Battery Fires

[Dounin Front]

I saw on the national news last night where a P3 smart battery burst into flame while sitting on a pool table in someone's house. There was nobody in the room, but the flash was caught on security footage. I don't think I've ever read of a P3 battery fire that was not crash related.
Does anyone know more details about this or other smart battery failures?
I do store my batteries in a fireproof battery bag, but I admit I just charge them on the counter in the open.
Best practices?

 

[UpLift Aerial]

If they get too hot that may cause that. This scares me tho...
Charging battery cause of weekend house fire

 

[tcope]

I've not seen any video or seen it mentioned that there was one. The articles provide little info but from what I read, it appears that the battery overheated while sitting on felt and that the felt caught on fire. I don't think a battery should get hot enough to catch felt on fire.

I did not see any good indication that the battery exploded or malfunction in any way other than perhaps getting too hot.

Failure of lipo batteries is rare but it _can_ happen. This is true of all lipo batteries.

 

[Dounin Front]

I looked at the article also and it does look like the battery burt the pool table felt, but did not burn itself. My batteries get quite hot after a 10 minute mission - still not too hot to touch. But, charging doesn't even get the batteries warm. Maybe the regulator in the smart battery failed to regulate and shut off. BTW: you can see in the picture that the battery still turns on - or never shut off (more likely)
I will continue to charge mine on a tile counter, take it off the charger right away and store them in a fireproof bag. That's for sure!
I'm also glad I have the DJI slow charger (57w) that came with the P3A.
Hey, it would be something if it was the charger brick that overheated and caught the felt on fire.

 

[Jesse_M]

Hey I'm over the hill from you west of the Springs.

I saw that story as well and last night decided to start charging in my basement on a concrete floor. I could handle the damage in a laundry room as opposed to my kitchen where I previously charged them.

 

[Jesse_M]

Also...$10 says that battery ends up in the classifieds any day now! lmao

FS 'lightly used P3 battery in fair condition'

 

[Lonewolf]

Was the battery an original OEM DJI battery or a "knockoff lookalike" sold to the consumer? No mention of that was in the aired broadcast or read news. But, it's an important FACT that the news SHOULD have mentioned in their broadcast. Instead of a blatant assertion.

 

[Airtography]

I believe that if the battery was over discharged and out of balance (cell balance) that in its final moments to retain balance, the cell exchanges caused heat. It is interesting that the battery does not look like it burned, only got hot from what appears to be an external source. In all the Lipo battery fire videos I've seen, there's always a point of discharge through the battery walls that completely destroys that wall. Doesn't seem to be one in that image. There's something peculiar to this story and image.

 

[N017RW]

Battery appears on and fully charged. Or... is still connected to supply.
Odd indeed.

 

[Dounin Front]

Hey I'm over the hill from you west of the Springs.

I saw that story as well and last night decided to start charging in my basement on a concrete floor. I could handle the damage in a laundry room as opposed to my kitchen where I previously charged them.

You're up there pretty high! We can see Pikes Peak from our back deck, (my launch pad). You guys had a pretty bad fire awhile back - hope all is well now. Beautiful country.

 

[Jesse_M]

You're up there pretty high! We can see Pikes Peak from our back deck, (my launch pad). You guys had a pretty bad fire awhile back - hope all is well now. Beautiful country.

Seems like the fires happen every year sadly.

 

[BigAl07]

Look at the battery very closely.. .something's not right... the plastic around the battery was intact for a good portion of the "event" because less soot in those areas. There are several discrepancies in that picture and I'm tempted to call BS.

 

[HWCM]

Yeah, that battery was burned from the outside. Not the inside out. If you have ever seen a lipo battery catch fire, you can tell that this one didn't explode. It looks like something else burned that battery.
Also noticed that the lights still come on.

 

[BigAl07]

Yeah, that battery was burned from the outside. Not the inside out. If you have ever seen a lipo battery catch fire, you can tell that this one didn't explode. It looks like something else burned that battery.
Also noticed that the lights still come on.

Yep exactly. I've had the "pleasure" of burning LiPo (not DJI by the way) on a few occasions and each time it was a very dramatic event. Started off mild for about .01 sec and got progressively worse while completely destroying itself from the INSIDE out. And afterwards NOTHING worked. Part of the "fire process" is a rapid release of energy, AKA Discharge.

 

[Limp Gimble]

News flash: burnt DJI battery was an inside job. More fake news. #realdonaldtrump

 

[Numone]

That battery is still intact and working. I agree with Big Al; this "scoop" is utter BS. "It's all fake, all fake..." to quote your President...