Dual Charger charge in parallel

[Airwolf]

I have the Dual Charger with my Pro S2 kit and I use an Anker 100W charger and a NekTeck 90W charger. Neither charger seems to allow the Dual Charger to charger in Parallel. When charging just one battery at a time increases the lights while charging.

Am I missing something?

 

[Saladshooter]

I have the Dual Charger with my Pro S2 kit and I use an Anker 100W charger and a NekTeck 90W charger. Neither charger seems to allow the Dual Charger to charger in Parallel. When charging just one battery at a time increases the lights while charging.

Am I missing something?

Not sure what the problem is..... I bought the one below for $15 on Amazon. It charges two batteries at one time when plugged into the Dual Charger without problem

 

[RiverEagle]

When I had my S2 (I returned it for S2+), I plugged the dual charger into the 86 watt charger that came with my MacBook Pro and it was able to do both at the same time.

However, I noticed now that I have the S2+ and its new higher capacity batteries, it won't dual charge them. Interesting.

I ordered a 96 watt charger a few days ago so I'll see if that does the trick. If not, I'll try the one @Saladshooter recommended.

Ray

 

[kenmavic2zoom]

im thinking you mean charging 2 batteries simultaneously. does your dual charger charger the battery and another accessory (like the beacon or remote) when you attach it in parallel...meaning, with another cable from the other side of the dual-charger?

btw, for me all s2+ equipment here, and both batteries flash blue when connected using the dual charger. you may have to remove the battery and re-attach it but they are both charging at the same time, i just tried it.

 

[mswlogo]

I used my MacBook 96W USB-C Charger and it charged in parallel on the first charge (and both batteries were quite low).

 

[Airwolf]

Not sure what the problem is..... I bought the one below for $15 on Amazon. It charges two batteries at one time when plugged into the Dual Charger without problem

View attachment 653

I don't know what the problem is either. It just won't charge both batteries at the same time.

 

[Airwolf]

When I had my S2 (I returned it for S2+), I plugged the dual charger into the 86 watt charger that came with my MacBook Pro and it was able to do both at the same time.

However, I noticed now that I have the S2+ and its new higher capacity batteries, it won't dual charge them. Interesting.

I ordered a 96 watt charger a few days ago so I'll see if that does the trick. If not, I'll try the one @Saladshooter recommended.

Ray

Yeah, all my equipment is S2 first generation.

 

[Airwolf]

im thinking you mean charging 2 batteries simultaneously. does your dual charger charger the battery and another accessory (like the beacon or remote) when you attach it in parallel...meaning, with another cable from the other side of the dual-charger?

btw, for me all s2+ equipment here, and both batteries flash blue when connected using the dual charger. you may have to remove the battery and re-attach it but they are both charging at the same time, i just tried it.

Yes. In parallel, at the same time, where all the blue lights increase at the same time until both batteries are full. This doesn't happen with me. Only one battery charges at the a time. The battery that does not charge flashes one blue light and continues to do so until the other battery is full or removed.

When one battery is complete the other battery does start to increase its charge as indicated by the increasing amount of blue lights but it takes the normal time. It's only charging in series it appears.

In terms of charging another device I have only ever tried the controller and the Beacon and it appears to charge them fine but it takes a lot longer to charge those.

 

[kenmavic2zoom]

Yes. In parallel, at the same time, where all the blue lights increase at the same time until both batteries are full. This doesn't happen with me. Only one battery charges at the a time. The battery that does not charge flashes one blue light and continues to do so until the other battery is full or removed.

When one battery is complete the other battery does start to increase its charge as indicated by the increasing amount of blue lights but it takes the normal time. It's only charging in series it appears.

In terms of charging another device I have only ever tried the controller and the Beacon and it appears to charge them fine but it takes a lot longer to charge those.

try this: when you have both batteries attached to the dual-charger and only one battery is charging (blue light flashing), take the battery (which is charging) off the charger. you should see the second battery begin to charge (blue light flashing). now replace the first battery on the dual-charge and when it starts flashing, both should continue to flash/charge. that works for me whenever the charging process "stalls."

 

[Airwolf]

try this: when you have both batteries attached to the dual-charger and only one battery is charging (blue light flashing), take the battery (which is charging) off the charger. you should see the second battery begin to charge (blue light flashing). now replace the first battery on the dual-charge and when it starts flashing, both should continue to flash/charge. that works for me whenever the charging process "stalls."

Hmm. I have taken the one battery that is charging off before and yes, the other battery starts charging. But I only do that when the battery that is charging is charged and I don't put it back. I'll give it a shot the next time I want to fly. Thanks.

On a separate note, how do you maintain your batteries? In the olden days we were taught to charge to a "storage" level if leaving the battery alone for long periods. With these "Smart Batteries" they drop the charge themselves to 60% if left unattended for more than 14 days I believe. The only thing the manual states is to charge and discharge the battery fully atleast a couple of times if left alone for a while.

I've even talked to Skydio about this and their response seemed to not understand my point, they said I should leave the battery low from right after a flight and not charge it until I'm ready to fly, but I should charge it once every 2 weeks. And I should discharge it once every 2 weeks. My concern is what if I'm not able to fly? How can I discharge? I'm not going to sit it on the drone powered on all afternoon overheating just to drain it. That's ridiculous!

So I'm just wondering what people do to maintain their batteries.

 

[lidocaineus]

I know this is an old thread, but a bunch of people probably don't realize that USB-C cables can either handle very low charging capacity (like under 5 watts), standard charging (60 watts / 3 amps), and 100 watts (5 amps). You need the 100w capable cables to dual charge. The cable that comes with the Skydio is a good quality cable and certified for 100 watt charging. Most USB-C cables are 60 watts and some are the very bad 5 watt cables (that isn't that common, but can show up when someone is being very cheap).

Testing for 100 watt dual charging is simple: plug a cable into the charger and use a 96+ watt power supply. Unfortunately if it only charges one battery, there's no way of knowing what capacity your cable is at. If you have a Mac that supports USB charging, plug the cable into it and in the System Report window in the power section it will tell you the cable's charging capabilities.

 

[Ridefreak]

Yeah, all my equipment is S2 first generation.

Mine is first gen also and it charges both at the same time, always has once it got connected to a decent USB C brick. To me it's kind of pointing at the USB wall charger you purchased. I bought one of those 96W amazon chargers and it's what allowed both to charge simultaneously, the little brick that came with the drone won't charge 2 at the same time.

 

[Airwolf]

I know this is an old thread, but a bunch of people probably don't realize that USB-C cables can either handle very low charging capacity (like under 5 watts), standard charging (60 watts / 3 amps), and 100 watts (5 amps). You need the 100w capable cables to dual charge. The cable that comes with the Skydio is a good quality cable and certified for 100 watt charging. Most USB-C cables are 60 watts and some are the very bad 5 watt cables (that isn't that common, but can show up when someone is being very cheap).

Testing for 100 watt dual charging is simple: plug a cable into the charger and use a 96+ watt power supply. Unfortunately if it only charges one battery, there's no way of knowing what capacity your cable is at. If you have a Mac that supports USB charging, plug the cable into it and in the System Report window in the power section it will tell you the cable's charging capabilities.

Hi Lidocaineus,

Thank you for this information. To be clear, I only use the larger, thicker cable. I'm assuming that is what you are referring to. I only use the shorter, thinner cable for connecting my phone to the controller, never to charge. I have also used the cables that come with my wall chargers. I have one from ANKER, NEKTECK and I just recently bought a 200W WOTOBEUS charger. None of the cables nor the chargers will charge the batteries in parallel, i.e. at the same time. And even when I use the Skydio 2 cable with any of these chargers does the Dual Charger charge two batteries at the same time.

I'm wondering if when anyone sets the batteries on the charger, they actually pay attention to what is happening to the lights on the batteries rather than just walking away. I have observed that while both the batteries have the first light charging on the battery, only one battery will illuminate more lights as time goes on while the other battery will not increase the number of illuminated lights until the other battery is completely charged.

 

[Airwolf]

Mine is first gen also and it charges both at the same time, always has once it got connected to a decent USB C brick. To me it's kind of pointing at the USB wall charger you purchased. I bought one of those 96W amazon chargers and it's what allowed both to charge simultaneously, the little brick that came with the drone won't charge 2 at the same time.

Hello,

I have 3 90W+ chargers and none of them seem to work. ANKER, NEKTECK, and a 200W WOTOBEUS. I have used all their cables and I have used the big thick cable that came with the Skydio 2. None of these combinations seems to make the charger charge both batteries at the same time.

I'm wondering if when anyone sets the batteries on the charger, they actually pay attention to what is happening to the lights on the batteries rather than just walking away. I have observed that while both the batteries have the first light charging on the battery, only one battery will illuminate more lights as time goes on while the other battery will not increase the number of illuminated lights until the other battery is completely charged.

 

[lidocaineus]

Hi Lidocaineus,

Thank you for this information. To be clear, I only use the larger, thicker cable. I'm assuming that is what you are referring to. I only use the shorter, thinner cable for connecting my phone to the controller, never to charge. I have also used the cables that come with my wall chargers. I have one from ANKER, NEKTECK and I just recently bought a 200W WOTOBEUS charger. None of the cables nor the chargers will charge the batteries in parallel, i.e. at the same time. And even when I use the Skydio 2 cable with any of these chargers does the Dual Charger charge two batteries at the same time.

I'm wondering if when anyone sets the batteries on the charger, they actually pay attention to what is happening to the lights on the batteries rather than just walking away. I have observed that while both the batteries have the first light charging on the battery, only one battery will illuminate more lights as time goes on while the other battery will not increase the number of illuminated lights until the other battery is completely charged.

I actually always verify both are charging. In fact, I have three batteries, and I can usually swap the third one in as soon as one of the two previous batteries finishes. I even have a USB power debugger that shows what voltage and amperage are being drawn, and using what USB power format. With the dual charger, a 150 watt USB PD charger (100 watts effectively for a single unit like the dual charger) and any of my 5 amp compatible USB-C cables, I always get full 20 volt draws at around 4.5 amps (roughly 89-93 watts) which is inline with what Skydio states for charging both batteries at the same time. Even my Apple-branded Macbook Pro USB-PD compatible charger (96 watts) will dual charge the batteries, as it's over what the Skydio dual charger is requesting. Charge times match what they state as well for charging both batteries at the same time. With 3 amp USB-C cables, only one battery will charge no matter what power supply I plug it into.

The cable Skydio supplies with the Skydio 2+ (not sure of the older version) is definitely a 5 amp cable - it even has an e-chip in it that you can verify. At long as you have a 96 watt USB-PD power supply or greater and use that cable, you will get dual charging.

 

[Airwolf]

I actually always verify both are charging. In fact, I have three batteries, and I can usually swap the third one in as soon as one of the two previous batteries finishes. I even have a USB power debugger that shows what voltage and amperage are being drawn, and using what USB power format. With the dual charger, a 150 watt USB PD charger (100 watts effectively for a single unit like the dual charger) and any of my 5 amp compatible USB-C cables, I always get full 20 volt draws at around 4.5 amps (roughly 89-93 watts) which is inline with what Skydio states for charging both batteries at the same time. Even my Apple-branded Macbook Pro USB-PD compatible charger (96 watts) will dual charge the batteries, as it's over what the Skydio dual charger is requesting. Charge times match what they state as well for charging both batteries at the same time. With 3 amp USB-C cables, only one battery will charge no matter what power supply I plug it into.

The cable Skydio supplies with the Skydio 2+ (not sure of the older version) is definitely a 5 amp cable - it even has an e-chip in it that you can verify. At long as you have a 96 watt USB-PD power supply or greater and use that cable, you will get dual charging.

I do only have the S2 non +. But I'm assuming the cable is rated for the 5 amps + because they've always stated that the dual charger will charge both batteries at the same time long before anyone knew about the S2+.

To be more specific, one battery will show lights flashing as the battery charges while the other battery only shows the lowest light flashing and does not increase the number of lights until the other battery finishes charging.

I don't know, I can take everyone's word for it but without video proof I'm left to wonder if what is actually happening is the dual charger is charging in series and NOT parallel even though it powers up both batteries but does not charge both at the same time.

Either that or my dual charger is faulty. Or my Skydio 2 cable that came with my pro kit is faulty.

I'm going to try to figure out if I can do a video of my charging. It might be a while though.

 

[Saladshooter]

I have a cheap Apple clone 96W charger from Amazon. It never fails to charge both batteries simultaneously and quickly to boot.

 

[Airwolf]

I have a cheap Apple clone 96W charger from Amazon. It never fails to charge both batteries simultaneously and quickly to boot.

How quick is quick? Both batteries are usually done in about 90 minutes for me using the dual charger and the issues I'm experiencing.

 

[Saladshooter]

How quick is quick? Both batteries are usually done in about 90 minutes for me using the dual charger and the issues I'm experiencing.

Under an hour from a normal discharge level.

 

[lidocaineus]

I do only have the S2 non +. But I'm assuming the cable is rated for the 5 amps + because they've always stated that the dual charger will charge both batteries at the same time long before anyone knew about the S2+.

To be more specific, one battery will show lights flashing as the battery charges while the other battery only shows the lowest light flashing and does not increase the number of lights until the other battery finishes charging.

I don't know, I can take everyone's word for it but without video proof I'm left to wonder if what is actually happening is the dual charger is charging in series and NOT parallel even though it powers up both batteries but does not charge both at the same time.

Either that or my dual charger is faulty. Or my Skydio 2 cable that came with my pro kit is faulty.

I'm going to try to figure out if I can do a video of my charging. It might be a while though.

I literally said I had a USB power debugger, and with two batteries plugged in, it shows that it pulls 89+ watts (18-20V, just under 5 amps). With a single battery it pulls in about 64 watts (same voltage, about 3 amps). This matches up exactly with what Skydio says should happen. With a non-5 amp cable or a power supply under 90 watts, it will only charge the single at 64 watts, and that's if you have a 3 amp cable with a power supply equal to the one that came with the Skydio. Anything under that and it charges even slower.

I'm not sure why you don't believe all of us. There's something wrong with your setup. Here are two links that show exactly how much power is being pulled at any one time - the first video is with one battery, then two, with a 5 amp cable (the black one, the white one is simply to power the debugger) and a 150 watt power supply. It's not charging in series; if it did, the power draw wouldn't change between one or two batteries, nor would the charging times change. I can even pull up the watt hours or amp hours if you want, but it should be obvious even without that:

The second video shows just how slowly it charges with everything exactly the same, but a cable that's not even certified for more than half an amp (the white one). Notice it is definitely not charging both batteries