Maintenance

This chapter describes common maintenance procedures for the P600 UAV.

Battery Maintenance

Maintenance of the P600 UAV battery and the RTK station-unit power battery

1. Never over-discharge: A single-cell voltage below 3.5 V is generally considered capable of damaging the battery; this is commonly called over-discharge. An over-discharged battery may swell, and continuing to charge such a battery is extremely dangerous and may cause a fire. We recommend ending the flight when the voltage drops to 3.6 V. If 3.6 V is measured on the ground without load, the voltage will be far below 3.6 V during full-throttle flight and may even fall below 3 V, easily causing over-discharge.

2. Never overcharge: Just as discharge voltage has a lower limit, charging voltage has an upper limit. The aircraft uses a 6S high-voltage battery. Each cell has an upper voltage limit of 4.35 V; the nominal total voltage is 23.1 V, and the fully charged voltage is 26.1 V. The RTK uses a standard 3S battery with a nominal total voltage of 11.1 V and a fully charged voltage of 12.6 V. A per-cell voltage above 4.35 V/4.2 V is an overcharge and will also damage the battery. Modern smart chargers stop charging automatically at 4.35 V/4.2 V. However, some model-aircraft chargers have poor accuracy and may overcharge, while others can be set above 4.2 V for high-voltage batteries. Do not use this function with standard batteries. Select balance charging mode when charging. Battery voltage must also be managed for long-term storage; a per-cell voltage of 3.85 V is recommended.

3. Battery storage: Do not store batteries fully charged. Full-charge storage substantially reduces the discharge capability of model-aircraft batteries. After each use, charge or discharge the battery to its storage voltage. In particular, a fully charged battery that was not used must be discharged. Long-term storage at full charge damages the battery. Because lithium batteries are inherently less stable, a fire is possible even during normal storage. A stack of many lithium batteries presents a substantial fire hazard. Store batteries separately and away from flammable materials. Where possible, use an explosion-resistant, flame-retardant container.