I just picked this up off the District VII website. It's looks pretty bad. It also looks like it could have been worse.

http://www.laureanno.com/RC/fire-pics.htm

Wiz

Thanks for posting this. I’ve been sitting on the fence for months trying to decide whether to take the plunge into lipo land. But every time I do I run into yet another story like this one. Putting me right back on the fence, convinced once again that these batteries are not yet ready for prime time. Their risk to too great.

It is not every story that frightens me, but the ones written by experienced, knowledgeable, people using the proper equipment and procedures and still end up having fiery consequences that really get my attention. (Stories like this one )

I guess the NiMH batteries will have to last another year.

Jim Connell
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the link Wiz.

Not enough info to discern what caused the failure (pack damaged, left in the garage and subject to harsh climate changes etc), but the one failure that does stand out and is recognized by the owner is complacency. It will get you every time.

-Mike

I hate to say it but how come I read so many of these
stories that have to do with the Astro 109 charger?

Did not look like a safe enviroment to charge and store to begin with. Sorry to see the lose and carnage.

Killer

It's sad when a loss like this occurs, but in this case, it's not all that surprising since he broke so many of the cardinal rules of lipo charging.

1)Charge in a fire safe location. He mistakenly thought that he was protected by using a ceramic dish.

2)Never leave the area while lipos are being charged.

3) periodically check the lipos being charged for high temperatures, or swelling.

4) if you use an Astro 109, check the cell count immediately after the charger goes into stage 2, since it can change cell count ANY TIME during stage 1, and it gives no indication other than on the LCD screen. If you cannot, or will not follow this instruction, DO NOT BUY A 109.

Dan

Any kind of fire is no good! I'm not an RC'r but I've read about containers to charge Li-Poly packs. They have a lockable vented lid I believe but even then, you'd have flames coming out of the vent to catch anything nearby on fire. Gosh! Is there really a safe way to charge these packs incase of a fire?

I had a kitchen fire over thirty-four years ago and I remember it as if it happened yesterday and there was no real damage except the mess left from me putting out the fire.

Bill

So has anyone come up with what is "good" to charge lipo's in yet?

Originally Posted by The Other Dave

I hate to say it but how come I read so many of these stories that have to do with the Astro 109 charger?

ditto

Originally Posted by Dan Baldwin

4) if you use an Astro 109, check the cell count immediately after the charger goes into stage 2, since it can change cell count ANY TIME during stage 1, and it gives no indication other than on the LCD screen. If you cannot, or will not follow this instruction, DO NOT BUY A 109.

Dan

Always good advice, but in this case the user did check the settings at the end of stage 1...... As the Astro CANNOT change the settings after stage 1 we have to look elseware.... Reading the story the fire started within the first 20 minutes of the charge (as he heard the garage door open at 20 minutes the fire probably started well before that). So even if the Astro bumped the cell count in stage 1, and even if the user did not check the settings, that is too soon for a overvoltage fire unless the pack was in a charged condition before charging.

The most likely cause is a severe unballance in the Kokam 3S 1500 mah pack.....

Anybody still think that taps and balancers are not needed?

Brad

I would think a medium size grill, gutted with a latch on the top would work pretty well.

Wiz

Originally Posted by The Other Dave

I hate to say it but how come I read so many of these stories that have to do with the Astro 109 charger?

As in previous discussions, the Astro 109 is one of the most popular Li chargers on the market, so there are more of them out there than many other Li chargers.

Originally Posted by Dan Baldwin

4) if you use an Astro 109, check the cell count immediately after the charger goes into stage 2, since it can change cell count ANY TIME during stage 1, and it gives no indication other than on the LCD screen. If you cannot, or will not follow this instruction, DO NOT BUY A 109.

Sounds as if the user did check the LCD screen after it went into stage 2, as he specifically mentions seeing the charge rate:

"I watched as the charger recognized the 3 cell pack. I then proceeded to line up the other LiPo packs on the bench while also observing the charger as it initially analyzed the LiPo pack (it usually takes 3 minutes, according to the manual). After this 3 minute period, I heard the charger then go into its normal charging mode (it beeps once). I also noticed that the charger was charging at a 1300mA rate and I was about to set it to 1500mA (1C) but did not (a little lower can't hurt I thought)."

Originally Posted by bjpaul

Anybody still think that taps and balancers are not needed?

Taps and balancers are certainly good insurance for anyone who does not follow all of the safety rules when using Li cells. But the fact remains that a burning Li pack cannot set a larger fire if the pack is isolated from all combustible materials. The common element in all of these larger fires is that the packs were all in violation of common Li safety rules by virtue of being in close proximity to combustible materials that were ignited by the burning packs. If anyone thinks they are 100% safe from fire when using taps and balancers, they are likely to let their guard down and not adhere to all of the known safety measures.

One thing I have been wondering about is if he set the charge rate to zero prior to hooking up the battery. The text does not provide that information and I am not 100% sure it is relevant. Just a practice that is detailed per the instructions on the 109.

-Mike

Tridon