Old question but so am i

[Peter b]

I was flying my q500 yesterday after a break and I was getting only about 6 or 7 minutes on fully charged batteries. The drone seemed a but sluggish but after the h that might be the reason. Is this a discharge situation or something else. First time for me having this happen ergo the question.

 

[Ty Pilot]

The batteries that power these drones (LiPo), have a useful life span, much like a tire on a car. Depending on age and cycles, the flight times should be expected to diminish. For instance, my Typhoon H, got 18 minutes when new but after three years and around 200 flights per battery, they were only good for around around 10 minutes. Also keep in mind temperature has an effect on LiPos at any stage of their life, in particular cold weather. So if you're flying and older battery in temps of say 40 F degrees, you might only see half or less of the time that same battery could do when new at 80 F degrees.

 

[Peter b]

This is new and hasn't happened before but you certainly make sense as always. Lithium and lipo are the same correct? These are all yuneec batteries. Time for new ones, I was at about 250 ft. When the first warning came on and it slowly came down and was below 2 volts. Thanks so much.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Lithium and lipo are the same correct?

Yes and No. I am no battery expert as far as the various chemistries goes, but there are differences that require ones attention.

Yes, the Li in LiPo stands for 'Lithium' as the base chemistry but the Po stands for 'Polymer' and where this matters to us drone pilots because there are also Li-Ion or Lithium Ion batteries.
While both LiPo and Li-Ions are both classified as Lithium, each ages different and requires different handling for maximum use. Li-Ion batteries power most electronic stuff like cell phones, tablets and even our flight controllers while LiPo's are almost always used to power the aircraft.

The biggest difference is how they should be used, treated and stored.

LiPo's should always be kept at 'storage' level until use while Li-Ion's can (and should), be kept in a state of full charge.

As a general rule of thumb when it comes to LiPo's, every moment they spend above or below storage level, the pack's life is being shortened. The further from storage level increases the rate of the wear so leaving a LiPo fully charged, or fully depleted, is the worst possible thing for them.

 

[Yuneec Skins]

LiPo Battery Tips

 

[Peter b]

I try to store them lower than 30%.

 

[Pier2162]

Another thing affect battery life: the amount of charging current. It's known that lipo's can be charged at 1C (1 x capacity), this means that a 6000 mAh battery can be charged with a maximum current of 6 Amps.
But if you charge at 1/2C (3 Amps on the above example) obviously you need more time to reach the full charge, but you give also less thermic stress to battery.
And again, never charge batteries when they are hot (i.e. immediately after flight).
It's a good practice to use the battery every 2~3 months.
That's from my experience, I've batteries that are more than 5 years old, still in good condition, following these simple rules.
It's not a good idea to store at less than 30%, last generation chargers have a storage level of 34%, but everybody is free to test his own thoughts.

 

[Rayray]

I was flying my q500 yesterday after a break and I was getting only about 6 or 7 minutes on fully charged batteries. The drone seemed a but sluggish but after the h that might be the reason. Is this a discharge situation or something else. First time for me having this happen ergo the question.

Q500,...Hmm, Mr. Bowman, I'm thinking you had several Typhoon H's at one time. Is the Q500 all you have now? And you got it used, right? Time flies, huh.

Drone tech has certainly changed. Gone from toys that flew away in a breeze to deadly weapons of war.

Greetings and best wishes to you, one of the forum members who has always been ready to help, to welcome new members, and to learn. Been a long way from the airport, has it not.

 

[Peter b]

Yes it's a long way from the airport I grew up on for sure. The model planes of those days when you got dizzy from going around in circles. Also um, I have had more than one of the two drones more than not my . I have way overdrawn my drone fund long ago. I am limited to flying for reasons I said

Yes I have had more than one of the h and q and most were my fault. The batteries for the h are fine so I was put off a bit when this happened. I AM past my drone fund and fly at times when I feel steady and on top of med problems. I love the flying part because I grew up in the world of aviation lit
Tried to reply but failed. Probably too many words. Yes I have owed more than one of the q500 and the h. Batteries are still fine on the h and the same with the q500 until this time.
I will keep trying. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Peter b]

Thanks guys! Lots of info and some I know and some I don't. My replies won't work here for some reason. Sorry.

 

[DoomMeister]

Thanks guys! Lots of info and some I know and some I don't. My replies won't work here for some reason. Sorry.

The replies are going through Peter, but you are getting a multitude of carriage returns between paragraphs. I fixed that on a post a few days ago also. Is your return key sticking on your computer’s keyboard?

 

[Peter b]

Don't think so and it's my phone that i use. Thanks steve, I will try to do again later.

 

[Peter b]

If someone would remove my infantile half messages it would be great. I have no idea what happened yesterday except there were internet problems and at times I had none.



Sorry for the confusion. I am not putting in a plug for a different drone but for the very 1st time there was actually another drone flying in the park next to me. Nice guy and newb with a skydio he got last summer. It's nice to see an American drone and I wouldn't have crashed any drones with the obstacle avoidance on this guy. Ha the man hasn't bought the rc so he's using his phone and the finger sliding app.



Nothing foldable, there is a big but that goes along with this. IT still looks like a flying squirrel instead of a craft! Also you are getting into the big buck territory with these. I will take yuneec thanks but it's a cool bird. There is a wand type gadget that is terrific and I kept telling the guy when he can afford the rc all will be easier except him on his bike which is fun to watch. HM, He sure liked the H!!

 

[WTFDproject]

If someone would remove my infantile half messages it would be great.

There are none showing on the Forum. Unless someone already cleared them, they are not reaching the Forum.

 

[Peter b]

Q500,...Hmm, Mr. Bowman, I'm thinking you had several Typhoon H's at one time. Is the Q500 all you have now? And you got it used, right? Time flies, huh.



Drone tech has certainly changed. Gone from toys that flew away in a breeze to deadly weapons of war.



Greetings and best wishes to you, one of the forum members who has always been ready to help, to welcome new members, and to learn. Been a long way from the airport, has it not.

Thanks but I don't think I helped anyone except the yuneec corp.from my errors. I still have 2 H's and a q500. I repaired a few bebop 2 drones with new motors. They are still tons of fun to fly and it looks like a craft with props!

 

[Peter b]

There are none showing on the Forum. Unless someone already cleared them, they are not reaching the Forum.

ThankTom.

 

[revedit1]

Another thing affect battery life: the amount of charging current. It's known that lipo's can be charged at 1C (1 x capacity), this means that a 6000 mAh battery can be charged with a maximum current of 6 Amps.
But if you charge at 1/2C (3 Amps on the above example) obviously you need more time to reach the full charge, but you give also less thermic stress to battery.

So best charging rate for Lipos is at 1/2 C? I've been trying to find a definitive answer on this.

 

[Pier2162]

I can not tell you if this is the best setting, I have been using it for long time, and I have batteries still in good condition after more than 5 years.

 

[revedit1]

I can not tell you if this is the best setting, I have been using it for long time, and I have batteries still in good condition after more than 5 years.

Well that sounds pretty good. If anyone has any other input on what they charge their batteries at and longevity of their batteries that would be helpful. Otherwise I'll stick with 1/2c.

For verification, 1/2 C of 8050mAH is ~4 amps, right?

 

[DoomMeister]

For verification, 1/2 C of 8050mAH is ~4 amps, right?

That is correct. You can expect to be charging for about 2 to 2.5 hours at 1/2 C.