BE CAREFUL CHARGING LIPO's!!! pics of why

[dirtymike]

I want to share what just happened to me in hopes that others will learn and not have this happen to them. I had seen warnings and people say to use the lipo bags to charge your batteries, but I figured i would be fine since I always would inspect for damage before charging.
I put a 3 cell on charge then got distracted and and left it and ran down the street for some food. I was gone for about 20 min and when I returned, I opened my door to a house FULL of smoke, I couldn't even see down my hallway. After running around frantically I found the cause; the lipo had exploded and fallen on the floor, catching my carpet and wall on fire. Lucky for me the fire had burned itself out before I returned home. I am very lucky that it did not spread and engulf the house. In 20 minutes a bettery that seemed perfectly fine and always charged great, always kept balanced, caught fire and burned my wall and carpet.

Moral of the story, NEVER leave a battery on charge unattended, and always make sure that it is far away from anything flammable. If you charge inside your house, use a safety bag.

















and what is left of the battery

[Baja Bandido]

Wow! Pics are worth a 1000 words. Good warning and I always charge my lipos without putting them in a safety bag, changing that process today! Thanks and glad it wasn't worse.

Chris

[Propane]

You were lucky you didn't come home to the whole house up in flames. Follow the basic safety protocols to protect everyone.

[Erbing]

You are very lucky, good thing no major damage. I now always charge in the garage and keep checking on it.btw what brand of battery?

[spiderxx]

looks like spending $5.75 on a bag is worth it to save a lot more worth in value.
Li-Po GUARD 25x33cm Safety Battery Charging/Storing Bag

[crawlhog]

why would you leave a lipo unattended, you got REAL LUCKY.
time to get a lipo bag. I never charge without it.
lesson learned

[mojave450rider]

Yikes!!!!!

[Ricochet]

I haven't used a lipo bag yet but I never leave the battery unwatched. Getting a bag either way before I charge it again. Thanks for posting and glad it wasn't worse.

[Bogncrawl]

Damn dude, glad it didn't get worse, looks like I'm getting lipo bags!

[79SCX10]

Your pretty lucky! I Always charge mine with a lipo pack.

[theloudone]

get a metal ammo box if you can find them. my grandpa had a lipo explode in one of them and it kept it nice and contained. you're lucky it didnt burn your house down.

[Hardline]

Lipo bags are overrated. Search youtube for videos of fire shooting way out of the bags which could easily ignite stuff.

Forget the bag and setup a charging area like you'd build a campfire. Just assume there will be flames and have nothing combustible within a few feet.

I set mine on a bare concrete garage floor surrounded by a few stacked bricks. Probably outside would be even better, but not always practical. But watch those videos and then see if you think those bags are enough to protect your house and family.

EDIT: now this would be cool. Rated over 1500 degrees. You can get it on EBAY for $16. Maybe file a small slot for the wires and close it up during charging. I still wouldn't set it on a stack of newspapers up against the drapes.

http://www.amazon.com/SentrySafe-500...ords=fire+safe

.

[Johnnysplits]

Title should read: Results of using cheap equipment

[D19er]

Even the best lipo and charger combo will not discriminate against burning your house down! A bad cell is a bad cell..

[bigman009]

Wow that nasty.

[AX10wannabe]

you got lucky... i never leave my batts charging unattended. i charge my batteries in a room that i know i'll be in for a while like the bedroom, living room watching tv etc.. just in case.. i dont use a bag either.. i always inspect the battery first and give it a quick squeeze to check if its puffy, if i have any doubts about it being safe to charge i dont and grab another battery.. i'll take battery in doubt to my buddies house who has a lot more experience with lipos than me to take a look if he says its safe to charge than i will while im there, if he says no then i cut the leads off right away and toss it in his pooched battery pile.

[heartless]

Very glad no one was hurt and things werent any worse. Lesson learned, right?

we always use a lipo bag for charging - even nicds & nimhs, and we have 2 of the old ammo boxes for storing batteries 1 for lipos, one for the others.
Also keep a chemical fire extinguisher handy, just in case.

[Cheatin]

Originally Posted by theloudone

get a metal ammo box if you can find them. my grandpa had a lipo explode in one of them and it kept it nice and contained. you're lucky it didnt burn your house down.

I store mine in the garage in a surplus ammo box and charge them on heavy gauge oven pan on the concrete floor or my metal box freezer. If I have to leave I'll move the pan to the middle of the garage floor with a nother pan on top so if it does go off there's nothing right next to it to catch fire.

[throttlejock27]

Wow I'm ordering a lipo bag! And good idea with the ammo cans! Fleet farm in my town sells surplus ammo cans and there very reasonably priced. I'm gonna have to pick up a couple extra cans for storing the batteries.

[Rockridge]

WoW can you say lucky....I just thought it was common sense to use every precaution with lipos... I always use a lipo bag as well as a temp sensor and never leave the room that im charging in... Thanks for the pic's... it just reinforces that there is a reason never to cut corners with lipos