Some people overcharge LiPo drone batteries either by mistake or to try and squeeze as much flight time out of the drone as possible. But should you?
You can overcharge a drone LiPo battery, but it could shorten the battery’s life span, cause it to overheat and potentially burst into flames. So overcharging is not a good idea unless your drone has an intelligent flight battery. These batteries are able to automatically cut the power from the battery once it’s fully charged.
How do you know if your drone has an intelligent flight battery? Here’s a quick way to find out.
What makes these batteries so great is they will cut the power from the charger automatically once the battery is fully charged. This means you won’t need to constantly remind yourself to check if they’re charged, which could be extremely annoying especially if you want to leave your batteries to charge overnight.
That being said you’re probably wondering if your drone’s battery is “intelligent,” well here’s how you can find out.
Whatever you do, just make sure you get the information from a credible source and don’t assume that your battery is intelligent. LiPo batteries can be extremely dangerous, so the last thing you need is for the battery to explode in your home.
Charging time heavily depends on the type of LiPo battery charger you have, how many watt-hours the batteries hold, and how empty the battery is.
Generally speaking, a new drone LiPo battery could take around 70 minutes to charge if you’re charging it through a USB port, or 50 minutes if you’re using a charger.
Now that’s just a general answer. I’ve searched out how long specific drone batteries take to charge and I’ve laid them out below. The charge times below are for batteries that are fully flat. If your battery still holds some charge then it might be a lot quicker.
Drone Type: | Lithium Battery Wh: | Time To Charge Per Battery: (Rough estimate.) |
Syma X20 Mini Drone | 0.66 Wh | 70 minutes |
DJI Ryze Tello battery | 4.18 Wh | 90 minutes |
Propel Star Wars X-Wing battery | 6.2 Wh | 45 minutes |
DJI Spark battery | 16.87 Wh | 80 minutes |
DJI Mavic Mini battery | 17.28 Wh | 80 minutes |
Parrot Anafi battery | 20.52 Wh | 90 minutes |
DJI Mavic Air battery | 27.43 Wh | 55 minutes |
Parrot Bebop 2 | 35.52 Wh | 55 minutes |
DJI Mavic Pro battery | 43.6 Wh | 70 minutes |
Autel Robotics EVO battery | 49.02 Wh | 80 minutes |
DJI Mavic + Zoom 2 battery | 59.29 Wh | 70 minutes |
DJI Phantom 3 battery | 68 Wh | 70 minutes |
Yuneec Typhoon H battery | 79.9 Wh | 120 minutes |
DJI Phantom 4 battery | 81.3 Wh | 70 minutes |
DJI Inspire 2 battery | 97.58 Wh | 90 minutes |
Well, most of the time there will be some kind of green light that lets you know when the battery is fully charged. A smart battery will even tell you exactly to what percentage level your battery is charged. And if your drone comes with an app that can be installed on your phone, such as the GO app for the DJI, then this information can also be found there.
Since drone manufactures are so different in their methods, I can’t give you a straight answer, however, here are some extremely helpful tips.
Now if you’re not sure if your drone comes with one of those smart battery features, and you have no idea how long your battery takes to charge, and you still want to leave your LiPo battery to charge overnight, then you’re going to want to be as cautious as possible. There are some simple things you can do to make sure you don’t burn down your house.
I mean you can, if you’re willing to use a charger that charges with more volts, however, this also can and more than likely will damage your drone’s battery.
Here are some reasons why it’s not a good idea to charge your drone’s battery faster.
Whether if you’re trying to overcharge your drone to get more flight time, or if you’re worried about leaving your drone to charge overnight, just keep in mind that LiPo batteries can be very dangerous if you’re careless, so make sure you take the necessary precautions.
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