Battery review: Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 4S 1500 mAh 80 C (Short Version)

After  already having reviewed the Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0packs, I was given the opportunity to test out the newest Dinogy battery product . This review is looking at the new 1500 mAh, short version of the Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 4S 80 C pack.

How to use charts: This battery review contains some charts which can be interactively utilized. You are able to: Highlight any value just by clicking on the corresponding key below the chart. Hover over any value / line inside the chart to get precise readings. Right axis is always current. Have fun! :)

Appearance

The new Dinogy Ultra family not only rates up to 80 C (instead of 70 C), it also comes in a superb looking orange shrink wrapping. I am very happy to see though, that they decided to continue using the cool looking, bright yellow, honey comb-style materials on the sides. On the back you find a sticker that provides all the important information how to handle the battery. I still really appreciate to see this stuff printed onto the pack. A lot better than giving out a small piece of paper as many other manufacturers tend to do. The packs come in a high quality card box. The pack itself is packed in bubble wrap. The only thing that officially changed are the outer dimensions. Instead of a rather long geometry, the new version is shorter and therefore a little thicker as well. Amazingly weight dropped by exactly 10 g.

 

Technical Design

The Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 80 C pack* is a standard 4S1P config flight pack for high power use. It utilizes the new generation graphene cell chemistry. An extra layer of carbon particles is added to minimize internal resistance and hence maximize possible current draw. The newest version now is rated up to 80 C constant.

Build Quality: Very good. Pack feels very well made on the outside. Connection terminal looks solid. The bright yello honey-comb material feels like it offers good protection on the sides. The orange coloring looks pretty flashy, too – I like it. The golden sticker at the bottom adds to the overall quality feel of the product.

Plugs: The Dinogy pack comes with standard XT60 connectors* equipped – again in black color.

Cables: L&E uses 12 AWG wires on this packs. The high flexible silicon layer is rated up to 200°C. Cable length is about 6.5 centimeters.

Balacing plugs: Standard XT-system*. Balance wires are very short (2 cm) which is a benefit in terms of getting them out of the prop-range on the aircraft. Main power line are connected to the top, balancer wires are coming out at the bottom of the pack.

Technical Details

Manufacturer	L&E Battery Industrial*	(Click to enlarge.)
Type	Dinogy Graphene 2.0 80C
Cell chemistry	Lithium Polymere (LiPo)
Cell type	Dinogy Graphene enabled chemistry
Cell count	4
Pack configuration	4S1P
Capacity	1500 mAh
Max. Charge Current	TBA A
Max. Discharge Current Continuous Burst	120 A ? A
Weight w/o plugs with plugs	– ca. 194 grams
Measurements as listed measured	– 39 x 34 x 75 mm
Price	Amazon.de*
Note	This battery has been directly donated by the manufacturer / distributor for review purposes.

Break-in documentation

The battery followed the standard break-in-process: The pack is charged at a rate of 1C until CV-phase ends with current of 1/10C. The break-in phase consists of four charging cycles at 1C and four corresponding discharges at 1 C / 4C / 10C and 20 C.

Anomalies: No anomalies during break-in.

Internal resistance measurements during break-in phase

Cycle	Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3	Cell 4	Total
After first charge	1.6	2.1	1.4	1.5	6.6
After second charge	1.9	1.6	1.7	1.3	6.5
After third charge	2.0	1.5	1.3	1.4	6.2
After fourth charge	2.0	2.0	1.2	1.4	6.6

Charging process

CV-Phase is very short on this cell type. Balancing in normal mode took 0:59 min. Cell drift during charge was unobtrusive. This is for 1C charge (1.5 A).

Load Testing

The main part of this battery test will consists of different load test settings showing the battery performance. Constant load testing is used to judge the advertised C-ratings as well as look at cell drift under high loads. We also check on internal resistance once more. Next up is the dynamic current test, which simulates a „real“ flight with changing (=dynamic) loads. For test methodology please check the dedicated methodology page!

Constant Load Testing

Constant load testing follows a certain load pattern of different constant currents. Base load is 10 C. Current pulses at 50 C, 35 C, 20 C and 30 C are maintained for time intervals between 10 and 20 seconds. For more details please refer to the test methodology page.

Capacity Usage

During this test the pack delivered 1158 mAh. This is 77,2 % of nominal capacity. A very good result.

Average cell voltages

The following table lists the average voltages per cell, of the total pack, as well as the averaged value per cell as fraction of total voltage during phase of active load.

	Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3	Cell 4	Total	Average per cell
Avg. Voltages	3.757 V	3.760 V	3.767 V	3.760 V	15.043 V	3.761 V

Just looking at average values the Dinogy pack performs good. All cells stayed well above 3,7 V on average. An average value above 3,74 V / cell can be considered very good.

Focus Voltages

Exceptionally interesting when testing a battery under a constant load for a longer period of time: the lowest voltage per cell just before load impulse is disabled. On top, you should have look at voltage recovery rate, that is: how fast do cell voltages rise again once load impulse is cut.

Phase	Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3	Cell 4	Total
End of 50 C	3.638 V	3.647 V	3.678 V	3.695 V	14.657 V
End of 35 C	3.590 V	3.595 V	3.613V	3.622 V	14.421 V
End of 20 C	3.477 V	3.499 V	3.509 V	3,492 V	13.978 V
End of 30 C	–	–	–	–

Voltage sag is very low on the Dinogy Ultra 1500 mAh pack. No cell went below 3,5 V/cell benchmark on first threeload cycles.

Average voltage recovery per second

Those values are specific to the test setting and not valid for the pack in general! Still they allow an estimated guess about how fast voltages rise again after current spikes.

	Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3	Cell 4	Total
Avg. Recovery	0.0202 V / s	0.0193 V / s	0.0168 / s	0.0145 V / s	0.0708 V /s

Voltage recovery is quick for the new Ultra Graphene 2.0 1500 mAh 80 C battery.

IR-Measurement

IR measurement is conducted using the four current pulses. Resistance for each cell is calculated in all four discharge phases. Shown values are averaged to cancel out different temperature points due to different discharge states during measurements.

Cell	1	2	3	4	Total
Resistance [mΩ]	2.38	2.33	2.00	2.15	8.85

Interpretation: The internal resistance of 2.21 mΩ average per cell indicates a „true“ C-rating of around  43 C (63.8 A). This is on the conservative side and represents a current draw that will make the pack last for a long time. Overall performance can be described as very high.

Cell drift under load

Discharge Phase	50 C	35 C	20 C	30 C
Max Cell drift (V)	0.029 V	0.032 V	0.063 V	–

Cell drift is very low on the new Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 80 C packs during main discharge phase. All cells are matched well.

Key Temperature Facts

Temperature Development

Max. temp during discharge was around 54.3 °C on top of pack. Note that heating of stressed LiPo packs will continue for some more time even when load is cut.
Market Comparison

The following chart shows all reviewed LiPos in the same product segment for direct comparison of performance. Higher values under load are better.

Constant 25 C Discharge

Pretty much a standard benchmark in the LiPo industry.

Cut-Off /warning value for this battery should be chosen 3.5 V minimum. After this point voltage drops quick. The battery provided 1156 mAh (77,1 %) during the 25 C discharge. One of the best results so far.

Market Overview

Comparison of different reviewed 1500 mAh batteries under 25 C load.

Dynamic Load Testing

The dynamic load testing setting consists of two separate discharge scenarios that have been developed of two different real-life FPV flights. Pattern one represents a high speed low proximity flight around the open field with some hovering to the end. Average load is around 22 A. Second pattern is a free-style flight around trees in the park with some current spikes near 70 A. Average load on this flight is around 13 A due to longer floating periods.

Capacity Usage

During the test of pattern 1 the pack delivered 1154 mAh. This is 76.9 % of nominal capacity. Very good. In patter 2 testing 1163 mAh (77.5 %) could be used until first cell reached cut-off voltage.

Market Comparison

The following charts give an overview of all tested packs in the 1500 mAh class so far.

The last chart of this review sums up the usable capacity during all four load scenarios. Please note that this is only the capacity consumed by the electronic load! There are losses due to heating of the pack, which could be approximated (see testing methodology page). All four tests are cut when any cell goes below cut-off voltage of 3,3 V (or pack goes above 58 °C on any of the three probes). If you would push further and go down to 3,0 V/cell you will be able to squeeze out some mAh more, but at the cost of excessive heat generation and shortening of pack life-span. This value will most likely differ from what you get when flying on a quad as most people don’t monitor voltage on a per cell basis and therefore don’t even notice if voltage drops below 3,3 V/cell during punsh-outs (what’s not necessarily a good thing, though). For comparison, used capacity until 3,3 V/cell is reached is the base line in all battery reviews on Drone-Zone.de.

 

Conclusion

In contrast to my last conclusions I will try to hold this one rather short. For details on my opinion on facts like appearance and quality of the pack, please consider reading the initial review of the Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 1500 mAh battery.

The new version of the 1500 mAh 80 C Ultra Graphene* pack is another great step in the right direction in terms of high power lipo batteries. I am happy to see that cell matching has improved from every generation to the next. This review samples was matched very good. Voltage stability stays great with the new short 1500 mAh version. The true C-rating can be rendered to around 43 C (~ 64 A), which is a little less compared to the former 1500 mAh version but still a very high value. Don’t be fooled by contentious vs. spontaneous current handling capacities anyways. I think there really is no racing quad out yet that would be able to draw that amount of power for more than a few seconds. What’s good to see as well: the weight dropped – even if only by 10  (!) g. Cut-off should be chosen at 3,5 V / cell minimum. The sticker on the pack tells you 3,4 V/ cell but this would mean to cut of throttle immediately after you hear your telemetry or buzzer complaining. Usable battery capacity is head to head with the best of all packs testes within the 1500 mAh class so far. I also like the new form factor. It shows manufacturers are not only showing attention to rising power needs, but also consider quads getting smaller and smaller. I am not sure about pricing yet, but I would estimate to see very similar pricing compared to the „old version“, which would be around US-$ 40. For this price tag Dinogy once more has an excellent performance-to-price ratio in the high quality- high performance lipo market.

Other packs of this line up tested:

• Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 4S 1300 mAh 80 C
• Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 4S 1500 mAh 80 C
• Dinogy Ultra Graphene 2.0 4S 1300 mAh 80 C (New)