Battery dangers??

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I have been reading that there might be some fire dangers associated with lipo batteries. Is this danger mostly associated with charging? How about storage? I see that one can obtain special bags for charging. Are they usable and do they mitigate the chance of fire or just contain it? Thanks
 
usaken said:
I have been reading that there might be some fire dangers associated with lipo batteries. Is this danger mostly associated with charging? How about storage? I see that one can obtain special bags for charging. Are they usable and do they mitigate the chance of fire or just contain it? Thanks

It is true that lipo batteries are dangerous. I've been involved in RC Car Racing for well over 10 years and I have never had a fire or explosion but I've had a lipo puff on me. I don't own any lipo bags and have never used one. I store my lipos in the garage. I usually come back from a race or flying and recharge my batteries and there they sit for the next race or flight. Which can be for racing 2-3 weeks and for flying no longer than a week. I've never used storage mode.

Obviously I've broken a few of the lipo rules but that's me......I'm somewhat lazy. What you can do to stay on the safe side is as soon as a lipo puffs on you (swells), get rid of it. That's where guys fail in my opinion. Some will say, I'm killing my cells by not keeping them in storage mode when not using them for a long time but I'll argue that I've got lipos going on almost 2 years that are still as good as the day I bought them. When do I know it's time to get rid of them....when they start puffing. That's my gauge for replacement.

Ultimately, you do what you feel the most comfortable without going overboard.

The lipos bags are a great barrier in the event of a fire.....just keep in mind the smoke is very toxic. So when a battery starts smoking and if you can, get a lot of fresh air between you and that smoking/burning lipo. Good Luck!!
 
OI Photography said:
Ditto on all of Fang's great advice.

I'd suggest taking a little time and getting familiar with this great primer on lipo's: http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html

That is a great article!!! A must read for beginners. I always forget to mention, never fully discharge a lipo and always re-charge after they have cooled off.
 

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