Hi.
From what I've read on this site, the only way to discharge the smart battery would be to connect a light bulb to it and let that drain the power.
If that's correct, then what size (v) of bulb would I use?
Also, to ensure that I didn't drain the battery down too far, would it be OK to run a digital test meter at the same time? For example: If I attached the bulb via spade connectors to the battery's + and - connections, then can I also connect the tester to the same spade connectors in the + and - connections?
If this isn't clear I'll draw a picture and post that, but I'm hoping that you'll get my drift.
Regards.
Mike.
Replies
Hi Mike,
Why would you want to discharge you battery? I assume that, for whatever reason, you were not able to fly and you are back at home so you want to store you’re Solo for maybe the next weekend or so, or you are going to travel with it
I am not a Solo flyer as yet but I have ordered one so I am waiting for it to arrive. I have been flying liPo batteries for about 8 years now. I really pamper my batteries and they perform and last very well. I fly heli, plane and multirotor Tarot 960 with Pixhawk (6kg Hex 6S, 10.000 mAh), Skyhunter with Pixhawk, 4S 10.000 mAh)
Based on my experience and knowledge, you should not store you LiPo batteries: fully charged nor discharged for a long period of time if you want to avoid the battery to dramatically reduce it’s life span. My understanding is that to store your LiPo batteries the best practice is to store them at around 45 to 50% charge. If you Google this you will find that the suggested storage voltage per cell is around 3.85V. Since Solo uses and 4Sbattery the battery voltage will be 4x 3.85= 15.4V. If you want to use a bulb it should be at least for 16.8V (4x 4.2V) You should monitor the voltage as the battery voltage drops over time.
I have never seen a Solo myself so I will have to wait for mine to arrive but I think there are some LED’s on the battery like a fuel gauge. If that is the case you should be able to know when the battery is around 50% discharged.
Based on the Solo information available on the web, if the battery is fully charged, you can fly for 20 min with Gimbal and 25 min without gimbal. Assuming that that is correct, why don’t you hover it for about 10 min with gimbal or 12.5 min. without gimbal. I think you can take off and hit the Pause button to make it hover on the same spot. Again I have to test this myself when my Solo arrives to see if this is correct.
Also, If there is a fuel gauge on the battery that would help as well to confirm after your 10 or 12.5 min hover. Measuring the battery voltage would still be recommended to fine tune your hover time sweet spot.
Let me know if this helps,
Mike.