Yuneec Q500 battery

Satellite View · Jan 17, 2016

Hi All, can someone tell me why my batteries are starting to bulge a little.
At this stage I am not concerned but would like to know if I am doing something wrong.
I have about 10 of them and they are all doing it to some extent, they are all new with the total charge each about
7 times.
I fully charge before flight and once used leave them with about 40% left until the next time I charge again.
Thanks appreciate any advice.
Cheers

FlyboyFunk · Jan 18, 2016

Why not leave them fully charged? Am I not supposed to do that? The manual mentions nothing about that topic that I can find...

Satellite View · Jan 18, 2016

FlyboyFunk, I have done that too and it still buldges, I think there is conflicting information whether to leave them fully
charged some say yes and some no.
Cheers.

raptorman#1 · Jan 18, 2016

i read some were half charge if not using for a few days ps mine right now is full
maybe tomorrow try to use it to bring down some.

Fleamac · Jan 18, 2016

Bulge is not good. LiPo's should be stored at 3.8v. Break them in using the 10-10 procedure. Please see this;
Learning about LiPo batteries | Yuneec Drone Forum

Big Anthony · Jan 18, 2016

If you buy a better charger (which is a must) like the Hitec X2 AC Plus, there is a setting for a storage charge as well as a balance charge, fast charge, discharge and charge as well as others. There is a review here from Nettle Creek.
You should not store them fully charged.

FlyboyFunk · Jan 18, 2016

I don't understand why Yuneec would include a charger that is cheap or not good enough to properly charge their batteries.

I also don't understand why they don't include a break in process in the manual.

Is it possible these are alreadynbroken in before they arrive in ournhands? Perhaps Yuneec does this for us...

BEE · Jan 18, 2016

I think its a matter of preference the way one takes care of his or her battery....(MOST PEOPLE)...slow charge and break in and store at 3,8 and never go below 3.5 OR (SOME PEOPLE)...fast charge all the time and dont break in and leave fully charged for days and when using them you run them down to like 3.4.......
I do what MOST PEOPLE do !!!!

I think Yuneec expects people to buy better chargers anyway so they give the minimum possible charger ( which really is crap !!!) ...as really sucks !!!

Big Anthony · Jan 18, 2016

It's a matter of dollars. the charger that comes with the Q 500 is safe and fine but slow and not high output. The Hitec X2 AC Plus is about $100 and you get a bunch of useful features that tell you much about your batteries and lets you balance charge them much quicker. The Tornado comes with a great charger but that is a $4-5 K package so including a $100 charger is no biggie. Our package is about 70% to 80% less so they are looking to price point. Invest in a charger and you will be happy you did. Do a little research on the forums and you will see that a good charger enhances the ariel video experience as a whole.

Satellite View · Jan 18, 2016

Hi all, I have taken onboard all comments and I think I will start to adopt the 10 @ 10 procedure in future.
Thanks all, cheers

rydfree · Jan 23, 2016

Satellite View said:
Hi All, can someone tell me why my batteries are starting to bulge a little.
At this stage I am not concerned but would like to know if I am doing something wrong.
I have about 10 of them and they are all doing it to some extent, they are all new with the total charge each about
7 times.
I fully charge before flight and once used leave them with about 40% left until the next time I charge again.
Thanks appreciate any advice.
Cheers

A bulging Lipo is a sign that it has been discharged too low during operation . How long do you fly ? Until the built in voltage monitor says it's time to land ? Until it lands itself due to low battery voltage ? The built in voltage meter is a failsafe and not a very reliable method of determining battery condition . You should check the actual voltage of the battery when you land to determine if you need to shorten your flight time . Wind conditions and the amount of time you spend in a hover will change the flight times of course . Personally I never drain any of my RC batteries below 3.7V per cell , which is @20min flights on my Q500. These small testers are a great way to check battery voltage of each cell after you land , it just plugs into the balance lead of the lipo.
NEW RC Lipo Battery Low Voltage Alarm 1S-8S Buzzer Indicator Checker Tester LED

If your lipo is warm to the touch right after landing that is usually a sign that it is being discharged below the safe limit .

A simple charger that displays individual cell voltages when charging and total Mah put back into the battery is a good investment also . Even a cheap one like this is far superior to the factory included charger .
iMAX B6 RC Lipo NiMh NiCD Battery Balance Charger Discharger LCD Screen Digital

Mah put back in during charge is good to know as a lipo should NEVER be discharged below 20% of its total capacity .

On the last note about storage , factories suggest a 60% charge if the battery is going to sit for more than a day without use . Heat and cold will affect individual cell voltage as one cell will discharge into a weaker cell and so forth . If a lipo is fully charged and temp increases there is no where for the voltage to go except to overcharge a cell . If you keep your lipos in a well regulated temp controlled enviroment then this is less of an issue . I keep all my lipos in a temp controlled hobby room detached from the house and usually keep mine charged and ready to go . I may go weeks before I can fly again and want them ready . I still have and use almost all of my original batteries from 2007

Hope this hepls

pownalite · Jan 23, 2016

i am new to all of this stuff. a friend says he has always kept his batteries charged up and not set them to storage mode levels for many years and never had any problems, so i don't know what to believe.

Big Anthony · Jan 23, 2016

Storing at fully charged prematurely decreases the longevity of the battery.

Satellite View · Jan 23, 2016

Hi rydfree, thank you for your comments.
I have tested many chargers and meters to get the best type and I have also done all the things
you mentioned but it comes down to the chemical reaction and stability and I never run them down.
Some comments are that you should NOT leave batteries fully charged and others say YES leave
them fully charged, so I did some testing of my own and fully charged ( all cells at 99% ) and left
them at room temperature for 3 months without touching them only to check the voltage once a
month and check for bulging and the results are NO voltage loss and NO bulging (thickness
measured every month). I took the same procedure with 2 other batteries but charged at 50% and
after the first month there was a 2 volt power loss and both started to expand slightly) so my
conclusion is that it is best to leave them charged at 99% so there can be no chemical reaction
as the chemicals are fully utilised
Someone might comment that it is wrong to leave them fully charged but from my point of view
I would rather have them ready to go and not buldge and pay the price for reduced life span of the
battery.
I also think that there is great uncertainty and unkown factors about Lipo batteries.
Cheers, JV

Big Anthony · Jan 24, 2016

SatView, that is very surprising and interesting. I think we need some more testing to be done. It was my understanding that storing a LiPo fully charged would cause it to not only prematurely discharge but also increase the likeliness of battery expansion. In addition to that it would also decrease the number of charge/discharge cycles the battery can perform. I have read this many times from manufacture to retailer to engineer. There must be some reason that all the better chargers offer a storage charge option?

Satellite View · Jan 24, 2016

Hi Big Anthony, I agree with your comments and I also found differing comments about battery charging and that is why I decided to see for myself.
I also agree with you that the charge cycle may be reduced but a price I am happy to pay verses throwing them away when they have bulged.
My conclusion in all this is that I believe it is all in the charging I have found most chargers do not fully charge all cells such as #1-99%, #2-97%, #3-98% so I was never happy with this (it could be my chemical background as the reason) so I finally found a charger that charges all 3 cells at 99% every time and seems to behave better.
cheers, JV

pownalite · Jan 24, 2016

Satellite View said:
Hi Big Anthony, I agree with your comments and I also found differing comments about battery charging and that is why I decided to see for myself.
I also agree with you that the charge cycle may be reduced but a price I am happy to pay verses throwing them away when they have bulged.
My conclusion in all this is that I believe it is all in the charging I have found most chargers do not fully charge all cells such as #1-99%, #2-97%, #3-98% so I was never happy with this (it could be my chemical background as the reason) so I finally found a charger that charges all 3 cells at 99% every time and seems to behave better.
cheers, JV

would you please post the make/model charger that you found to be best? i have an inexpensive Thunder AC6 dual power charger that seems to work well.

Big Anthony · Jan 24, 2016

I like the Hitec X2 AC Plus. You can get it for about $100 and it is powerful, compact and well made. It was reviewed by our own Nettle Creek UAV.

Rnlcomp · Jan 24, 2016

Satellite View said:
I did some testing of my own and fully charged ( all cells at 99% ) and left
them at room temperature for 3 months without touching them only to check the voltage once a
month and check for bulging and the results are NO voltage loss and NO bulging (thickness
measured every month). I took the same procedure with 2 other batteries but charged at 50% and
after the first month there was a 2 volt power loss and both started to expand slightly) so my
conclusion is that it is best to leave them charged at 99% so there can be no chemical reaction
as the chemicals are fully utilized

That makes perfect sense.

pownalite · Jan 24, 2016

Rnlcomp said:
That makes perfect sense.

i love it when real world findings contradict manufacturer instructions. thank you for your real life testing. do you feel comfortable leaving fully charged batteries indefinitely in the q500 storage case or do you store them separately in a battery charging bag?