LiPo batteries - be very careful!

LiPo batteries - be very careful!

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nogginthenog

Original Poster:

620 posts

200 months

Saturday 27th June 2015
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I bought an FTX Bugsta for my son recently, It was such fun that I bought myself a brushless Carnage too. This arrived with a LiPo battery, and from what I had read, I understood that they can be prone to fire whilst charging - particularly if overcharged, or if charging a damaged cell.

What I didn't expect though, was a significant and very dangerous fireball ( no exageration! ) while using an inteligent charger, following all instructions, charging an undamaged cell with approx 20 previous runs / charges.

Luckily this happened while charging outdoors on a stone surface, with nobody in harms-way. The cell was in a fireproof pouch but would have easily caused a fire if indoors or near a wooden surface.

So please take care with these cells. I dread to think of the consequences of one of these exploding whilst unattended and indoors.

Following this I am either going to sell the Carnage ( with a suitable warning for the buyer ) or try running it on NiMh cells ( is this possible? Does performance suffer much? ) .

And I might have a try at Nitro - are Nitro cars tricky to maintain? Is the FTX Carnage Nitro a good choice?

Regards, Noggin.

wolfracesonic

6,940 posts

126 months

Saturday 27th June 2015
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'Energy cells of death', I used to use them on my rock crawler and always kept an eye on them when charging, then stored them in a metal biscuit tin when not in use: Saw too many vids on YouTube of them going supernova.

C.A.R.

3,967 posts

187 months

Saturday 27th June 2015
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LiPo batteries are fine and one bad experience shouldn't put you off for life - they are the latest technology and therefore going nowhere .

Did you charge them or store them in a lipo safe bag or box, as widely recommended? I store mine in an old 7.62 ammunition box and charge them inside a lipo safe bag.

NiMh is old hat and you will experience less power (volts) with less punch (discharge current) and a much greater weight per cell.

Treat them with the respect they deserve and all will be fine. I dread to think how many of them have been bought to run an RTR fleeting interest in the Hobby by people who have subsequently lost all interest though!



sausage76

350 posts

122 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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Never had a problem and as long as they are stored and charged in a lipo bag.

Also discharge after use as I found this makes a difference. Just need to make sure they are not damaged.

timmymagic73

374 posts

111 months

Friday 3rd July 2015
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sausage76 said:
Never had a problem and as long as they are stored and charged in a lipo bag.

Also discharge after use as I found this makes a difference. Just need to make sure they are not damaged.
Sorry, but the 2nd paragraph could interpreted as terrible advice. LiPos have a minimum voltage, if they dip below this then you're asking for trouble. Never discharge them below the recommended voltage, this is why you run a LiPo compatible speed controller or separate low-voltage warning buzzer.

It is recommended to store LiPos either fully charged in the short term, or at a slightly lower "storage voltage" long term.

I keep mine in a genuine metal ammo box in the shed and never charge unattended. If you notice any swelling then the pack is ruined.

Otherwise they're fantastic! Most of the videos on youtube of them exploding are damaged cells or deliberately overcharged.