radio control dangers eg, lipos and ic

The important thing is to get a good charger,mine are stored on my table in a glass bowl.If Im not using them then in an unused microwave

Most things can hurt you if misused, and lipos are no exception. Treat them with caution and you SHOULD be ok. Mine are charged in the garage on a concrete floor, and although I do leave them, I can see/hear from the house and I keep checking. Storage, mine are packed in a plastic box and put in a steel box till needed. A thought has just occured to me, how many peeps who drive cars worry about the petrol in the tank. There is a bomb waiting to go off. Be sensible and you should be ok, but be ready for the unexpected.

Garry

Garry Pollard wrote: A thought has just occured to me, how many peeps who drive cars worry about the petrol in the tank. There is a bomb waiting to go off...........

Garry

The difference between petrol in the tank and a lipo is that the lipo can spontaneously combust whereas petrol need an ignition source.

Garry Pollard wrote: Most things can hurt you if misused, and lipos are no exception. Treat them with caution and you SHOULD be ok. Mine are charged in the garage on a concrete floor, and although I do leave them, I can see/hear from the house and I keep checking. Storage, mine are packed in a plastic box and put in a steel box till needed. A thought has just occured to me, how many peeps who drive cars worry about the petrol in the tank. There is a bomb waiting to go off. Be sensible and you should be ok, but be ready for the unexpected.

Garry

I used to have a VW 412 Variant, the fuel tank was in the front "boot", and it was always on my mind.

Some years before I saw a head on between a 412 and a Chev Komando (A big Holden) The front wheels of the 412 were halfway back the front doors, the fuel tank burst and caught fire, and a friend of mine burnt his arms trying to pull the driver out. He was stuck fast though.

I like fuel tanks at the back, under a steel floor

Before that, when we had petrol restrictions we used to carry 5 20l cooking oil tins of petrol in the front of a Renault R10. Wouldn't do it now!!

I would like to know what they were actually doing to those LiPos to make them explode like that, I suspect gross over charging.

In the same way gross over charging a car battery releases hydrogen and oxygen gas in exactly an explosive mix. :ohmy:

Yes your right Ive had car batteries explode on me due to the gas they have released when charged,fortunately unscathed because the gas is above the battery and althoufgh the battery has been destryoed never was sprayed with acid.

well aint you the muppet for doing that then!!! What happened to safety awareness or do you think that rug on your chin will save you? :whistle:

What do I need to buy to keep my lipos safe in a couple of weeks then?

Need to be a little more specific Sarah, are you talking about charging safe, or storing safe, there is a difference

Garry

Both cos believe you dont store them fully charged, nor leave them- maybe we could do with a specific list of dos and donts? you know a proper one, rather than a few posts here and there?? Would be good from a safety aspect

You can store lipo's fully charged for a few weeks, (ie ready to go but rained off again!) but if you intend to not use them for a long while, ie over winter, they are best stored half-charged. A good charger has a setting where you can select storage charge or full charge.
You can store them in whatever state of charge in a metal tin, (biscuit tin, etc) with the lid on, but you HAVE to make sure that the connectors cannot touch the tin, or each other!
For something to put them on while you charge them - anything that won't burn, ie an old baking tray, or a stone paving flag. But don't do the charging next to the couch, or under the dining table!

Do a proper safety thingie/list, one that we can sticky on its own without any other posts??

Garry is the lipo expert, he takes about three dozen in a box when he goes flying. I'm still learning electrically powered flying machines.

New member so just found this thread and thought I would pass on my experience.

I had a 2s1p2100 battery that was just showing signs of bulging. There was hardly any pressure inside so I used a small needle to let out the gas, being very careful not to stick the lipo itself.

It immediately started to smoke and as I threw it through an upstairs window it caught fire. Not only did the smoke and fire on the front lawn attract attention, during the next few minutes the battery burnt a hole in lawn down by about 2-3 inches.

I now keep all my lipos in biscuit tins on the rear patio, away from everything else. During the winter they are stored at 50% charge and at whatever temperature the weather dictates. Over 3 years the batteries do not appear to deteriorated by over wintering this way.

I use a charger that chargers each cell separately through the "balancer" connection.

One of our club members lost his large shed and all his models, transmitters etc through a lipo fire while charging. Luckily the shed was in the garden and well away from the house. He lost everything but his insurance paid out many thousands so he was able to start again.

My belief is that some chargers that use bulk charging with built in balances are based on NiMh/Pb type chargers with add on balancers. I know from professional experience that series charging of cells can actually increase the amount of "out of step" between cells in a series string. With lipos you are are relying on the balancer being able to cope with gross differences between charge levels in order to avoid overcharging of a single cell.

Has anyone done any tests on balancers when connected to out of step cells?

Lucky you were able to chuck it quickly,so the moral is ,dont stick a needle in a bulging battery,and if you do,do it outside and run youve just created a fire grenade

pikpilot
I rather hoped people by now had grasped the concept that LiPos must not be abused in any way.

Let the gas out!
The thick plastic cell covering is there specifically to keep air out as Lithium burns readily.
If the inner cell structure is disrupted in any way it is likely to create a local short circuit which causes over heating so triggering more cell damage and shorting. Soon the covering melts, lets in the air and the Lithium burns.
It enters a sort 'run away' condition, as you discovered!

LiPos aren't dangerous.
People who use them........?