1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

so i recently made the jump to lipo batteries. i bought this battery to run in my cc-01. the truck has tamiya plugs and the lipo has bannanna plugs so i decided to try the lipo in my exceed mad torque. i read that the stock exceed speed controler will handle a 2s. the truck made it 10 feet before it burned down (i saved the lipo and the reciever i think) so now im scared, will the tamiya esc handle a 2s? its a TEU-104BK.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...psc163b2dc.jpg

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

A 2s lipo has about the same voltage as a 6 cell nimh or nicd battery...


Are you absolutely positively sure you had everything hooked up right? What was it that burnt up?

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

From the specs on it: https://www.tamiyausa.com/product/it...oduct-id=45041

It is not rated for use with LiPo batteries, only LiFe batteries which are not the same.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

How did it "burned down", but the lipo was saved?

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

Volts are volts, regardless of battery chemistry. The "warning" is likely that the LVC is too low for a LiPO.

I also read the ESC only has 50% reverse....sorta sucks. I also don't see a drag brake mentioned.

And yes.....what burned up?? We're guessing the ESC?

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

the esc melted through the bottom of its plastic box, caught the plastic tray thing on fire and the paint on the chassie plates is also melted and junk. it got so hot so fast the leads for the battery and the motor just fell off. it melted the solder. when i saw it, i grabbed the battery off the axle and the receiver off the upper links.

and if voltage is voltage then why did my truck blow up? bannana plugs only go one way, and the battery is new.

ps i also have a separate low voltage warning thing wired in for the tamiya. i have it set to 4 volts.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

X2 "thumbsup"

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

the leads on the esc are the ones that came with the truck 2 years ago, and i tested the battery like the paperwork said and it was correct.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

You're assuming the plugs are wired to the same polarity, unless you checked with a voltmeter 1st to verify.
That much heat is usually the sign of a dead short or reversed polarity.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

i checked the battery before i hooked it to the charger, it was right. il check again tho its a gens ace 4000 btw

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

Keep it at that, and next you'll be melting down your battery.

I run my cutoff at 3.5 volts per cell, but I really don't think you should let your battery go under 6.6 volts.

I can only hope you meant 4 volts per cell, and not a total pack voltage.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

I think it measurs total voltage so il bump t up to 6.6 volts

Hmmmm- these posts worry me as I Am new to Lipo. Just curious.....so the answer to why this happened is somewhere between low voltage cutoff setup-the speed control not being made for lipo -or a dead short? (I have external cutoffs on each 2s for my maxx- I don't think you can set them).

Are there any batteries that seem to be more prone to this? Has anybody else had "meltdown" with particular batteries? Hmmmmmm
Seb

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

We understand your concern, but LiPO packs are as safe/dangerous as any other RC pack because of the energy density.

We don't know for sure what happened in this thread, it may be a few things.

My son & I have run LiPO for a few years, I've run NiCD/NiMH for over 20 years. Most pack issues are due to:
-Pack damage
-Mistreated
-Shorted

I run LiPO soft packs, so a little more care needs to be used so you don't puncture a cell. Hardcase packs are a little safer, but cost more and can be harder to place in a crawler.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

Hi Charlie- So you have not heard of any brands of lipo being prone to failure? I've also been into rc for over 20 years. I am just new (last few months) to lipo. The prices for lipos in stores are very expensive so I order mine online.

I have followed all advice so far about balancing, lipo safe bags, metal containers, and cutoffs. I have a pretty good understanding these days but cringe when I hear of this stuff. lol

Also- what do you do to put out a lipo if it were to overheat etc. ? Can it be smothered?

Seb

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

If it moved as normal for 10' then the esc fried evil like I doubt it had anything to do with the battery and everything to do with the esc just flat giving up the ghost in spectacular fashion.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

sounds to me like your ESC just took a dump, i doubt it was an issue caused by the "LIPO" now if you where using more voltage than you had in the past it could be an issue that was there but you never saw it till you gave it more voltage. There is extra precautions involved in the Use of LIPO batteries, but i don;t think this case is related those precautions.

As far as how to handle a lipo fire, I think the only true solutions is either water or let it burn if i am not mistaken, salt baths are recommended for decommissioned packs. you might be able to a chemical extinguisher keep it under control if you are out in the field. Most flame outs i have read about have been during charging when a balance board fails or the battery is at the end of it's life cycle. the low voltage alarm or cut off should be used when running.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

Are you trying to run a 3S (11.1v) battery? I've seen no mention of either 'S' or 'C' ratings.

No. Bananas and bullets can easily be reversed. Most of the time when a truck runs backwards from the trigger or stick, the motor leads get swapped, ie hooked up w/ the polarity reversed.
While they may be out there somewhere, I've never seen a battery that has different sized bullets for positive and negative on the market.




Lithium is a flammable metal and can be smothered with sand, or put out with a Class D fire extinguisher (expensive and not very common). Unfortunately, in the vehicle you have very little time for extinguishing and will usually result in a total loss if you have a battery fire while underway.
ESCs, BECs, receivers, servos, and such generally don't have flammable metals, what burns off (or melts) are plastics. Meltdowns tend to be much slower, giving the operator time to remove the battery. And since plastics aren't reactive metals, they can be put out by a class A,B,C fire extinguisher if necessary.

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

and now room for some good experiences with LiPos,

switched from NiMh (7.2V) to LiPo (7.4V) on my otherwise stock electronics on a maxstone 1/16, no problem since 2 years

run (11.1V) Lipo on my 8x8s, various ESC rated for up to 12V (NiCd).

Fires with batteries so far:

i) LiPo (11.1V) on wheelloader, my 3 year old rearranged the connectors and I shall never use bananas with an additional bore, he shortened the battery. Needed to replace battery obviously

ii) NiMh (6V) on bulldozer, I let the blade servo constantly pushing to the ground, servo circuit heated up and the servo housing caught fire. Battery, ESC was still good, needed to replace servo.

So, fires happen with both types. In my case clear case of misue on the circuits.

cheers

braq

Re: 1 truck burnt down, is my other safe?
 

maby were not talking about the same plugs here because mine wont connect backwards unless you are completley stupid and trim the plug. they just wont go.

and the exceed speed controler has taken a dunk a few times but always worked when dried out. maby it was just its time as you all say.