RE: Battery Percentage Levels

[BobW55]

DO NOT TAKE THIS AS GOSPEL IT IS MY OPINION ONLY
For the Typhoon H 480 only.
All LIPOS may exhibit a bit a swelling in the label area do to the packs not being 100% flat when made, or the label/heat shrink covering not being applied properly.
I have had to dispose of one battery due to getting puffed or swelled. I gave up on it for two reasons.
1) One cell would not balance with the others. This was even after discharging it on my charger and recharging at 0.5 amps, cell was always behind the other three by .3 volts to .5 volts. (Not my charger's fault) Resistance was way off too.
2) The battery would no longer smoothly insert into the battery compartment, I would have to force it in.

Lipo was destroyed and put to rest.

If we were talking a ground RC car or something I may have still used it. Just not in things that can fall from the sky.

PS: if I can find a LiHv battery chart I'll post it.

 

[Ty Pilot]

I have a battery from the Plus I am about to charge from earlier today and will make note of the voltage to percentage as it climbs from depleted to full charge

 

[Ty Pilot]

Okay so I flew one of my Plus batteries down to the first warning and landed immediately. After a one hour cooling, I put the battery on a balance charge and got the following numbers as they correlate to voltage and percentages. This battery has 23 flights and has been maintained via my Hitec X2 AC Charger and I consider it to be in very good health. I've put some notes at the bottom for anyone that wants to try and maintain their batteries as close to storage as possible without a proper charger or until you can get one which I would highly recommend.

Also PLEASE NOTE: that the percentages between what is shown on the ST16s at time of flight and where the battery actually is; as shown on a charger that can give individual voltages precisely, is different. I landed at 26% Shown on the ST-16S, after a cool down period of one hour, the battery was at 10% percent! Personally I find this is too low and now will be making it routine to be on the ground at 30% showing on the controller. YMMV.

 

[Wingnutz]

For what it is worth, as mentioned by most above the first warning is at 26% indicated on the ST-16s but then the warnings occur every 30 seconds there after. Also the Plus flight Pacs are LiHv and have a different voltage than the standard Typhoon H LiPo packs - Storage is 15.6 instead of 15.2 or, 3.9 volts per cell vs. 3.8 volts and fully charged we are at 17.4 vs. 16.8 for the standard Typhoon LiPo packs so be advised the chart above is LiPo and is slightly different than the batteries in the Plus

Also, after landing right at the ST-16s indicated 26% and letting the battery sit and cool for 30 minutes, the indicated voltage when plugged into my Hitec X2 AC charger is much lower and shows around 12% capacity is remaining. My routine is to be on the ground before the first warning.

For what it’s worth, with the Yuneec DY5 balance charger, it puts the batteries at 50% capacity and all cells at 3.85 volts. The DY5 also charges considerably faster than the original charger supplied with the H+. It does not however have a car adapter and uses a different power connector at the base of the charger. IMHO this charger should have been supplied with the H+ given the initial cost of the package, AND 2 batteries are supplied. Now I need an external charger for the ST16s battery.

 

[Ty Pilot]

I agree, these batteries need a more meticulous care than the stock charger cannot provide if they are to last. One thing I have noticed is that the stock charger for the plus charges the flight battery at about the same rate as a 3 amp charge on my Hitec X2 AC so for charging I do still use it occasionally if I want to charge one battery at 1C, I put it on the Hitec and the other on the stock. But I always store batteries using the Hitec. As for the ST-16s battery, one of our members (I think it was @Peggy) made two leads with a Deans connector on each to charge the controller battery quickly from an aftermarket charger.

 

[terrence davidson]

I will never use that battery manufacture that caused the swelling issue with the h plus. However I do own the h520 that uses same type of battery with the same specs as the h plus. I have used both typhoon h480 oem and ultrax h480 batteries without swelling issue for close to a year now. over 50 flights and have yet to have a battery issue. now why 40 dollar difference for virtually the same battery with exact same specs that the h520 and the h plus is beyond me.

 

[PhotoGuy]

I agree, these batteries need a more meticulous care than the stock charger cannot provide if they are to last. One thing I have noticed is that the stock charger for the plus charges the flight battery at about the same rate as a 3 amp charge on my Hitec X2 AC so for charging I do still use it occasionally if I want to charge one battery at 1C, I put it on the Hitec and the other on the stock. But I always store batteries using the Hitec. As for the ST-16s battery, one of our members (I think it was @Peggy) made two leads with a Deans connector on each to charge the controller battery quickly from an aftermarket charger.

I found Yuneec's DY5 on Amazon but don't know if I'm seeing the right charger when I search for "Hitec X2 AC Charger." You wouldn't happen to have a link would you?

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I found Yuneec's DY5 on Amazon but don't know if I'm seeing the right charger when I search for "Hitec X2 AC Charger." You wouldn't happen to have a link would you?

Unfortunately the Hitec X2 AC is no longer available... This model is:

Hitec X2 Hi Power

 

[PhotoGuy]

Unfortunately the Hitec X2 AC is no longer available... This model is:

Hitec X2 Hi Power

Thanks!

 

[Ty Pilot]

I found Yuneec's DY5 on Amazon but don't know if I'm seeing the right charger when I search for "Hitec X2 AC Charger." You wouldn't happen to have a link would you?

Yep, as EEV mentioned the earlier version is kaput. This new version is better; as now it allows 50 - 120 watts per channel on AC where as before it was only 50 on AC and 100 on DC

 

[PhotoGuy]

Yep, as EEV mentioned the earlier version is kaput. This new version is better; as now it allows 50 - 120 watts per channel on AC where as before it was only 50 on AC and 100 on DC

Thanks!
Ok, although I'm not a drone noob this is sure going to sound like a noob question: How do you plug in the drone batteries to that new Hi-tec X2 model? I don't see any ports on the ONE photo the seller has on Amazon.
Also, with my Q500, I would charge up my batteries the day before an early morning job. Is it ok to do that with the H Plus' batteries?

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

You need adapter cables for the H Plus

H Plus Battery Cable

 

[Tom Gilmore]

What is the average flight time with your batteries on the H Plus? I seem to only get a solid 20 minutes before I start to get the red 29% warning to go home. Maybe I can get more time if I am not so cautious to return so soon. What are your experiences? I only use the standard H battery for on the ground calibrating or changing settings. Max time of 5-6 minutes before removing in case it gets puffed.

 

[Ty Pilot]

What is the average flight time with your batteries on the H Plus? I seem to only get a solid 20 minutes before I start to get the red 29% warning to go home. Maybe I can get more time if I am not so cautious to return so soon. What are your experiences? I only use the standard H battery for on the ground calibrating or changing settings. Max time of 5-6 minutes before removing in case it gets puffed.

My experience with the H Plus batteries is similar to yours Tom. For the first 40 or so flights, I could get 19 minutes or so before I got the first warning. However LiHV batteries begin to loose their punch around this point, many reviewers say basically the same thing - LiHV batteries have an impressive early life compared to standard LiPo's but do not have the same longevity. My original two batteries have at least 100 cycles each and if I get 12 minutes, I am lucky. I have always followed the same battery procedures with my Plus as I did with my 480 - never leaving them fully charged for more than 24 hours, always allow to cool before charging and always maintaining storage levels when not in use.

My two original LiHV packs have a very slight bulging but they are not soft like when a LiPo gets a little puffy but rather, are very solid. If you want to extend the life of an LiHV, my understanding is to not take to the low warning on every flight.