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LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/20/2013 2:11 PM   
KenChoo


 

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From: Willetton, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Hi guys,

Just out of curiosity, have any one of you experienced a LiPo fire mid-flight? It occurred to me about 3/4 of the way through my sequence on Sun...I just lost power and as I was on final the other guys said, "is that smoke?"... Thank God though that the only loss was the battery pack and the wiring harness to connect the two 5s packs together! Everything else made it through just fine. Also thanks to the other electric pilot there who had a fire extinguisher. Learned that lesson (the need to have one handy in the car) this weekend too.

I'd love to hear your stories if you have any to share...

Rgds,
Ken

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/20/2013 3:07 PM   
serious power


 

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From: wexford, IRELAND
Status: offline 		Hi,
Have you found out why it happened ??

Brian

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/20/2013 6:18 PM   
wagen017


 

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From: Eindhoven, NETHERLANDS
Status: offline 		I've had troubles when one cell did not charge properly, but showed close to 4.2V when charged. When flying it pretty quickly got below 3.0V. ESC did not notice (since total pack voltage is still well above 30V), but I felt less performance so I landed. That one cell inflated big time but no fire. Can't imagine otherwise why a pack would fail unless a short developed somehow.

Volkert

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/20/2013 10:41 PM   
KenChoo


 

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From: Willetton, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Not sure why the pack failed. It charged fine. It was the first time I was using the pack...

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/21/2013 3:35 AM   
Rendegade



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From: Perth, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Ken, a couple of things occured to me on the looong drive home regarding your almost fire. (It still rustles my jimmies thinking about it).

They were next packs yeah? I know you're using the cellpro 10s, which is a great charger, but doesn't allow you to discharge. It may have shown up at home (I hope not!) that on the discharge you may have had a very high IR on one cell, or as wagen017 you may have noticed one cell dropping away under load to below 3.0v.

I try to be very caring for new packs, and usually cycle them a couple of times to ensure all is well. This is where the new Powerlab is great, as it will regeneratively discharge (pull power from your back to refill your source battery), and give you an idea of whats going on, and fairly high rates of discharge. (Incidentally I had to buy a new charger after the last comp we were both at. Mine never worked the same after plugging into 'whitfords power'

It's a moot point for the blown pack, but if you want, we can cycle your next packs at some point to determine their health prior to commiting aviation.

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/21/2013 7:05 AM   
wagen017


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: KenChoo

Not sure why the pack failed. It charged fine. It was the first time I was using the pack...


Same thing for me. It was the first time I used the pack when it failed. Now I know I have to look for something unusual, also per cell.

Volkert


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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/21/2013 11:59 AM   
rgreen24



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From: Omaha, NE, USA
Status: offline 		What packs were you using?

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/21/2013 12:05 PM   
shepga


 

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Status: offline 		Also what charger was you using ?

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RE: LiPo fire mid-flight - 5/21/2013 12:40 PM   
KenChoo


 

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From: Willetton, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		I was using a Cellpro 10s charger and two 5s Zippy 5000mah packs 25c

Hey Rendegade, you're right, I can't really tell how the batteries are on the discharge with my Cellpro...I just run them in the plane for about 4 1/2 minutes if they've not been flown, to discharge them. Might take you up on your offer to cycle a pack at the Oct comp (I'm travelling during the July one!). Thanks!

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