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Bat safe lipo box charging storage system.

Old 02-22-2017, 03:24 PM
  #1  
shenlonco
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Thumbs up Bat safe lipo box charging storage system.

Made this video and wanted to let you guy's know this is a awesome product!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldkUDxyntxM
Old 02-23-2017, 06:00 AM
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Looks fine for a small charger and batteries. Maybe for charging 1 battery at a time??
Thanks for sharing!
Old 02-23-2017, 06:28 AM
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Hi thanks I believe you can put two huge 5000mah 6S packs in it stored and charged safely, so that would mean it could hold up to six 2S 5000 packs it will hold a lot...check into it.
Originally Posted by Shorty54
Looks fine for a small charger and batteries. Maybe for charging 1 battery at a time??
Thanks for sharing!
Old 02-23-2017, 05:16 PM
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What it will hold volume wise is not what they will hold fire wise. So make sure you charge and store what they are rated for.
Jimmy
Old 02-23-2017, 07:40 PM
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Unfortunately if you charge two packs and one fails spectacularly it's pretty much curtains for the other one as well...

Jerry
Old 02-23-2017, 08:27 PM
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Cool item Steve, but yea if you've got mounds of Lipo's, the old army surplus .50 cal box with a hole drilled in the top still works for me.
Will keep an eye on them though to see if they come up with larger quantity storage ideas.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:02 AM
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Originally Posted by TheBennyB
Cool item Steve, but yea if you've got mounds of Lipo's, the old army surplus .50 cal box with a hole drilled in the top still works for me.
Will keep an eye on them though to see if they come up with larger quantity storage ideas.
Not good videos show tests in ammo boxs and they fail and they let flames out , if you are storing yours in a ammo can I suggest first putting them inside a real www.liposack.com they don't fail like the cheap china brand ones and then in the ammo box.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:12 AM
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Ammo boxes are just for storage. I'm usually around when charging or atleast in the vicinity to keep an eye on things.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:28 AM
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Originally Posted by TheBennyB
Ammo boxes are just for storage. I'm usually around when charging or atleast in the vicinity to keep an eye on things.
Sometimes lipos can just go up in flames when stored also it's happened lots of times to people. better safe than sorry for $24.00 I would get the lipo sack and put them in it inside the ammo box.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:30 AM
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yea, I have Lipo bags as well.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:31 AM
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Call me crazy but I've never had a lipo fire via charging and I charge around 2-5 packs on a regular work day and another 7-15 if I go out after work. I am however super careful about how I treat my lipos. I try to kill the model around 3.6-3.7V under load and always let them cool down before charging. I very rarely charge above 1C unless I absolutely have to and if I'm not using them for a few days (like the weekend) I make sure they go into storage voltage.
For me it is power supplies I blow up often. Not sure if it is because I put 40+ hours a week on them under load but even some top brands suffer to keep up Has anyone here had a lipo fire before due to charging? If so, was it incorrect settings or the charger that gave issue?

Edit: Just a heads up, get a good lipo bag, some are fake It never hurts to buy an extra and try to burn it to see what happens.
Old 02-24-2017, 06:51 AM
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Yea most lipo bags fail the one that dont is the good liposck I linked, also everyone always say's I never had a lipo fire or problem and then when it happens they say i thought it would never happen to me...Better safe than sorry .. Running your lipos with a higher cut off voltage is good... but your lipo packs should not get over 140 degrees after use that's when they get deteriorated and get ruined , If your packs are getting that hot they are not good enough for your application you need Higher C rated packs.

Originally Posted by Imex-Erik
Call me crazy but I've never had a lipo fire via charging and I charge around 2-5 packs on a regular work day and another 7-15 if I go out after work. I am however super careful about how I treat my lipos. I try to kill the model around 3.6-3.7V under load and always let them cool down before charging. I very rarely charge above 1C unless I absolutely have to and if I'm not using them for a few days (like the weekend) I make sure they go into storage voltage.
For me it is power supplies I blow up often. Not sure if it is because I put 40+ hours a week on them under load but even some top brands suffer to keep up Has anyone here had a lipo fire before due to charging? If so, was it incorrect settings or the charger that gave issue?

Edit: Just a heads up, get a good lipo bag, some are fake It never hurts to buy an extra and try to burn it to see what happens.
Old 02-24-2017, 09:23 AM
  #13  
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With all the exaggerated claims it is hard to find real C-Ratings as you know I have a battery beside me that claims 120-240C discharge lol. Don't get me wrong it is a VERY nice battery (outperforming my Tattu batteries and graphenes), but there is absolutely NO WAY it is doing so. The max amps I've been able to pull from it is around 105A with the current setup I have now. I've got a full OSD and always keep my eyes on it. I set my current sensor high so I end my runs a bit early and never drain too much on the batteries. Those things are expensive! The most I have ever pulled was around 120A but that was on a different build and much more aggressive than this one now. As you said all it did was just overheat my batteries, but I only get 50-100 cycles before even top name batteries start failing.
Luckily with our tanks we pull around 5-15A at max on a metal edition tank loaded up I've found. Almost no lipo is going to have issues with that. I have actually seen more than one fire from hobby stores since I've been here, at least one I know of was because the tech didnt have the right balance connector and just decided to charge without and set the incorrect cell count on it and it exploded and burnt most of the store down lol. This is why I haven't made a big push to go lithium yet as the NIMH batteries can handle plenty of what the tanks need now and are much safer out of the box. Not to mention the problem of legally shipping lipos.... man what a fuss!

Edit: uploaded ridiculous 240C (310+ Amp burst) picture. Once again, love the battery but man are those claims exaggerated lol!
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Last edited by Imex-Erik; 02-24-2017 at 09:27 AM.
Old 02-24-2017, 09:37 AM
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I purchased a large roll of Coated Woven Fiberglass Welding Blanket rated for 2000 degrees F. I can make many LiPo bags in large sizes and quantities. I also "double up" the cloth to provide added protection. It's never been tested and hope it never does. I store the bags in a crock pot or cinder block and place a bag of sand on the top. If the fire gets hot enough, it will melt the plastic containing the sand and "dump" into the reservoir containing the batteries. It's a crude system, but effective to containing the fire. I understand the gases produced during an explosion are caustic, so I keep the batteries in my detached garage to keep the contents within my house safe. I've considered digging a hole in the ground and placing a water tight quazite box, but I don't like the temperature changes that may occur. I'm still looking for the golden solution. The BatSafe looks like a nice start.

Be safe, have fun!

-PD
Old 02-24-2017, 10:09 AM
  #15  
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Hey, PD, I see you're in Warren, Michigan. Are you a member of Detroit tank command? I'm in Redford, right on the line between Redford and Detroit. Think 5 Mile and Beech Daly. I'm always looking for local tankers to play with.
Old 02-24-2017, 10:22 AM
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All I can say is most all those packs but high end ones are tested and have correct C ratings... But SMC is tested matched and the best batteries for your $ better than ones costing many times the price! see here best lipos with true C ratings
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...tegory&path=67


Originally Posted by Imex-Erik
With all the exaggerated claims it is hard to find real C-Ratings as you know I have a battery beside me that claims 120-240C discharge lol. Don't get me wrong it is a VERY nice battery (outperforming my Tattu batteries and graphenes), but there is absolutely NO WAY it is doing so. The max amps I've been able to pull from it is around 105A with the current setup I have now. I've got a full OSD and always keep my eyes on it. I set my current sensor high so I end my runs a bit early and never drain too much on the batteries. Those things are expensive! The most I have ever pulled was around 120A but that was on a different build and much more aggressive than this one now. As you said all it did was just overheat my batteries, but I only get 50-100 cycles before even top name batteries start failing.
Luckily with our tanks we pull around 5-15A at max on a metal edition tank loaded up I've found. Almost no lipo is going to have issues with that. I have actually seen more than one fire from hobby stores since I've been here, at least one I know of was because the tech didnt have the right balance connector and just decided to charge without and set the incorrect cell count on it and it exploded and burnt most of the store down lol. This is why I haven't made a big push to go lithium yet as the NIMH batteries can handle plenty of what the tanks need now and are much safer out of the box. Not to mention the problem of legally shipping lipos.... man what a fuss!

Edit: uploaded ridiculous 240C (310+ Amp burst) picture. Once again, love the battery but man are those claims exaggerated lol!
Old 02-24-2017, 10:25 AM
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Been tested and shown that sometimes this method with the sand on top fails...better off with the bat safe.
here are some tests testing all sorts of methods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnNId0mDnBo
Originally Posted by philakapd
I purchased a large roll of Coated Woven Fiberglass Welding Blanket rated for 2000 degrees F. I can make many LiPo bags in large sizes and quantities. I also "double up" the cloth to provide added protection. It's never been tested and hope it never does. I store the bags in a crock pot or cinder block and place a bag of sand on the top. If the fire gets hot enough, it will melt the plastic containing the sand and "dump" into the reservoir containing the batteries. It's a crude system, but effective to containing the fire. I understand the gases produced during an explosion are caustic, so I keep the batteries in my detached garage to keep the contents within my house safe. I've considered digging a hole in the ground and placing a water tight quazite box, but I don't like the temperature changes that may occur. I'm still looking for the golden solution. The BatSafe looks like a nice start.

Be safe, have fun!

-PD
Old 02-24-2017, 11:17 AM
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I was more interested to see if anyone here on the RC Tank forum actually has had a lipo issue. Not so much a fire, but anything at all during NORMAL usage. Heck I've even shorted plenty of batteries and still had nothing more than a melted connector or some burnt electronics. I've even sank a car to the bottom of a pond, debated swimming out to get it, and ended up rescuing it later and the car was still on 5 minutes later lol. Batteries had 0 issues and I used them for another month or two before I got rid of the car.
I'll test out the SMC batteries later, not much of a selection for what I need (4S @ 1300-1500mAh) but I will bet they wont perform anywhere near something like a Tattu R-Line or some Thunderpower batteries. Those batteries are tried and true batteries that I myself love to run. Heck, Thunderpower even came into Twitch chat the last time I was building a quad and sent me some info for some 4S sub 850mAh batteries. I really like their batteries and consider them the best I've tried (so far). I love to test some batteries though, that is part of the profession!
Old 02-24-2017, 11:28 AM
  #19  
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I don't play with these high performance batteries, but I have had stock Heng Long chargers fail and fail catastrophically, melting their case and scorching the outlet.

I used to leave these things plugged in all the time. I don't leave them unattended now.

Steve
Old 02-24-2017, 11:36 AM
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Test the SMC lipos out you just may be surprised we run them in hungry powered brushless 1/8 and 1/5 scale RC's and there noted to be one of the best!
they sell different lines from econo to better and better quality but even there lowest end batteries run great!


Originally Posted by Imex-Erik
I was more interested to see if anyone here on the RC Tank forum actually has had a lipo issue. Not so much a fire, but anything at all during NORMAL usage. Heck I've even shorted plenty of batteries and still had nothing more than a melted connector or some burnt electronics. I've even sank a car to the bottom of a pond, debated swimming out to get it, and ended up rescuing it later and the car was still on 5 minutes later lol. Batteries had 0 issues and I used them for another month or two before I got rid of the car.
I'll test out the SMC batteries later, not much of a selection for what I need (4S @ 1300-1500mAh) but I will bet they wont perform anywhere near something like a Tattu R-Line or some Thunderpower batteries. Those batteries are tried and true batteries that I myself love to run. Heck, Thunderpower even came into Twitch chat the last time I was building a quad and sent me some info for some 4S sub 850mAh batteries. I really like their batteries and consider them the best I've tried (so far). I love to test some batteries though, that is part of the profession!
Old 02-24-2017, 11:44 AM
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I guess I would be more worried about the battery failing during use, not charging it. What protects it in the tank?
I am all about any protection vs none. I charge in lipo bags, I have a great charger FMA Powerlab 6, charge on a stainless steel bench in steel lined building,
am present during charging, charge to storage when not in use, store in lipo bags in 50 cal boxes with lids cracked open. Not 100% safe, but I still think my RC planes, trucks, and tanks have a better change of exploding while being used. I dont have much control of them when they are in the air, or 50 yards away from me.
Old 02-24-2017, 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by shenlonco
Test the SMC lipos out you just may be surprised we run them in hungry powered brushless 1/8 and 1/5 scale RC's and there noted to be one of the best!
they sell different lines from econo to better and better quality but even there lowest end batteries run great!
I'll definitely check it out, I am always counting grams on my models but tanks of course don't matter at all. That 1400 looks like it is dying to get 100+ amps pulled from it. I used to pull 120+ on my old 2208 motors
Originally Posted by Shorty54
I guess I would be more worried about the battery failing during use, not charging it. What protects it in the tank?
I am all about any protection vs none. I charge in lipo bags, I have a great charger FMA Powerlab 6, charge on a stainless steel bench in steel lined building,
am present during charging, charge to storage when not in use, store in lipo bags in 50 cal boxes with lids cracked open. Not 100% safe, but I still think my RC planes, trucks, and tanks have a better change of exploding while being used. I dont have much control of them when they are in the air, or 50 yards away from me.
Yea this was what I was actually wanting to know. Has anyone that runs lipos in their tanks had any issues from NORMAL use? If so, how do you think it happened? I love lipos myself, but there are many more dangers to the general public than NIMH batteries. I have over discharged batteries so much the model dropped from the sky but it did nothing more than puff a bit. However, I make it a point to buy decent brands and avoid Turnigy batteries, that is where I usually hear people having issues.
I've found one of the best things while charging to have is a fire extinguisher nearby. I keep a nice large one right beside the chargers and one more about 5 meters away near the emergency exit here as well. Luckily I've never had to use it so far and I test and build a lot of stuff
Old 02-24-2017, 01:32 PM
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I don't think tanks draw enough to harm a lipo unless you keep driving and make the lipo go under 3V per cell and mess it up that way, also you need a certain type of fire extinguisher for lipo batteries normal ones don;t do nothing to a lipo fire so make sure you got the right type.


Originally Posted by Imex-Erik
I'll definitely check it out, I am always counting grams on my models but tanks of course don't matter at all. That 1400 looks like it is dying to get 100+ amps pulled from it. I used to pull 120+ on my old 2208 motors

Yea this was what I was actually wanting to know. Has anyone that runs lipos in their tanks had any issues from NORMAL use? If so, how do you think it happened? I love lipos myself, but there are many more dangers to the general public than NIMH batteries. I have over discharged batteries so much the model dropped from the sky but it did nothing more than puff a bit. However, I make it a point to buy decent brands and avoid Turnigy batteries, that is where I usually hear people having issues.
I've found one of the best things while charging to have is a fire extinguisher nearby. I keep a nice large one right beside the chargers and one more about 5 meters away near the emergency exit here as well. Luckily I've never had to use it so far and I test and build a lot of stuff
Old 02-24-2017, 02:19 PM
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Yes, I am very aware of the risks, I charge more batteries in a week than most do in a year My DC power supplies work more hours than I do a week lol. Remember I have at least 2 DC PSUs and 2-4 chargers running at all times beside me (I have to test chargers and power supplies before we sell them and I run them HARD). Plus at home I run my chargers for about 2 hours a day during flight season as well + another 4-6 each day on the weekend charging up spares and such. Now admittedly not all are lipos, but a majority of them are as I like to test with them. They have less voltage sag under load and it is easier for me to read my watt meter under load. I can about 95% of the time identify a bad component or one that is about to fail just by watching the watt meter. After a few years it gets like clockwork and you see patterns.
Old 02-24-2017, 03:30 PM
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You should buy SMC's internal resistance meter a good tool to test your packs.
Check it out on there site.
Originally Posted by Imex-Erik
Yes, I am very aware of the risks, I charge more batteries in a week than most do in a year My DC power supplies work more hours than I do a week lol. Remember I have at least 2 DC PSUs and 2-4 chargers running at all times beside me (I have to test chargers and power supplies before we sell them and I run them HARD). Plus at home I run my chargers for about 2 hours a day during flight season as well + another 4-6 each day on the weekend charging up spares and such. Now admittedly not all are lipos, but a majority of them are as I like to test with them. They have less voltage sag under load and it is easier for me to read my watt meter under load. I can about 95% of the time identify a bad component or one that is about to fail just by watching the watt meter. After a few years it gets like clockwork and you see patterns.

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