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Battery life and why you crash...

CraigCam

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So lots of people here have issues that seem unexpected. LiPo batteries are very suspect. Here's how I know anecdotally.

I'm back here in Stinson Beach mixing the record I started in May. Some of you may have seen my post about CA and privacy vs drone flying. This trip I decided my Breeze was appropriate for low key fun as I've flown the in SF back in December and no one cared as it's so cute.
Yesterday I was shooting the studio roof and sunset and got my low battery warning. I came down some but still stayed up about 15' and kept hovering. So I took it to the mythological auto land which was really a no power descent and it stopped on its own upon landing. Battery is below 13% (weird prime number) according to app. That pushing beyond the warnings has ruined this battery. 2 of the 3 cells no longer have capacitance. It's a breeze and an extra battery I don't like loosing but it's toast. Now take my tale and change it to an H and be higher up in the air. Recipe for disaster. My point is once you've over flown a battery past its recommended LVC (this ain't no Nano qx that can tumble like a leaf down) you are ruining a battery. No debate about it and you should never trust it again if it does not rebalance charge successfully and show acceptable resistance. Your Yuneec charger is not going to do it.
Here is some pics of the suspect.
3b3f727dcb8f007478ded14e6f6101d2.jpg
91b37f726b7414f4fd4d9e8eb3cc91c2.jpg


The lower readings are the Breeze. Here is the power 4 for comparison.
f6010d809bad21981df0225c743ab3e8.jpg
172743712b1b7ba1c1c2ca1e61ea088c.jpg
 
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It's unfortunate, but I think a lot of people think they can treat a lipo like an alkaline flashlight battery. When the light goes dim replace it, until then it's all good. That just isn't done with a lipo with any expectation of further reliable use.
 
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Looking forward to hooking mine up to one of those chargers to see what my batteries look like "inside". Just waiting for the adapter cable to be dropped off. Had no clew of these Lipos before yuneecpilots.com
 
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In my book, the aim is never to be in a position to hear the first low voltage warning if it can be avoided. To aim to be landed with some margin of safety so that if, for some reason, you have to abort the landing you still have a safety buffer to go 'round for a second attempt.
 
Looking forward to hooking mine up to one of those chargers to see what my batteries look like "inside". Just waiting for the adapter cable to be dropped off. Had no clew of these Lipos before yuneecpilots.com

You don't need a "good charger" to check battery state. If all you want to do is know what condition they are in I've linked some helpful tools. If you plan on buying a good charger the last two links you could buy now, use to check your batteries, and use the adapter later with the new charger. You'll need to get the adapter to charge the batteries anyway. The voltage checker/alarm plugs into the battery adapter's balance taps to provide cell by cell voltage and total pack voltage. The adapter and voltage checker are nice to have when you're out flying and need a way to check batteries if you have a desire to use a partially discharged battery again for a short flight.

You don' t need to wait for a good charger to find out what condition your batteries are in. You'll need a good charger to take the best care of them.

Typhoon H/ Q500 Battery Voltage Reader

Yuneec Typhoon H Battery Plug Cable for Chargers

Amazon.com: 2 PACK Lipo Battery Voltage Checker Alarm LED 1-8 Cell - Apex RC Products #1655: Toys & Games
 
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Good thread Craig - let's hope it is read, and adhered to by all users, old and new. We should actually have a sticky on this forum about proper battery care/use as I believe that there are a lot of 'unexplained' issues with the H that can directly be attributed to improper use/care of LiPo's.
It is unfortunate that brands such as Yuneec only provide a basically acceptable charger, yet they are also aiming at a price point, so I get it. The first thing I did when I got my H, a year back, was to look into the adapter cables so that I could charge, discharge, and monitor my batteries with my own charging station. I would also recommend a Li-Po battery checker as this is a quick and effective way to monitor each battery. I treat LiPo care pretty seriously and I love my charging station. It allows me to correctly monitor, charge, discharge, etc all of my batteries (Not just the Yuneec Li-Po's). The Bump controller feature is also fantastic in the way that each battery has it's own ID tag and the user assigned pre-programmed settings are attached to that tag. This allows me to monitor each individual battery. At a glance, I can see, at any time during the charge cycle, the charge settings, IR, etc so that I can monitor the batteries every step of the way. Using the Revolectrix DPL8 and twin MPA boards, I can safely charge up to 12 batteries at a time, or I can have one MPA board charging while the other is discharging, etc. I love this thing.
Also, regardless of the charge station, or the battery, I have never charged a LiPo above 1C. I figure if you are in a position where you have to charge a LiPo in a faster timeframe, then you haven't been prepared enough. When it comes to storage, I store my LiPo's in a LiPo sack and then place this in a ventilated ammo box. The only time they are usually out of the box is when they are being used.Bump1.jpgBump2.jpgBump3.jpg
 
We should actually have a sticky on this forum about proper battery care/use as I believe that there are a lot of 'unexplained' issues with the H that can directly be attributed to improper use/care of LiPo's.

Is the battery post in the TH Help sticky not correct?
 
Is the battery post in the TH Help sticky not correct?

You mean this one?

Given that there may be some members that don't look too deep into things, it may be worth placing a dedicated sticky just about understanding LiPo's. While the Help section is the most suitable place, it may also be worth placing in the Discussion section as well. The main reason I say this is because there seem to be a lot of threads/post in the discussion section that fall back on incorrect understanding about LiPo's.
Just my 2c worth.

Oh, and PatR - thank you. I guess you could say that I do take my UAV's pretty seriously.
 
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@PatR Way to go :)
Got both Reader and checker in my H Backpack now, just need the cable to be able to connect the checker.
Maybe worth opening a thread like ¨Recommended kit for the H¨, especially for users new to RC
 
Glad we could help.

Ant,
Indeed you do. You may not be aware of it but I've been reading your posts at various locations for a long time. You gained my respect a long time ago.
 
Ant,
Indeed you do. You may not be aware of it but I've been reading your posts at various locations for a long time. You gained my respect a long time ago.

No, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the comment. It means a lot.:)
 
Good thread Craig - let's hope it is read, and adhered to by all users, old and new. We should actually have a sticky on this forum about proper battery care/use as I believe that there are a lot of 'unexplained' issues with the H that can directly be attributed to improper use/care of LiPo's.
It is unfortunate that brands such as Yuneec only provide a basically acceptable charger, yet they are also aiming at a price point, so I get it. The first thing I did when I got my H, a year back, was to look into the adapter cables so that I could charge, discharge, and monitor my batteries with my own charging station. I would also recommend a Li-Po battery checker as this is a quick and effective way to monitor each battery. I treat LiPo care pretty seriously and I love my charging station. It allows me to correctly monitor, charge, discharge, etc all of my batteries (Not just the Yuneec Li-Po's). The Bump controller feature is also fantastic in the way that each battery has it's own ID tag and the user assigned pre-programmed settings are attached to that tag. This allows me to monitor each individual battery. At a glance, I can see, at any time during the charge cycle, the charge settings, IR, etc so that I can monitor the batteries every step of the way. Using the Revolectrix DPL8 and twin MPA boards, I can safely charge up to 12 batteries at a time, or I can have one MPA board charging while the other is discharging, etc. I love this thing.
Also, regardless of the charge station, or the battery, I have never charged a LiPo above 1C. I figure if you are in a position where you have to charge a LiPo in a faster timeframe, then you haven't been prepared enough. When it comes to storage, I store my LiPo's in a LiPo sack and then place this in a ventilated ammo box. The only time they are usually out of the box is when they are being used.View attachment 6445View attachment 6446View attachment 6447
Couldn't agree with you more. However, their Lipo batteries are very cheap and flight time is far less than any DJI product I've encountered testing or flying. At most, I get 20 mins in the air. And hovering an extra 2 mins before the battery warning comes on for both batteries. At around 14.3 the H will throw a battery warning. Yes, in Rabbit mode it brings the battery life down and flight time down, using turtle mode once at a height you are comfortable with you can switch to turtle mode to fly through the sky and enjoy a nice video recording. In summary, 20 mins in air is just not acceptable for a &1,500 hundred dollar drone to me! I take good care of my batteries and drone and seriously think the only negative I have about the H is the battery drains very fast and it's something Yuneec should address not ignore! We spend money on these drones to enjoy a good professional amount of use from them, not to get very little from it! I can't even enjoy a hike with recording without it listing 20 mins and done. Yuneec needs to get it right on its batteries!
 
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Then buy something else, and step up to a professional system and spend 3-7 times what an H costs in doing so if that's what you need.

The battery life with an H is just fine but some of the people using them have fits when it isn't what they want. If they got what they wanted they would ***** about having to spend $150.00+ for a battery. For that price you could buy almost 3 H batteries. Do the math for the flight time.
 
Hmm. Do they sell that bump charger in the USA?
My collection of batteries is starting to grow like weeds. Feel like my Hitec X2 charger is becoming old fashion.
 
Just in case someone is wondering about bump chargers.
Home

To avoid any potential confusion, the link you have provided takes you to the site that provides components and builds the cases like I have. However, you don't need to get the cases if you don't want to. I travel a lot and I am often in some pretty remote locations, so I opted for the case, not just for transportation of my charging gear, but to keep everything in a compact and dust/moisture resistant case.
You can just buy the individual components and use them. The Bump charger is an 'accessory' for the Revolectrix chargers. You still need an actual charger, like the PL8, PL6, DPL8, etc. Have a look here for all the other gear.
Also, I didn't want this to turn into some sort of perceived ad for the Revolecxtrix gear as this is not the place for it. They make some great chargers, etc, but this forum is about the Yuneec Typhoon H, so lets keep that as our priority.
 
Couldn't agree with you more. However, their Lipo batteries are very cheap and flight time is far less than any DJI product I've encountered testing or flying. At most, I get 20 mins in the air. And hovering an extra 2 mins before the battery warning comes on for both batteries. At around 14.3 the H will throw a battery warning. Yes, in Rabbit mode it brings the battery life down and flight time down, using turtle mode once at a height you are comfortable with you can switch to turtle mode to fly through the sky and enjoy a nice video recording. In summary, 20 mins in air is just not acceptable for a &1,500 hundred dollar drone to me! I take good care of my batteries and drone and seriously think the only negative I have about the H is the battery drains very fast and it's something Yuneec should address not ignore! We spend money on these drones to enjoy a good professional amount of use from them, not to get very little from it! I can't even enjoy a hike with recording without it listing 20 mins and done. Yuneec needs to get it right on its batteries!

Seriously? So rather than adjust your planning and find a sweet spot of time in the air vs video capture time relative to editing you think the battery life is the issue? Why waste emotional energy on something that is not changing anytime soon? Perhaps you should switch back to the clunky other products that can't execute a smooth pan at all. I'll take less flight time on a platform that provides flawless video over the choppy crap I see coming off those other products. I carry four batteries and have no problem carrying them into remote locations and just finished a long wilderness trip and my H performed perfectly every time. I don't understand how no one gets that the 20 minute rating is false because no one flys under the conditions that will give you that time. I have adjusted my planning to thinking in five minute intervals since that is when video dumps to the card and depending on conditions, get anywhere from 15-18 mins of quality shoot time. That's plenty of time to loose concentration and crash so it raises the blood pressure significantly which seems to carry over post flight in many posts where Yuneec is always the problem.
 

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