David Ashby - Moderator Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 A good suggestion from Ben. Is all that combustible experience extremely rare and just the product of carelessness and crashing? Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 28/05/2014 16:10:57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Jones 7 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I vote never and I treat my batteries like crap! Mind you, they do smoke a bit if you hammer a nail through em, (not that I would recommend you try it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 A garden rake does a good job on them too! maybe that should be another option 'I wanted to see what would happen'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Never had fire nor seen one, won't wait for poll result to decide if they are safe. Got to go I've left chip pan on John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Copious smoke from 4 out of the 6 cells not long after the wing of my Hunter failed in flight. Ditto from a smaller 3S pack a few years ago where 1 cell smoked post impact. Deliberately rupturing the other cells produced the same - no flames. I did once observe a full blown LiPo fire when a friend's Spitfire crashed during an impromptu 9 model combat session near Cologne in Germany. Their club's safety officer was already a quivering jelly-like figure even before the spectacle! We did probably set some sort of record there, though - a case of Shepherd Neame's finest was gratefully received by our hosts - possibly (and hopefully) the first time 24 Spitfires had been downed in the same engagement anywhere in Germany? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glyn R Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I have never had a problem but I use Nimh for my IC models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 No fires so far, hope its not a case of speaking too soon I have had a couple swell and a couple loose capacity' Edited By Mowerman on 28/05/2014 16:48:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Never had a problem myself but I have seen one catch fire after a crash onto concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've tried many different makes from expensive to El Cheapo, but only suffered slight swelling of the odd one now and again, mainly Hobbyking's (overrated IMHO) Nanotech packs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've seen a few of other peoples smoke after impact. But its not happened to me personally (touch wood!) The last big impact crash I had was in Nov 2012 - Yak 55. But the ground was sodden so it was more of a "plop" than "bang"! So not really a test! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vecchio Austriaco Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Had fire on one occasion, but it was just my own fault. I stalled my plane and it went nose first into the ground, and my second fault was that the screws fixing the engine were to long. The Lipo battery was thrown forward due to the crash and was pierced by one of the screws. By the time I was at the plane the fuselage was already burning. I ripped the battery out and let it finish its chemical reaction and stopped the fire. All electronics were saved, the fuselage was a write off. So what we learn is that we have to think also what will happen to the battery in case of a crash. I am sure if I would have had a nice thick piece of balsa there as a "crash cushion" I would use the battery even today. Plane: E-flite Extra 300, lipo 4 cells 4000mAh. Plane has been replaced, engine screws are cut flush.... VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Have damaged cells (by dropping them on a concrete floor ) and lost capacity, and had an ESC go up in smoke, the smell lingers for ages, but so far they have been flame free, touch wood..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tee Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Blew up one lipo during charging. Had two identical chargers side by side by the leisure battery. Was in a bit of a rush to charge and carelessly plugged the battery leads into one charger and the balance lead into the other (I think). Still don't understand why the charger didn't say the battery wasn't connected properly. Luckily my wife called me about a funny noise just before the lipo went up in flames. Been more careful since. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Swollen pack, yes - particularly the one I left on the grass in the 30C+ southern French sunshine for a week last summer - and even then only one cell expired.. Fires? Not experienced one to date... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian lawrence 1 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've never had had one ignite, and "touch wood" hope never to have one. I have had a couple of batteries swell, due to the stated discharge rate being a lot higher than the batteries capability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm woodcock 1 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Had a fire in my Gemini on climb out, don't know if it was the ESC or the battery that started the fire but being a foamy there wasn't much left at ground zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've never had one of my own LiPos catch fire but we had a novice called Tony in our club a few years ago who was very enthusiastic. He had gained his A Certificate and had built a 1/4 scale Piper Cub. He made a superb job of it but he was never a confident pilot. Being an exclusively electric flyer, he had to make up a 6S pack from two 3S Lipos. Unfortunately his soldering skills did not match his enthusiasm. Being unsure of his piloting skills when it came to flying such a beautiful model, he gave it to a more experienced colleague, Ken. The model took off and flew quite successfully but on the landing circuit it suddenly began to trail smoke. The smoke grew thicker and thicker but Ken managed to get it onto the patch. Tony rushed to his model, opened the door and hooked the Lipos out of the fuselage where they continued to burn for several minutes. The interior of the cabin needed cleaning too! It was really spectacular! Tony went on to become the club's secretary but he died within a few years of a brain tumour. Such a pity. He was a lovely man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Crosby Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Hi, I feel the odd one out -I havn't had any problems......yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclicscooby Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I don't think its fair to blame the Lipo is theres been an 'incident' leading up to it.. Wires shorting out because the bulkhead has just exploded, would happen with any power source Thats like blaming a car for catching fire after a 70mph crash into a tree.. !! They'd be dangerous if they just spontaniously combusted in the pits, or whilst charging, but in my experience, they don't.... Other than 3 or 4 small cheap one slightly swelling, which I put down to me over using, and not immediatly charging. All were little 2s packs for UMXs, and all Eflite standards as it happens.. The Overlander 200 & 240mA 2s are fine.. 3s 1800-5000, and a couple of 4s, no probs... I dont usually use more than 50% capacity, before landing tho.. Good poll by the way.. Maybe exploring more 'myth or fact' is a good path to follow.. Luv Chrisie.. Edited By Cyclicscooby on 28/05/2014 19:41:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben B Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I've never had any packs go bang (hence originally asking the poll Q!) but I'm always a bit wary. I've had a few go a little puffy but then I do set my LVCs quite low and have on occasion had a cell post-flight be <3v for a while until it recovers a tad! They always seem to firm up after a good charge though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Never had a problem - and Ive been using a LOT of them for over 10 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josip Vrandecic -Mes Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Never.....yet......I'm still relatively new to the lipo world ... so I dedicate maximum attention to every important detail in the charging and discharging ... thanks to, my virtual forum mentor,....Mr.Tim Mackey.... Regards Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Hayward Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I had a 2s lipo blow up, but it was in the early days using a 1st generation lipo charger. It was said to be capable of charging 2 and 3s lipos, but what was not said was not to be charged at the same time! my son was doing some homework late on a Saturday night and was given strict instructions to watch the lipos and make sure they were turned off after 2 hours. I had just got home from overseas, was jetlagged and wanted to go flying on the following Sunday morning. Needless to say he forgot, and they were on charge for a further 5 hours until at around 2am I heard a shotgun going off, followed a few seconds later by another loud bang. Realising what must have happened I rushed downstairs to see the ammo box lid open and a 3foot flame coming out of the sons school bag. I turned it upside down and killed the fire and found the remains of the 2s lipo in shreds in the bag. The 3s lipo was not harmed and fortunately no short circuits were made via the torn charge leads. A lesson learned. Bin that charger (Bought from the USA and used for the first time that night) wait and buy a newer version when they come out. As it happened within 2 months and start enjoying the benefits of electric flight. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 No....never had a fire or smoke and i've been all electric since 2009. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 No problems for me, apart from a few puffing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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