Careful! Lipo Fires Are Real!!!!

[tony0707]

hi i do not know to much about li-po's- (that is why i am reading this ) but i do understand that they are charged less often than other batteries-and i think they charge rather quickly (in a short amount of time ) so why would it be so difficult to keep an eye on them for lets say the hour they take to be charged --when charging w/b required ?
i fly glo for 20 years-using nicads all that time without one battery problem-and was saving for a balance charger -- an rx and tx li-po--after reading this tread -i think it is just NUTS to have these batteries anywere near your car home pets and family-the risks here just out weigh any advantage i can see from there use-thanks to all who find a need to make people aware of this dangeous situation-if you play with firer there is a real good chance you will get burned ---soon ---using these batteries is beyond my sence of reason--we are taking about the power supply to our toys---taking us out--there has to be a much better solution-hope one is found in the near future-the li-po issue is done for me for now --thanks again---TONY

[Fuegodeth]

You have a much better chance of being struck by lightning.
Nimh/Nicd chargers can also cause fires. Many have been caused by cordless power tools. The purpose of this thread is to make users aware of the risks and let people know that safe handling precautions are necessary for safe lipo use. Use a quality charger. Balance your packs. Keep your packs healthy. Charge in a safe container. Be observant during charging. Properly dispose of damaged packs. If you do that, then there is more likelihood of a fire from any other source than a lipo. It is when you don't respect the power of your batteries that bad things happen. However, I'm not about to live my life in a bubble, or sacrifice the excellent power and ease of use of lipo's for my aircraft. For a TX/RX the gains are negligible over nimh. For e-power for airplanes/ heli's, the high power density makes it all worthwhile.

[Xpress..]

Originally Posted by tony0707

hi i do not know to much about li-po's- (that is why i am reading this ) but i do understand that they are charged less often than other batteries-and i think they charge rather quickly (in a short amount of time ) so why would it be so difficult to keep an eye on them for lets say the hour they take to be charged --when charging w/b required ?
i fly glo for 20 years-using nicads all that time without one battery problem-and was saving for a balance charger -- an rx and tx li-po--after reading this tread -i think it is just NUTS to have these batteries anywere near your car home pets and family-the risks here just out weigh any advantage i can see from there use-thanks to all who find a need to make people aware of this dangeous situation-if you play with firer there is a real good chance you will get burned ---soon ---using these batteries is beyond my sence of reason--we are taking about the power supply to our toys---taking us out--there has to be a much better solution-hope one is found in the near future-the li-po issue is done for me for now --thanks again---TONY

Yeah, you've got a MUCH better chance of being struck by lighting and living than you do of having a lipo fire.

They're easy to take care of, and require only simple knowledge to know how to use. Been using lipos for 5 years now, and have never had one fire, and only had a couple puff on me.

Also, everyone I know that uses lipos have never had or seen a lipo fire in person down here. That's probably 100 modelers right there.

Where I live, there's a 95% more chance of there being a brush fire out here and us having to be evacuated than there is of a lipo fire

I also don't use a lipo safe charging container, or have I disposed of damaged lipos (although I keep them in THICK ammo cases- ~1/4" walls) yet. I don't have a reason to, as I don't feel the risk of there being a lipo fire. I feel safe enough to leave my lipos sit for the ~1 hour it takes to charge them in my basement by themselves (although having a class D fire extinguisher is a good safety measure ).

I guarantee you will have little chance of having a lipo fire, even in a bad crash. Also, you will not find a more powerful battery solution right now- everything else is too weak. I mean, a 4000 mah lipo with a 60C rate? That's 240 amps right there.

[hoppy]

Tony,
Your caution about using lipos is not without good cause. Lipos fires are still being reported and some have caused extensive house damage. Without exception, the fires that caused extensive property damage started when the modeler was not in the room and in most cases, not in a fire safe location. You can review the fire reports here to get an idea how these batteries can catch on fire.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...56&postcount=4


With the proper precautions and handling procedures, the dangers can be minimized. Follow the 'rules' and they are very safe to use. I personally would never go back to NiMH packs.

[groundfx]

Tony,

There are 5C charge rate capable Lipo's out there now. (I use Hyperion G3's.)
With these, I show up at the field with half charged packs. Put one on the charger with the pack on nice, inflammable dirt. Less than 10 minutes later, I'm flying (with the next pack on charge.) For the last flights of the day, I fly a half duration flight to get the battery at optimal charge for storage.

Nothing about this is at all dangerous. I'd say it's much less dangerous than handling flammable and poisonous glow fuel (methanol and nitromethane are absorbed into your bloodstream through your skin) or gasoline (carcinogenic vapours.)

[Mark Wood]

Originally Posted by Xpress..

Also, everyone I know that uses lipos have never had or seen a lipo fire in person down here. That's probably 100 modelers right there.

That may be true of the circle you fly in but elsewhere in San Diego there have been a number of incidents. I'm in a unique position to know, you know.

I also don't use a lipo safe charging container, or have I disposed of damaged lipos (although I keep them in THICK ammo cases- ~1/4" walls) yet. I don't have a reason to, as I don't feel the risk of there being a lipo fire. I feel safe enough to leave my lipos sit for the ~1 hour it takes to charge them in my basement by themselves (although having a class D fire extinguisher is a good safety measure ).

Careful, X. You've made this brash statement before. I'm here to tell you that ignitions still happen far too frequently to not treat this technology with a bit more respect. I sincerely hope that your parents' home insurance is current. A Class D extinguisher isn't going to help much in the middle of a light-off especially since by your own words you have little intention of being anywhere near the immediate vicinity while charging.

I guarantee you will have little chance of having a lipo fire, even in a bad crash.

Guarantee, eh? Same reason I never say never.

mw (www.LipoSack.com)

[gravityKills]

Originally Posted by Mark Wood

...I sincerely hope that your parents' home insurance is current

bull's eye

PS

Originally Posted by Xpress..

I guarantee you will have little chance of having a lipo fire, even in a bad crash.

on "special request":
A friend of mine owns the same heli (so do I), and he had an actual fire during flight, not only smoke.

T-REX 700E - O FIM (THE END) (3 min 37 sec)

[Xpress..]

^That looks more like a part broke off, puncturing the lipo, not a fire occurring in flight

[Xpress..]

Originally Posted by Mark Wood

That may be true of the circle you fly in but elsewhere in San Diego there have been a number of incidents. I'm in a unique position to know, you know.

Yes, I know that part You probably have had more experiences with lipo fires than anyone else around town.

Careful, X. You've made this brash statement before. I'm here to tell you that ignitions still happen far too frequently to not treat this technology with a bit more respect. I sincerely hope that your parents' home insurance is current. A Class D extinguisher isn't going to help much in the middle of a light-off especially since by your own words you have little intention of being anywhere near the immediate vicinity while charging.

I'm not denying the fact that lipo fires still happen. I wouldn't be suprised to find out about one happenning as I type this up. And yes we're current, and they very well know what can potentially happen (yet they still let me use them.. ).

And I do respect my lipos a lot. Every couple of weeks I balance them, and if I'm going to let them sit for a while (I.E. vacation, like this weekend) I storage charge them. I prefer to NOT take lipos with a grain of salt. I've seen what can happen (which is why I often charge inside my ammo box- lid cracked open).

[Mark Wood]

Originally Posted by Xpress..

You probably have had more experiences with lipo fires than anyone else around town.

Not personally and perfectly happy to keep it that way.

mw

[gravityKills]

oh that one was about

Originally Posted by Xpress..

I guarantee you will have little chance of having a lipo fire, even in a bad crash.

My friend's 700 is still another incident, regarding

Originally Posted by Xpress..

Yeah, you've got a MUCH better chance of being struck by lighting and living than you do of having a lipo fire.

pictures are here.
http://www.kopterit.net/index.php?topic=5860.0

Actually once I had to make a dash myself for the emergency exit in a trade fair with a smoking LiPo in my hand.
Before your encouraging statements I was starting to worry a bit. Now I feel much safer

Originally Posted by Xpress..

And I do respect my lipos a lot. Every couple of weeks I balance them...

Really... either you're a troll. Or you're not the brightest light in the sky.

[rocketguy]

Here is a link to an incident that happened at our Club

http://www.atlrcclub.com/index.php?o...news&Itemid=60

Ron

[rocketguy]

As I understand it, a 5C charge capable pack just means it is Relatively safe to charge at that rate. a multi-C charge rate degrades the battery's cycle life.

Maybe I'm wrong, (it's happened before)

Ron

[groundfx]

Originally Posted by rocketguy

As I understand it, a 5C charge capable pack just means it is Relatively safe to charge at that rate. a multi-C charge rate degrades the battery's cycle life.

Maybe I'm wrong, (it's happened before)

Ron

That's not what manufacturer's have said. The key is to use a good balancing charger that ensures no cell is driven over voltage and to ensure the charge rate is not increasing the temperature of a cell because of high IR.

For instance, none of us are noticing any cycle life degradation charging G3's at 5C. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1051482