Yuneec Drone Batteries (Everything You Need to Know)

Yuneec is a leading consumer drone manufacturer. With a background in building manned planes, Yuneec shifted its focus to building UAVs, and they are pretty good at it. From basic consumer drones to industrial-grade drones for inspections, you can find a Yuneec drone to suit your needs. Like with all other drone models, learning how to handle the batteries is crucial.

Yuneec drones use LiPo batteries with flight times ranging from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. While they’re powerful, LiPo batteries require a little bit of knowledge on how to charge, discharge, store, and even dispose of them properly.

For this article, I’ve picked the most popular current Yuneec drone models to focus on, and I will be discussing all there is to know about their batteries. 

Which batteries do Yuneec drones use? #

Yuneec drones are quite powerful, with some featuring six rotors, while most of the drones we are used to have only four rotors. So, what batteries do they use? Even the six-rotor drones use the same basic type of LiPo batteries you’ll find in other drones. 

The fact that you can expand the capacity and voltage of a LiPo battery without making it too large makes it a favorite for almost all types of RC devices. 

LiPo batteries use a polymer instead of a liquid, and one cell contains 3.7 V. To attain a higher voltage, they are arranged in a series arrangement where the voltage is added together. 7.4V means there are two cells, 11.1 V 3 cells, and so on. 

Now, 3.7 V is the nominal voltage, but the voltage can get as low as zero if it’s over-discharged. The voltage of one cell should be 4.2 V when the battery is fully charged. But never discharge a battery below 3.2V.

Below are the Yuneec drones I will cover, their voltages, and their capacities.

Drone
Voltage
Number of cells (S)
Capacity

Yuneec Breeze
11.1 V
3S
1150mAh

Yuneec Typhoon H
14.8 V
4S
5400mAh

Yuneec Q500 4K
11.1 V
3S
5400mAh

Yuneec Mantis Q
11.4 V
3S
2800mAh

Yuneec H520
15.2 V
4S
5250mAh

How long do Yuneec batteries last? #

Drone
Flight Time

Yuneec Breeze
12 Minutes

Yuneec Typhoon H
25 Minutes

Yuneec Q500 4K
25 Minutes

Yuneec Mantis Q
33 Minutes

Yuneec H520
28 Minutes

The batteries for Yuneec drones vary by model, as you would expect. For the current popular models of Yuneec drones, the battery life you can expect ranges from 12 minutes to 33 minutes of flight time under ideal conditions. As with any drone battery, this maximum flight time will be shortened by things such as wind conditions, temperature and humidity, flight speed, payload, etc. 

How to charge a Yuneec battery? #

In each section below, I’ll go over how to charge each of these batteries for the different Yuneec drone models.

How to charge a Yuneec Breeze battery? #

Connect the charger to a power supply. Then, slide your battery into the charger, as shown below.

How to charge a Yuneec Typhoon H battery? #

Connect the provided SC4000-4 charger to a power outlet through the AC adapter. The power outlet should have a voltage ranging from 100V to 240V. You can also connect it to a cigarette lighter receptacle or any other accessory socket in your car as long as it has 12V to 16.8V DC voltage. 

You can simultaneously charge the battery and the controller from the same charging station. Below is how the setup looks.

How to charge a Yuneec H520 battery? #

Connect the provided desktop charger to a power outlet through the AC adapter. The power outlet should have a voltage ranging from 100V to 240V. You can also connect it to a cigarette lighter receptacle or any other accessory socket in your car as long as it has 12V to 16.8V DC voltage. 

You can simultaneously charge the battery and the controller from the same charging station. Below is how the setup looks.

How to charge the Yuneec Q500 4K battery? #

Connect the provided desktop charger to a power outlet through the AC adapter. The power outlet should have a voltage ranging from 100V to 240V. You can also connect it to a cigarette lighter receptacle or any other accessory socket in your car as long as it has 12V to 16.8V DC voltage. 

The charger will blink a green LED to show it’s on. Then, connect a balancing connector to the charger, and connect your battery. Below is how the setup looks for your house outlet and for charging from your car.

How to charge a Yuneec Mantis Q battery? #

Connect the provided desktop charger to a power outlet through the AC adapter. Then, connect your battery to the charger. Below is how the setup looks.

How long does it take to charge a Yuneec Drone battery? #

The charging time for Yuneec drone batteries varies by model and depends in large part on the capacity of the battery (and how much the battery is depleted). Below are estimated charging times for each of the drones I’ve mentioned above.

Drone
Charging Time

Yuneec Breeze
45 Minutes

Yuneec Typhoon H
2.5 Hours

Yuneec Q500 4K
2 Hours

Yuneec Mantis Q
1.5 Hours

Yuneec H520
2.5 Hours

How do I know when my Yuneec battery is fully charged? #

Each drone battery has an indicator to show the battery levels. Below are the indicators for the drones highlighted in this article.

Yuneec H520 and Typhoon H  #

When you connect the charger to a power supply, a green light starts blinking. Once you connect the battery, a red LED starts blinking to show it’s charging. Flashing green and red LEDs means balancing charging is taking place for all the cells. A solid green LED means the battery is fully charged. 

For Typhoon H, you can also check the battery levels by connecting the battery to the drone. Then, press the power button and watch the color of the LED below the battery compartment. If it starts with green, the battery is fully charged. If it’s orange or amber, the battery is less than 50%, and if it’s red, it is less than 25%.

Yuneec Breeze  #

Like in the H520, the green LEDs flash to show the charger is ready to charge. When you connect the battery, the red LED blinks, then alternating red and green LEDs for balancing charging and solid green to show it’s fully charged. But there’s one more, the blue light flashing, which indicates abnormal charging (more on this later).

Yuneec Q500   #

The Q500 indicators are similar to H520. Blinking green represents standby mode, red blinking means charging mode, alternating red and green represents balancing, and solid green represents a full charge. But instead of blue, the Q500 lights up a solid red LED to show there’s an error. 

Yuneec Mantis Q  #

The Mantis Q only has a green LED indicator. When it’s on without the battery, it shows the charger is ready. Once you connect the battery, the green LED flickers to show it is charging and maintains a solid light when the battery is fully charged. If the charger is continuously flashing, then there could be an error.

How to remove a Yuneec drone battery? #

The method for removing a battery from your Yuneec drone will vary by model. I’ve covered each type of drone and how to remove its battery in the following sections. 

How to remove a Yuneec Typhoon H or H520 battery? #

This drone’s battery has some sort of door at the back. To remove the battery, lift the door, and pull the battery out. 

The same applies to the H520 since they are quite similar. Their batteries are also interchangeable, but their charging devices aren’t.

How to remove the Yuneec Breeze battery? #

There’s a locking switch at the back of the battery that keeps the battery in the drone. To remove the battery, press down the latch and simultaneously pull the battery out.

How to remove the Yuneec Mantis Q battery? #

There’s a battery locking button next to the battery compartment. To remove the battery, press the locking button, and slide the battery out.

How to remove the Q500 4K battery? #

To remove the battery from your Q500, look for a small door on the drone, like the one on the back of a plane. And the battery has a handle at the back. All you need to do is press the door inside gently to open the door. You’ll see a “PUSH” instruction on the door. Then, hold the handle and pull the battery out. 

There are cases where the battery may get stuck in the compartment. In such a case, it’s best to disassemble the drone to get the battery out. Don’t try to force it out since you’ll damage the air chamber. If the door doesn’t open, the mechanism could be damaged. Yuneec does provide an extra door clip, but you can also purchase it in the spare parts section on their website.

Yuneec Breeze battery flashing blue light – what it means #

As mentioned earlier, the blue light on a Yuneed Breeze battery charger means abnormal charging. Sometimes it could be a poor connection, a damaged battery, or weak cells. 

According to most users, the blue light means that one cell has a very low charge compared to the others. As a result, if you charge the battery at the standard voltage, you may end up overcharging the cells past the proper resting voltage, which could lead to a fire. 

How to fix the blue light error? #

So, how do you fix it? Most drone users are able to fix the issue by charging the cell with a very low voltage before charging the whole battery. This means that you will need to measure the voltage of each cell using a multimeter, find the one with very low voltage, and charge it through the pins. 

For each LiPo battery, an extra wire runs from the charging plug to the battery. Now, the Yuneec Breeze uses a 3S battery, which means it will have four wires. There are many devices out there that can help determine the voltage of each cell, but you can do it with a simple voltmeter. 

On one end of the plug is a black wire representing the negative, and the other is positive, which is a red wire. To get the total voltage, place the positive and negative arms of the voltmeter on these terminals.

To get the voltage of the first cell, place the positive arm of the voltmeter on the pin on the end and the negative pin on the next pin. To check the second cell, move the negative arm to the next pin, and do the same for the positive arm. Keep moving both arms to check the voltage of each corresponding cell. Below is the pinout of a 3S LiPo battery and a video to make it easier.

Once you identify the weak battery call, modify a charger to get a positive and a negative, and place them on the respective cell pins for a few minutes, then try to charge the battery and see if it charges normally. Below is an easy and safe way to do it.

Remember to use small currents and voltages. Instead of the usual 12V, use 5 V and about 0.5 A. After a few tries, you should be able to fix it. However, not all batteries with a weak cell can be revived. When you find one cell with voltage as low as 1.0 V, it’s best to replace the entire battery.

NOTE: Weak cells happen in most drone batteries. It’s just the indicators may differ. For the Q500, it’s a solid red, and for the Mantis Q, it’s a flashing green LED.

Why is my Yuneec drone battery not charging? #

The weak cells I just described are one of the reasons your battery could not be charging. Others include;

• The pins are bent, affecting the connection. Fix this by straightening the pins and try again.
• Poor or damaged power cables that should be replaced.
• The voltage is too low on all the batteries, an effect or over-discharging the batteries. You can “jumpstart” the batteries with another LiPo battery. Or, check if you’re eligible for repairs or replacements from Yuneec. If none of those fixes works, you may need to purchase a new battery.

Yuneec low battery warning #

All Yuneec batteries alert you if the charge is too low. It would be best if you landed the drone immediately when you get the first warning since at that point you’ll have about 5 minutes of flight time. 

By the time you get a second warning, only a minute or so is left. And you may not have enough time to fly it back to where you are. That’s why it’s essential to monitor the drone’s battery level to make sure you’re in a safe area when the warning pops up.

You also want to avoid over-discharging your battery by flying the drone until it’s empty, as this can damage the battery. 

How to discharge a Yuneec drone battery? #

When preparing the drone battery for storage, fly the drone until the battery is at about 30%. If you are not able to fly the drone but need to travel with the batteries, you can run the battery in the drone without the propellers or discharge it safely using a balancing charger with a discharging function.

If the battery is damaged and you want to dispose of it off, below is how you can fully discharge it;

• Connect the batteries to a lamp to drain them completely.
• Place the batteries in a concentrated salt water solution.

Yuneec batteries maintenance tips #

Below are some care tips for safe battery use, and to help make your Yuneec batteries last longer.

• Never discharge the battery below 30%.
• Don’t charge or use any damaged or swollen batteries.
• Store the batteries in a fireproof bag.
• Don’t store batteries when they are fully charged or over-discharged.
• When storing the batteries, make sure they won’t come into contact with each other to prevent short circuits.
• If the batteries are hot or warm, don’t charge them. Wait until they cool down.
• Don’t charge or discharge the batteries in too hot or too cold temperatures. The temperatures should be in the range of 0 to 35 degrees C.
• Don’t leave the batteries unattended when charging or discharging.

Conclusion #

And there you have it. Yuneec drone batteries need special care, like any other LiPo battery. Hopefully, I’ve fully covered all the questions and concerns you may have about using and caring for your Yuneec batteries.

Image Credit: Yuneec