swapping batteries, and when moving the batteries from the case to the charger. Dropping a LiPo is the quickest way to have a battery fire, shorten its life, or disastrous failure midair due to an unbalanced battery. In the 3yrs I have had my EVO II, I have dropped the battery twice, and both times were from a height of less than 2' from the ground due to my routine.
I use my EVO II strictly for commercial jobs so it is usually in the air less than 10min tops and I usually land with around 60% capacity remaining. Recreational flyers tend to fly until around the 20% mark (or less) which shortens their battery longevity. Of course I occasionally have jobs that require longer flights but I really focus on landing and switching batteries once the battery reaches the 30% remaining mark.
100x cycles, not much is it.
NANO+ batteries are about $90AUD, so thats about 90c/flight.
I hope that there is an easy Controller Battery replacement option.
Not much at all, there is good and bad news for the controller battery; the bad news is I haven't heard of anyone replacing one (doesn't mean it hasn't happened), but the good news is I have also never needed to replace one. My oldest drone is the DJI P4 and it is around 8yrs old and the remote controller's battery is still perfectly fine whereas none of the flight batteries are original. Remote controllers discharge the battery much slower than a drone, so less heat, less capacity is needed, and they are rarely discharged below 50% since most of us just throw them on the charger as needed so they tend to greatly outlast the flight batteries.
I don't do a single thing special for the remote controller battery, I tend to recharge my EVO controller's battery around every 3-6 months. I also think it may only be a single cell, so if so it does not have the balancing problems that the flight batteries have.
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