Lithium drone batteries can ignite, vent, or explode if damaged, and federal hazardous-materials rules (49 C.F.R. § 173.185) and carrier rules control how they may be shipped. Please read this before you mail anything to us.
1. Before you ship: get a return authorization
Contact us for a quote and a work order / RMA number before mailing equipment. Tell us about every battery you plan to include and its condition. Read the Repair Terms & Conditions and complete the Repair Intake & Authorization — put a printed copy in the box or complete it electronically when we send it to you.
2. If your battery appears normal
- Only send a battery if we asked for it. Many repairs do not need one.
- Discharge it to roughly 30% or less state of charge.
- Leave it installed in the drone, or place it in its own plastic bag or original packaging so the terminals cannot touch metal or each other. Cover exposed contacts with non-conductive tape.
- Pack so nothing can crush it or shift in transit, inside a strong outer box.
- Ship by ground service and answer your carrier’s questions about lithium batteries truthfully. The carrier may require a lithium-battery mark on the box; follow the carrier’s current instructions. Do not send more than two spare batteries in one package.
3. Packing your drone
- Remove propellers. Remove memory cards and back up any data you need — service can erase data and settings.
- Use a gimbal guard or clamp if you have one.
- Use a hard case or a sturdy box with at least 2 inches of padding on every side. Do not ship in a soft bag alone.
- Include only the accessories we asked for (usually the controller). List what you included on the intake form.
- Write the work order / RMA number on the intake form inside the box, not on the outside of the package.
- Use a tracked service, and consider insurance for the declared value. You bear the risk of loss or damage in transit to us.
4. Crashed, wet, or burned drones
If the drone was in water, a fire, or a hard crash, treat the battery as damaged even if it looks normal. Remove it and do not ship it. Tell us what happened so we can advise you.
5. Disposing of a bad battery
Do not put lithium batteries in household trash or curbside recycling. Keep a damaged battery outdoors, away from anything flammable, on a non-combustible surface, and take it to a household hazardous-waste site or a battery recycling drop-off that accepts damaged lithium batteries (call ahead). If a battery is smoking or on fire, get away from it and call 911.
6. What we may do when a battery arrives
For safety, we may refuse, isolate, discharge, or arrange lawful disposal of an unsafe battery, and we may decline to ship a battery back when doing so would violate the law or carrier rules, as described in the Repair Terms.
Questions?
| thedronehospitalllc@gmail.com | |
| Phone | 404-895-4221 |