build light

Handle with care my friends... I wonder how many of the guys that hang here may have seen this thread:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9214471/tm.htm
My heart goes out to you Billmod12...

Robert

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

I've seen the same kind of thing,, and they always say never leave a lipo unattended,,,I think I'm just gonna go back to glow only...Rog
I've had 2 lipo's swell up badly on me...chargers that you cant tell if they are working or not,,yanked the radio out of my lecky heli and it was going on the bay anyway...I'll just put the rest of the lipos with it,,got one lecky plane that the terrier ate the canopy off of so,,yeah, glow only for me....

DeviousDave

We just had a hobby shop turn into a total loss after a shipment of LiPos came in. It was a brick building and they are going to rebuild, which is great.

I used to think I was careful and above problems like this until I plugged a 2 cell 500mah into an Astro 109 that I had previously charged a 2100mah pack with. Because the current forced the pack voltage up, the charger mistook it for a 3 cell and started charging away. I was very fortunate that I came back in the room to mess around 10 minutes later-I heard a popping sound and looked down, but didn't see anything because the pack was still in the fuselage. I knelt down for further inspection and my heart dropped when I saw the charger display, yanked the lead and then looked in the fuse. The battery had puffed so far it was bulging the fuse walls apart and was very close to having a runaway reaction. I took it outside and carefully forced the pack out after it settled down some.

When I started with LiPoly's I was charging in a .50cal ammo can, time to start doing that again.

ETA: I found out after I became a HAM radio licensee that Astro 109 chargers get spoofed when you key up on the 220mhz band. I called Astro and got a little bit of a brush off-I consider this a bit of a safety issue because a lot repeater towers are in residential areas and I was screwing up the charge cycle with just a 5 watt handheld.

d_bodary

My Feedback: (85)

Was that Hobby Shop the new Nankin Store? I heard that one burned up pretty bad. I never shopped there always ended up at the Nankin Hardware on Ford Road.

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

I guess this is why my Insurance Co won't cover me to stock LiPo's

Andrew

Robert -

Thanks for the link. Since our club has shifted so heavily into electrics, I sent it to all the members to serve just as a reminder to take extra care when charging in the car.

andrew

build light

You bet Andrew. While I dabble some into E power I have no packs over 2S or 450 mah.

I do prefer ICE (internal combustion engines) Where there is more safety from such accidents but this is just a wake up call to be careful in all aspects of our hobby. I think we all have had our fair share of close calls of one sort or another but we sometimes fall into a 'comfortable' time and might let things slip.

Robert

DeviousDave

Anything worth doing involves Risk.

You guys have fun, I'm gonna suit up and go for a ride!

rrragmanliam

My Feedback: (1)

Nice bromide, personaly I wouldn't haul these suckers around in my cars. On this one I have a severe aversion to the "risk"

Darren

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

It took this reminder to heart and appreciate the link.

I realize I have been pretty darn complacement of late with my small lekkie fleet and charging. I charge in the shop on the bench then hop out back to fly this stuff. Dunno about everyone else's workshop, but mine would go up in flame "now" - piles of kits, wood, solvents, fuel, wood benches, wood ceiling/floor above. And I recently had one Super Tigre 3S 1350 pack puff on me, with only 20-25 cycles on it and no major hardships, 0.9-1.0C charging. Another one had a defect on the internal board where they are series connected, a short in there blew the tab off one of the cells. I don't buy those anymore.

Time to move the charging outside again. And in a safe enclosure.

MJD

DeviousDave

Yes it was,... They will be back up and running in 6 months.