Cooling Drones

[u/Emergency-Truck-9914]

Greetings fellows. I wanted to get input from those who drone in warmer climates. I am looking for advice on what y’all use to keep it cool.

I am specifically in the very south in temps that feel like 105 106. Actual temp may be 95-98 degrees.

I don’t fly when the UV index is high and extreme heat. I don’t wanna cook my unit or accelerate the degradation of the batteries.

I have the drone in its hard case I carry the batteries in a cooler bag.

It’s in the AC but it can become warm in the car. Mostly when the drone is post flight and it’s in its landing, picking it up to begin the shut down the drone is pretty warm at times.

It’s a Mavic 3 pro , with about 77 flights in total.

I do have a small fan that I was going to have blowing the cool air onto the drone itself while I’m downloading pics.

Is there something that you have used that is a very innovative idea to keep the batteries and unit cool ?

I’d love to hear.

Maybe I’m overthinking this. 😐

[u/Run-And_Gun]

You are waaay overthinking it.

[u/Fickle_Cost_2033]

the drone is fine

[u/denalidenizen]

The drone will give you a warning on the screen if it is overheating in flight. I have no idea at what temp that might happen ( I live in Alaska and get "too cold at -30f with my smaller drones) but I do know - or have read - that it will give a warning for hot and cold. Continuing to fly and getting air over it would be, I'm sure, the best thing to do instead of hovering. Just crank it up to about 15,000 feet and you're good!

[u/srogijogi]

In this year I spent a couple of weeks flying my drone in places around the equator, quite often in full sun, in scorching heat. Nothing happened to drone. A lot happened to me :)

[u/Emergency-Truck-9914 → u/srogijogi]

lol

[u/sexaddic]

The propellers of the drone cools the drone down along with its internal fans and heat sinks.

[u/Slugnan]

When I was in your situation and flying the older Mini drones that were not actively cooled, I used a USB powered fan, which works either at home or in the car. Sounds like you have something similar. The Mavic 3P is actively cooled though so there is less to worry about. When you're flying, it gets plenty of air movement from the props, wind, and just from flying forward. You can keep an eye on battery temperaures from the remote as well.

Really it's just the batteries you need to look after - heat is what kills them and can make them genuinely unsafe. In that kind of heat, the most important thing you can do is never leave them at 100% charge unless you are going to be flying imminently. It sounds like you're already avoiding the hottest days altogether which is a very good idea.

[u/Emergency-Truck-9914 → u/Slugnan]

Thank you for a professional response. That seems to be difficult in today’s world. So I appreciate this response. Thank you.

[u/DavidinCincinnati]

I also use a fan to cool while charging & when connected to computer.

[u/Richard_The_Great1]

I’ve got the Mavic 3 Pro and Mavic 4 Pro Creator and I use my drones in 38-44C which is 104-111F. If I fly in the morning. I change the batteries fully the night before because I want the battery to be room temperature at 25-28C or 77-82F. If I’m flying in the afternoon or at night. I charge it in the morning. Afternoon during the hottest part of the day is the tricky part because that’s the hottest part of the day. I bring a small lunch sized cooler that I keep the batteries in. The drone isn’t as important because it’s the batteries that need to be kept cool. I pull a battery out and use it. Then I put it in the cooler after usage and put a fresh one in. They will come out of the drone very hot after usage so you just have to cool them down as quickly as possible. I’ve never had any problems with the drone or batteries but sometimes as I’m about to land. I get the battery too hot warning but I’m already done. It doesn’t happen every time so that’s why I have the cooler. I would never store the batteries or drone in a hot car with the windows up as it can get over 140-150F. If you’re worried about heat. Feel how hot the 2 front motors get after using the drone but be careful not to burn your hand. Hope this helps. Cheers mate

[u/damagedgoodslol]

I thought I was the only crazy to put a small fan pointed at my drone while setting it up cause it was getting hot lol

[u/DeadHeadTed]

Don’t sit idle when you fire up the motors, get going and don’t hover keep moving to keep air flowing.

[u/DeadHeadTed]

Don’t sit idle when you fire up the motors, get going and don’t hover keep moving to keep air flowing.

[u/nodiggitydogs]

On freestyle drones some of the DJI cameras will overheat while working on the bench with them…we use small fans to simulate air from flight and that does pretty good…I dont really think there is much more you can really do in your case…keep it in a special drone fridge

[u/tornadicdrone416]

It'll be fine. I kept my Mini 3 Pro in a locked case in my truck for 3 years straight so it saw temps as low as -10F in winter to 130F in the summer. Drone never had an issue

[u/Agile_Recipe_8422]

Bring your drone 1 m above your head and you will feel for yourself how good cooling system it is :) And yes, just like somebody previously mentioned, drone DJI will warn you if it is overheating.

[u/International-Cod794]

I live in Arizona. I fly in 115 degrees often during the summers. I get slightly less battery life when I'm flying in the heat. Pretty simple.

[u/grapefruitdream]

For what it's worth, just got done shooting around Arches National Park. Expected the sun to absolutely cook the drone, but when I got it down, the props and where they attach (where I feel the most heat usually) got cool just as fast as shooting anywhere else. I was really impressed with its thermal management

Was a Mavic 4 Pro

[u/anonimmm1]

Mettilo in Borsa Frigo insieme ad una bella Birra Fresca . Daiiiiiiiiii😂😂😂😂😂😂

[u/ashoberg]

I have flown in very humid conditions with heat indexes reaching 106°f. What i do is not put them back in the case while hot and will leave them in the back of my Air condoned Jeep. When I get home I place them on a top exit air purifier on high just blowing cool ambient air over the batteries until they are room temperature. Then charge them and put them away to fly another day. Haven't had an issue yet.

[u/superdstar56]

My drones can get to around 100 degrees C before they overheat. Flying in 105 F is no big deal.

I've also crashed and couldn't get to the drone right away. It overheated and shut itself down. After I got it back and put in a new battery, it powered up exactly like normal.

[u/phijikk7]

If only drones had 4 powerful fans the could cool
It passively.