A single battery is never really enough for any drone. Even if you’re getting 20 solid minutes of flight time, don’t you want to extend it to 40 minutes? Charging your battery can sometimes take hours and is more than a slight annoyance, so there have to be ways to keep your drone flying continuously.
Drones have hit the roof in the last couple of years, and having a reliable power source is half the battle. However, if you want a drone that has a 40-minute charge, you’re going to be very disappointed.
Extending the battery life of a drone
There is actually a ton of ways to extend the battery life of your drone without having to insert a new battery unless that’s your plan. However, if you want some other options to try, we’ve got them.
Image from internet
Knowing when to charge the battery
Did you know that charging your battery at the proper type can actually extend the life of it? If not, then you’ve been charging yours wrong the whole time. You will need to follow a certain system to maximize your battery power for future flight.
Drone users typically know about the charging rule, whether it be the 40% and 60 or the 50% and 50 routes. The highest number of charging sessions you can do with your battery when using either one is twice, so keep that in mind.
This is where the amateurs tend to make some major mistakes, so pay attention.
Freshly charged batteries run and last a lot better than ones that were charged days before, that’s a tested fact. You should be charging the drone until it hits up to 50%-60% and then stop it. Later on, charge the rest of the battery before you go to fly it.
You can learn more about properly charging your batteries by reading our article here.
Keep an extra battery
This is an obvious answer to extending the flight time of your drone. Ensure that it’s of the same LiPo family and that it’s charged before you hit the field, obviously. You should also follow the same charging rules for your extra battery, as well.
Check the weather before you go
Flying in certain conditions, such as winds, will decrease the life of your drone a lot faster than flying at a high speed will. This is due to the drone having to push itself in order to fly properly, so checking the weather before you go out is definitely ideal. It also happens because the transmitter sensitivity will be off, requiring more power consumption overall.
If certain weather conditions occur while your drone is already in flight, switch to a more conservative mode. For example, Sport Mode will drain your battery in a snap if you’re trying to fly it in wind.
Remove your camera
If your drone has a camera on it and you aren’t using it for the flight, you should really just remove it. Why? The camera uses the power from the drone to work, so removing it saves energy and lengthens your flight time greatly.
Remove the prop guards
Though this tip may seem like sabotage, it’s anything but. The prop guards that go around the propellers are there for protection, but they increase the weight greatly and drain the battery like you wouldn’t believe.
Leaving the prop guards on and increasing the weight of the drone causes it to push itself harder and stress the battery, so removing them before you lift off the ground is ideal for the overall flight time.
However, if you’re going to do this ensure that you avoid crash landings and collisions as much as possible. This is best left to the more professional and veteran drone fliers.
Don’t destroy your battery
Never let your drone’s battery charge drop to 0%. This will ultimately destroy the battery sooner than later, so flying your drone when the battery percentage is at 20% is when you should be landing it.
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Some say that letting the battery die out completely during your maiden flight will help extend it, but that could not be farther from the truth. Never allow your battery to hit 0%.
Most drones use Li-Po batteries and you can learn everything there is to learn about them from this in-depth article.
How to choose the best battery for your drone
Taking proper care of your drone also means getting the best battery that you can find. You have a lot of options and routes you can take here, so pay attention. You can either choose to stick with the manufacturer battery, or you can go off on your own and find different drone batteries. If you choose the latter, there are some steps to follow to make sure you get the right ones.
Go with a reputable brand
You’d be surprised how important a reputable brand is when it comes to selecting a battery on your own. For example, GensAce is a LiPo battery manufacturer that is supreme when it comes to overall quality and performance, so ensure that you are doing your research.
Pay attention to the specs of the manufacturer battery
For example, if your drone has a 1500 LiPo battery, that is the number you should be looking for when you are shopping around. However, there are drones that are compatible with over LiPo battery types and numbers, but you’ll need to do some research to figure out which ones are.
The proper voltage
The voltage, or cell count if you prefer, is crucial. Going with a high voltage brings more power but adds weight. Going with a lower voltage decreases the overall weight but has less power. Overall, you’re going to need to figure out which voltage amount is better for your drone on your own.
Keeping your drone in the air for longer
Extending your flight time is easy as pie, and there is a ton of ways to do so. Knowing how to extend the flight time to the full extent of your drone is solely based on your drone, so knowing your drone is very important.
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August 20, 2017 at 3:18 pm
[…] I wrote a artile about 10 tips to keep your drone flying, telling you 10 ways to extend your flight time. In my experience, there are many facts impact the […]