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6 Cell Battery Explosion (and fire!)
- Thread starter DieselPhotos
- Start date
I think we are headed in the direction of nimh sucking for the most part. 2/3 seems to be stable, as well as the cheap cells. IB really screwed up the 3800 and 4200 cells (which got relabeled as 3800's) and we can't get GP affordably here in the states. For sub-C we have the choice of Elite and maybe another brand or two I am unaware of.
cherokee95
Quarry Creeper
We just had a Venom 3600nimh pack pop this Saturday under the hood of a members truck:shock: we crawl at a public park and it scared the hell out of about 20 people that were standing near by! no major damage, but we had to work fast to get the guts off his Ramini ram air hood! think I may have to implement lipo sacks or at least ammo cans for charging during our meets. It's crazy, I hear more about nimh pack flaming out than lipos these days.
Yeah, I had a Intellect 3800 go boom under the hood of the old minivan (too bad it didn't take the van with it.) I knew exactly what was happening after my wife informed me she heard someone "shooting a gun" near the van.
I think it may have been the fault of the Twin Peak Charger, though. I did some testing on the charger after the incident and found it was charging at well over 20 amps on the #2 lead. Tore it down and found a smoked transistor on the board.
I have had way better luck with my Lipo batteries, but I still have a few GP3300 packs that I love.
I think it may have been the fault of the Twin Peak Charger, though. I did some testing on the charger after the incident and found it was charging at well over 20 amps on the #2 lead. Tore it down and found a smoked transistor on the board.
I have had way better luck with my Lipo batteries, but I still have a few GP3300 packs that I love.
Shame they don't make em anymore. The GP3300's were quite possibly the best NiMh's ever in terms of durability.
asfasasu3
Newbie
I had an Intellect 4600 pack blow on me Wensday. It started to sound really bad, so I shut off the charger then noticed the plastic wrap melting. So I went to unplug it from the charger and the first cell popped. The guts of it hit me in the chest and landed on our bench, on fire. I grabed a pair of pliers and proceeded to pick up the burning stuff and fling it out the door. Just in time to have the next cell pop, hitting me in the arm, but not on fire. I ended up throwing it all out the door and watched it burn. I was / am a little upset, but I don't think you'd ever get anywhere with the company, complaining. Unless you can prove without a doubt that it was a faulty product and not misuse on your part.
Seen a few here localy too. with the venom 3000 packs. From what we see its almost like the tabs lose some connection and just overheats it. Or something like that. Those tabs are nomore thicker than aluminum foil. I think that the high amp draw from the new esc's kill um the tabs just cant handle it. But thats just my guess.
skidooguymxz550
Quarry Creeper
i've had one go in a boat, she was humming along fine until.... BOOOOM, i thought we were being shot at! blew the hatch right off like a canopy on a ejection system
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BJoe
I wanna be Dave
Boom Boom Batteries seems a bit appropriate for these cells, the one on the 7 cell that went away on my E-Revo last night flew 35 feet after ripping the battery door off the truck and pushing the body out of the way! Glad it happened infront of my Jeep instead of next to it!
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josh_smaxx
Newbie
DONT CHARGE NIMH CELLS IN A LIPO SACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This will make it alot more dangerous. When LiPo's go they flame out, they do not explode, the lipo sack is design to contain a fire, not an explosion. Also, due to the extremely low internal resistance of lipo's and other design features of the batteris it means that lipos do not generate much heat under charge (or dischage) so the airflow around the pack to keep it cool is not needed, HOWEVER it is with nimh, so charging them in a closed, sealed environment the heat will build up much more rapidly thus increasing the temperature of the pack which in turn will make it explode easier.
To charge nimhs with the most safety you need a very adjustable charger, theres no way around it apart from charging at like 0.25C, which will take forever. Set your charger at a charge current of MAX 1C, 3-5mv/cell delta peak cutoff and a temperature cut off of around 45*C at room temp (20*C), if your charging in a hotter environment then decrease the temp cutoff. Turn off trickle charging and dont charge over a fan, this tricks the temp probe to thinking the cell is cooler than it really is.
Hope this helps people "thumbsup"
This will make it alot more dangerous. When LiPo's go they flame out, they do not explode, the lipo sack is design to contain a fire, not an explosion. Also, due to the extremely low internal resistance of lipo's and other design features of the batteris it means that lipos do not generate much heat under charge (or dischage) so the airflow around the pack to keep it cool is not needed, HOWEVER it is with nimh, so charging them in a closed, sealed environment the heat will build up much more rapidly thus increasing the temperature of the pack which in turn will make it explode easier.
To charge nimhs with the most safety you need a very adjustable charger, theres no way around it apart from charging at like 0.25C, which will take forever. Set your charger at a charge current of MAX 1C, 3-5mv/cell delta peak cutoff and a temperature cut off of around 45*C at room temp (20*C), if your charging in a hotter environment then decrease the temp cutoff. Turn off trickle charging and dont charge over a fan, this tricks the temp probe to thinking the cell is cooler than it really is.
Hope this helps people "thumbsup"
BJoe
I wanna be Dave
What about a metal Ammo Box then?
Mnster
MWRCA'er
I've heard more heard more stories recently of NIMH's blowing up and none about Lipos. Makes you wonder which one is really safer then the other.
I charge my NIMH's in a metal baking pan with a fan blowing on them when I can (no temp probe).
I feel the main issue with NIMH exploding are crappy cheap cells. IB and whatever else. I swear by GP3300's and Elite 1500's:lol:
I charge my NIMH's in a metal baking pan with a fan blowing on them when I can (no temp probe).
I feel the main issue with NIMH exploding are crappy cheap cells. IB and whatever else. I swear by GP3300's and Elite 1500's:lol:
