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Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 10:49 PM   
AndyAndrews



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Status: offline 		I couldn't tell if the charger went first or the lipo. Really doesn't matter. This incident just causes me two solid days of grief. I had to completely gut my shop, and hand clean ever single item, scrub the walls and floor and all tables, because of the thick black soot covering EVERTHING!. We are fortunate this didn't end up like several others whos houses burned down.

This should serve to others as a wake up call to make sure that you NEVER leave a charger on all night and NEVER charge your lipos in the jet.

Andy

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< Message edited by AndyAndrews -- 6/25/2012 4:41 PM >

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 10:52 PM   
hooker53



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Status: offline 		Andy. Sorry about the fire but like you said, glad you caught it early. What rate were you charging at?

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 10:54 PM   
AndyAndrews



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quote:

ORIGINAL: hooker53

Andy. Sorry about the fire but like you said, glad you caught it early. What rate were you charging at?


it was a 4 cell lipo 1000 mah. I was charging at full capacity. Oh, and I didn't catch it early. I put it on before bed and woke up to this mess. It burned itself out... Very scary. It was very STUPID of me to charge these overnight. I had charged them so many times without problems AND I always charge them on the concrete. There was a gas can 3 feet away and paint cans even closer. It cold have been a disaster.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:02 PM   
marquisvns



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Status: offline 		I had a Lipo fire in the van while charging. Rather than topping of the packs, the less intelligent chrager recognized the pack as a depleted pack with an extra cell voltage. I grew too comfortable with the charger, and failed to double check manually, don't plan to make that same mistake.

What kind of charger were you using Andy? Btw, glad all else is ok!

Barry


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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:07 PM   
yeahbaby



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Status: offline 		WOW!!!! damn your lucky lil fella. glad to hear it didn't burn the whole house down!


quote:

ORIGINAL: AndyAndrews

I couldn't tell if the charger went first or the lipo. Really doesn't matter. This incident just causes me two solid days of grief. I had to completely gut my shop, and hand lean ever single item, scrub the walls and floor and all tables, because of the thick black soot covering EVERTHING!. We are fortuneaute this didn't end up like several others whos houses burned down.

This should serve to others as a wake up call to make sure that you NEVER charge your lipos in the jet.

Andy



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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:19 PM   
readyturn


 

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Status: offline 		Someone was watching out for you !

Sorry for your loss, but as you said... it was confined to a small area.

Rick

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:26 PM   
scottkieper


 

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Status: offline 		look at all the paint cans

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:31 PM   
rcjetsaok



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Status: offline 		Andy,

You say full capacity... ? 1C or what Mah..? What brand battery was it ??? Bad deal for sure !!! Glad the F-18 is ok !!!


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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:38 PM   
FMRR


 

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Status: offline 		I'm so sorry for you,like you said it could of been worse.Count your blessings.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:54 PM   
jetnuno


 

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Status: offline 		Hi Andy

Glad it didn't got into big damage. I always take my lipos out of the plane to charge, but many times there are other flamable objects arround.

From the pics, seems that you did't have the balance plug connected. I always balance lipos during charging so that the balancer can detect peak voltage per cell.

I was planning in buying one of these 4 pack charger at 1 time, but now it seems that those cannot beat my old reliable Orbit charger. Still prefer to wait 3 hours to charge 3 packs


Good luck in the next charge

regards

Nuno

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/24/2012 11:56 PM   
RSO


 

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Status: online 		Wowwww Andy! So glad to hear you & your family are OK. I'd say that was your "one", and it won't happen again. Glad to see the F-18 is OK also.

Jerry

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 12:36 AM   
Xairflyer



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Status: online 		I only charge lipos when I am actually in the workshop, if I am packing up I will take them off the charge and put them back in the ammo box I store my lipos in.
I even got out of my bed once as I remembered there was a lipo with a new turbine still in the cardboard box that arrived that day, thought afterwards I was mad, but have since heard many stories of lipo's going on fire for no reason and reading what happened to you, I dont think you can be careful enough.
The Ammo box full of lipos is now going to the shed and out of the workshop!

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 12:45 AM   
SinCityJets


 

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Status: offline 		Andy,

Very lucky indeed! Glad nothing more serious happened. I hope you went to church today!

Chad

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 12:46 AM   
Dustin Buescher



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Status: online 		 Close call! Glad you are ok. Were you balancing while charging?

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:17 AM   
edgeflyer


 

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Status: offline 		I wonder if a temp probe that most nice chargers offer would have prevented something like this ?

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:26 AM   
airraptor


 

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Status: offline 		Sorryto hear but what brand of charger and with all those "extra" connections and all do you think they might have been a short?

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:37 AM   
JackD



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Status: offline 		Andy, glad to hear it wasn't more than a scare... It could have been a lot worse.

Now, what I find really interesting is that with all the info available, people are still charging in their planes. Check this thread from a few days ago http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11124688/tm.htm

As I mention in my post towards the end: it is not even about being there. Once it starts it can be pretty incontrollable. It is about having a plan, charging on something like concrete like Andy's for example.



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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:43 AM   
Jetfan20


 

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Status: offline 		Sorry to hear about your very close call! Glad you are OK and the house! Never ever ever leave your lipos to charge unattended without the casual stroll by and overnight while sleeping is a big ABSOLUTE no no!

Is that one of the chargers that Hobbyking sells? It appears to be.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:49 AM   
AndyAndrews



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Status: offline 		More info. It was a Turnigy charger. Nope I wasn't using the balance port.. (I know.. ) and the battery was a Sky Lipo 1000 mah, 30c continuous, 60c burst.

I was charging all four batteries at once at 1 amp. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to charge all four at once with this charger. Also note that I kept them separated but I guess I got the one to close to the charger..

The other pick is of the other charger which was charging some Nimh batteries (in the jet) and I was charging a Nimh battery in my fueler along with another lipo which was in a clay pot. I don't think I will ever trust charging anything on a table even if its not a lipo seeing that charger burned up like that.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 1:55 AM   
wjvail



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Status: offline 		By the way... LiPo exhaust gases are EXTREEMLY corrosive. I mean the kind of corrosive that could be concocted by rubbing a mix of salt and acid on pig iron. Really nasty. Standby for everything in you shop to corrode.

Sorry.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 2:05 AM   
gunradd



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Status: offline 		Always use the balance port and check the IR on each cell after each charge. I do charge my ECU lipo in the plane but I check the IR on each cell and balance it everycharge. A bad cell will show it self before it lets go with an increase in IR.

Glad no one was hurt and the damage was small.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 2:35 AM   
rpm303


 

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Status: offline 		Thanks for the post Andy. Was thinking of buying that charger, now I think not !!!!

Glad no one was hurt.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 2:48 AM   
Grodus


 

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Status: offline 		I have been using a charger like that for 3 years and it is the best $100 I have ever spent. The charger is not necessarily the problem here. Could have been the batt, a damaged cell in the batt, ect. All batts and components from any manufacture are capable of a malfunction. The only problem I have ever had was with Fromeco ions with a fromeco charger for those specific batts. No way to screw it up, not way to adust the current, just plug it in. When i tell you they exploded, I thought a tree had fallen on the house. THey were outside being charged and this was the ONLY time I had ever removed them from the jet to charge them. I thought it was relatively safe to charge those in the airplane. Had I not taken them out, the front end of my Flash would be gone!
Since that, I will not charge any batt in a jet or a foamy , not to mention the garage or in the house.

Cody

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 2:57 AM   
SPEED51J



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quote:

ORIGINAL: rpm303

Thanks for the post Andy. Was thinking of buying that charger, now I think not !!!!

Glad no one was hurt.

why blame the charger. Sorry this happened but from looking at the pics the batteries that were on the charger were not connected to the balance port. I have this same charger and I always connect the batteries to the balance port and it lets me know if there is an issue with the battery.

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RE: Lipo Fire in Garage - 6/25/2012 3:26 AM   
raptureboy


 

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Status: offline 		 4 batteries at once  left them on overnight went to bed while charging. You are are one blessed man. Don't ever ever do that again. Glad you survived


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