TLDR: If you are experiencing unexpected shutdowns of Stretch due to reduced battery runtime then this post can help you diagnose and fix the issue.
Battery maintenance is a complex subject. The Battery Maintenance Guides (Stretch RE1 and Stretch 2) provide our recommended procedures for charging Stretch batteries.
This Knowledge Base post provides some additional strategies and background information for achieving long run times with your Stretch.
First, please review the Expected Run Time of Stretch post in order to understand if your Stretch is not meeting the product expectations.
Next if you are unsure of the current state of your battery health, we have created a simple tool that can give you some insight into your battery health. Please review Battery Health Tool on how to prepare Stretch before running this tool
If you are experiencing runtime issues despite having a full battery charge and the battery health tool showing poor level of health you may need to run a battery repair cycle. Please see the post on Repairing Unhealthy Batteries
Finally, if you do not plan on working with Stretch for long periods of time, we recommend that you recharge the Stretch’s batteries within 3 months of last use. This will ensure that the Stretch’s batteries are maintained in good health.
What to do if Run time does not improve:
- Stretch 2
- If you are not getting close to the 3 hour mark of continuous use even after proper
charging and repair cycles, our recommendation is to purchase new batteries. - Link to new batteries
- Please inquire with support@hello-robot.com for instructions on how to install new batteries
- If you are not getting close to the 3 hour mark of continuous use even after proper
- Stretch RE1
- We will soon have an option to add a standalone hardware upgrade to increase battery duration from its original state to 74% increase capacity.
- Please inquire with support@hello-robot.com for more details
RE1s Optional Hardware Addition For Increase Run Time:
Below is data showing the improvement run time doing the following:
- Proper charging
- Individual Repair cycles on Stretch’s batteries
- Adding the standalone hardware upgrade
| Testing Parameter | Stretch RE1 with Unhealthy Batteries | Stretch RE1 After Individual Repair Cycles | Stretch RE1 After Individual Repair Cycles with standalone hardware upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stretch Run Time Duration | 1hr 23 mins | 1hr 44 mins | 2 hrs 25 mins |
| Voltage Level Cutoff | 11.65V | 11.52V | 10.73V |
