LIPO Battery Maintenance

Dennis Do · Jun 9, 2016

Hi, I am new to the rc/drone world and have my H coming in the mail today. I know next to nothing about LIPO batteries except what I read on several forums regarding the H.

The information I got is somewhat scattered and with terminology I don't really understand. Can someone forward me to a guide or something with respect to the Hs battery on what I should do for initial conditioning and future maintenance?

I also read about not fully charging and periodically discharging the battery. Instructions for this would also be helpful. Is a third party charger required or can all this be accomplished with the included charger?

Any info is helpful. Thank you!

Dragonflyerthom · Jun 9, 2016

Dennis charge it up go fly it. When you are done charge it up again. If you store it more than a week put it in the drone and hover down to 55-60% and store it. When ready to fly again charge it.fly safe

Dennis Do · Jun 9, 2016

Dragonflyerthom said:
Dennis charge it up go fly it. When you are done charge it up again. If you store it more than a week put it in the drone and hover down to 55-60% and store it. When ready to fly again charge it.fly safe

I guess you're saying I'm over thinking it. U like things to be simple but I also want expensive things to last a long time. If this is all I need to do to get the most out of the battery then great!

mikeL · Jun 9, 2016

This is in the manual:

IMPORTANT NOTE: It’s safer and better for the longevity of the battery to store it only partially charged for any length of time. Storing the battery approximately 50% charged is typically best, however, it will take some careful management of the charge time and the use of a volt meter to achieve this voltage. If you have the equipment and skills to achieve the 50% charge level for storage it is recommended. If not, simply be sure to not store the battery fully charged whenever possible.
In fact, as long as the battery will be stored at approximately room temperature and for no more than a few weeks before the next use, it may be best to store the battery in the discharged state after the last flight (as long as the battery was not over-discharged on the last flight).

netjam · Jun 9, 2016

So what will translates 50% into a voltage? My understanding is to keep battery at around 15v is good practice, right?

W Scott Leigh · Jun 9, 2016

Actually about 15.5V for storage.

DroneClone · Jun 9, 2016

You can baby the **** out of your lipo's and break them in for 20 charges, do 15.5 exact volts for storage, on and on. And one day it shorts out during charge or worst flight and then cry, what did I do wrong? or you can be like the guy who never gave a hoot, and after 140 charges "Keeps on Going"' I am not saying to be careless or not follow general maintenance guidelines ! But if you are going to take a volt meter and try to get it to exactly 15.5 v's instead of 15 v, Your stressing yourself out and wasting time! Just get it close to 15v for storage over 10 days and fly it down to 14.3 or 14.2 or 14.9555 , it really is not going to give you one extra minute of longevity ! Just a ulcer !

Dennis Do · Jun 10, 2016

I don't even have a volt meter so no idea how to figure out the voltage. Seems like you guys are telling me not to worry about it though, lol

DroneClone · Jun 10, 2016

Dennis Do said:
I don't even have a volt meter so no idea how to figure out the voltage. Seems like you guys are telling me not to worry about it though, lol

Worry about them and over protective, don't be. Basic maintenance yes !

Samuel Fowler · Jun 10, 2016

I just got the H on 5/31 and have flown it maybe 7 or 8 times. After I fly it and it gets to 14 ish volts and the warning shows up, I land and go home and put it into the charger till it charges and gives me the green light. As it charges its of course flashing red. Well last night I came home and tried to charge and as I placed the battery into the charging mount it came back with a blue light. I said to myself %^$^%&^& and *^*&^*&* then I calmed down and plugged it in again and it was blue again. I got more worried and unplugged and then plugged it in again and it started to charge after my third try. WTH...is up with that. That blue light makes me hate that blue light, like the blue screen of death of windows. I only have one battery and no one is selling them yet...geeez. I sure hope this battery last longer than a month. I sure hope it was just a glitch, but a glitch in the sky is not good. There are no fender benders in aircraft crashes.

Goh · Jun 10, 2016

Dennis Do said:
Hi, I am new to the rc/drone world and have my H coming in the mail today. I know next to nothing about LIPO batteries except what I read on several forums regarding the H.

The information I got is somewhat scattered and with terminology I don't really understand. Can someone forward me to a guide or something with respect to the Hs battery on what I should do for initial conditioning and future maintenance?

I also read about not fully charging and periodically discharging the battery. Instructions for this would also be helpful. Is a third party charger required or can all this be accomplished with the included charger?

Any info is helpful. Thank you!

Please refer to :

DroneClone · Jun 10, 2016

If you plug the battery in before the charger boots up(so to speak) or if the battery is in charger before you plug it in, it will flash red/blue.
Always plug charger into ac outlet, wait till the "green" light stabilizes, then plug the battery in, see if that get's ride of your blues ! LOL !

Skypicswa · Jun 10, 2016

It's a great habit to keep a log of flights and battery charges. I use DroneLogbook it's free for hobbyists.
I find it also a good habit to rotate and number my batteries. All the guys have written good practice notes above so don't panic.

glider · Jun 11, 2016

I can't find the discussion about the true capacity of this H battery, but I'm having serious doubts it is 5400.

EDIT: I'll guarantee it isn't 5400.

Gyro108 · Jun 12, 2016

They are probably using the same cells as the Q500 which had 5400 stamped on them but were actually 6300 cells.

Goh · Jun 12, 2016

glider said:
I can't find the discussion about the true capacity of this H battery, but I'm having serious doubts it is 5400.

EDIT: I'll guarantee it isn't 5400.

Then what do think the battery capacity was??

QuadBart · Jun 12, 2016

I sound like a broken record when it comes to Lipo Battery care and maintenance.

Lipos are easy with some simple guidelines. I've been using Lipos in racing R/C cars at the local and national level for many, many years. I've only seen one lipo fire in all the races I've been to. And that was because a new to R/C father and son did not properly charge their battery.

I've stored batteries for greater than 3 years and have had then work fine when stored with about a 25%ish charge. I've forgot about a fully charged battery for 3 years and saw that it had split the case so bad I couldn't close it but no fire...

So, what I do;

Never store batteries fully charged. Over a long period of time it will swell and cells will die. I store mine in "after run" state. so for the "H" they are stored at about 14 volts showing after I've flown it and it was time to land.
Use a quality charger when you have the option to use alternate chargers other than the one that comes with your drone
Monitor charging. I never leave my batteries to charge unattended. Meaning I don't charge over night or while I'm away at work
Never run batteries all the way down till dead
Never used a Charging bag as IMO, they are gimmick
If I don't plan to use my batteries for a long period I store them in an ammo can in my basement...

Regarding "charging bags" - I have to laugh about this. I've been into R/C for over 30+ years. Early lipos only had a band of tape holding the cells together. Not completely shrink wrapped or wrapped in a plastic case. So you could see the "metal" cases for each cell. Back then people believed that "static discharge" could short out a cell, so some people started using "faraday cages/pink poly bags", or something similar when charging. They weren't initially meant to contain a fire. IMO, unless the bag is airtight and fireproof, I don't think it does what people think, prevent a fire. But if it brings you peace of mind, more power to you...

DroneClone · Jun 12, 2016

What do you mean--"Use a quality charger (No alternate chargers or adapters for the H)" Are you saying the H comes with a quality charger?(not that it is not good) but then you say" no alternate charger" So no after marker quick chargers?

QuadBart · Jun 12, 2016

Lol, yeah I guess I wasn't clear. What I was trying to say and will update my post..

When I have an option to use a charger other than the one that comes with the bird, like the Q500, I use a quality charger. At this time there is no alternative way to charge the "H" battery. One must use the charger that came with the "H". I'm not questioning if its a quality one or not, just that I can't use my Hitec X2 charger....

More clear?

DroneClone said:
What do you mean--"Use a quality charger (No alternate chargers or adapters for the H)" Are you saying the H comes with a quality charger?(not that it is not good) but then you say" no alternate charger" So no after marker quick chargers?

DroneClone · Jun 12, 2016

QuadBart said:
Lol, yeah I guess I wasn't clear. What I was trying to say and will update my post..

When I have an option to use a charger other than the one that comes with the bird, like the Q500, I use a quality charger. At this time there is no alternative way to charge the "H" battery. One must use the charger that came with the "H". I'm not questioning if its a quality one or not, just that I can't use my Hitec X2 charger....

More clear?

Yes Sir ! Gotcha! Hope they do come up with a quality rapid multi battery charger soon ! Fly Safe !