Does anyone have any experience with this or heard about anything online? I've watched some vids now and seen pictures of lipo fire incidents, and know how dangerous lipo batteries can be. How many people use lipo protective cases for their Phantom batteries, and if so, link pls. Cheers.
Phantom Batteries on Fire??
- Thread starter voodoo
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msinger
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voodoo said:
I have worked with lipos for years - and the lipo fire thing is something that people should pay attention to... BUT its still a fairly rare problem. Here are some thoughts:
1. NEVER leave your batteries alone when they are charging. A lot of lipo fires happen during the charging cycle when a cell is bad/damaged. I charge mine in the living room (on a tile floor) and keep them away from walls or other flammable objects.
2. If your lipo is physically damaged (punctured, severely puffed, dented, etc) - discharge the lipo carefully (like outside in a bucket of sand with a low wattage bulb) until all cells read zero and then you can discard. Some people suggest throwing them in salt water for several days to get them discharged... however - I have read many studies that show the leads to the batteries often corrode off before the battery fully discharges. This is a bit of a holy war topic - people have very passionate opinions.
3. Do not leave your battery on a charger when it is done charging
4. store the lipo in a lipo safe bag - admittedly, I get lazy with this at times....
5. if you have a cell go bad (even if you don't see physical damage to the packaging) - discharge and properly dispose of the battery.
6. you should not EVER just toss a lipo with a charge into your garbage... have your seen what garbage trucks do to your garbage? If the lipo wasn't punctured already - there's a chance it will get cut in half in the garbage truck - and it would suck to cause a fire.
There are some cases when in a severe crash a lipo will ignite when punctured... I have had some really bad crashes (with CP helicopters) and never had one start on fire or even smoke... but I have seen a lot of videos of this happening.
Anyway... just one guy's opinions here....
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
How about that! I was going to make this post! I saw an ad for a protective sack in Rotor Drone magazine.
I knew of the dangers, but when I saw that, I felt stupid for not taking measures to prevent a fire. When I charge my batteries, I am in the house and I check on them often. I have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
But, I will be buying some.
I knew of the dangers, but when I saw that, I felt stupid for not taking measures to prevent a fire. When I charge my batteries, I am in the house and I check on them often. I have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
But, I will be buying some.
ianwood said:
If you have a Battery Store, they will take them. Otherwise, my best guess is to call your fire department or someone in your city's government.
Thank you for bringing this up. I got volunteered (!) to be the environmental representative for our region of the utility that I worked for. I learned a lot, doing that job. We are not supposed to throw away any type of batteries. Nor should we throw away oil or radiator fluid, when we service our vehicles.
For automotive waste, just about any parts store will accept them.
Search for: "fireproof battery bag". You will get many hits. One is Amazon.
Edit: I wonder if the OP watched the same TV show as myself. Some idiots took a Lipo outside and were over-charging it. Apparently, it didn't catch on fire as fast as they wanted, so one guy hit it with a stick. The explosion was very impressive.
I've already ordered the bags. Thanks for the reminder.
Edit: I wonder if the OP watched the same TV show as myself. Some idiots took a Lipo outside and were over-charging it. Apparently, it didn't catch on fire as fast as they wanted, so one guy hit it with a stick. The explosion was very impressive.
I've already ordered the bags. Thanks for the reminder.
ianwood said:
For a list of drop-off locations near you, enter your address at:
http://www.call2recycle.org/locator/
I found six locations near my home including Home Depot, Sears, Radio Shack, and Lowes.
-- Roger
I would recommend not buying el. Cheapo Lipo bags as there's a YouTube video test of a battery in Lipo bag that did nothing to contain fire. It was a 99 cent eBay from China bag. It did look similar to other "Lipo safe" bags.
I keep mine in Lipo bags in a closed ammo can. I charge them in the bag in the open can.
I keep mine in Lipo bags in a closed ammo can. I charge them in the bag in the open can.
By the way, the fireproof bags are $3.51 and up on Amazon. Search for: "Battery Fireproof bag". These are for charging and storing. (I went to plastic ammo cans!)
(The latest update for my iPad, doesn't allow me to see the actual URL, it just shows Amazon.com for the bag page. How totally stupid!!)
(The latest update for my iPad, doesn't allow me to see the actual URL, it just shows Amazon.com for the bag page. How totally stupid!!)
I put my batteries in a clay tray, the kind that goes under a flower pot. It's not as good as an ammo box, but if it catches fire during charging, it won't spread. And it's cheap.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Norcal-Pottery-8-in-Terra-Cotta-Saucer-100043039/100333374
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Norcal-Pottery-8-in-Terra-Cotta-Saucer-100043039/100333374
I have been thinking of putting my charger on a timer my charger. something like this http://www.amazon.com/GE-24-Hour-Mechan ... ical+timer
So I could plug battery on and set timer to turn off in like 2 hours. good idea?
So I could plug battery on and set timer to turn off in like 2 hours. good idea?
mendezl said:
Most charging systems these days turn themselves off when full capacity is reached. The DJI battery certainly seems to switch itself off when it is full. This can be seen from the colour of the LED in the charger. Not sure what real benefit a timer would bring ?
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