CadillacDTS2001

LIPO cell. hi end 30C 4500 Mah 4s pack. worth 270 dollars. one cells puffed. when it puffs it is usually because of a poor seal around the electrodes and a small bit of air containing moisture has sucked it self in, now the cell is exposed to eletrolysis and then rendering the cell usless. a lipo cell is under vacuum. that is why it puffs when a leak happens. its sucking the atmosphere inside it self.
the cell is now usless it might still take and hold a charge but it is weaker then all other cells and will damage the rest even more. Plus the battery will only continue to deplete its ability to be usefull.
Never cut the cell open because immediate contact with the atmosphere will result in a flame and hi pressure flame throwing like characteristics.
do NOT CHARGE OR USE these cells.
grab a bucket of COLD very salty water... lots of house hold salt.
when the cell is taken away from the res tof the pack very carefully. be sure NOT to short out any ends or terminals.
drop the cell into the cold salt water and place a lid over it. let the pack sit in the salt water for TWO WEEKS. adding salt half way through the 2 week disposal.
once two weeks are up. puck up the cell... the cell is now 100% GONE. it is nothing more then a hunk of aluminum tabs with some plastic.
wrap it in some paper and throw it out.

ryan_t888

That sucks!

I remember doing the experiment in high school where we used lithium and brought it in to the atmosphere slowly. As soon as it got to the air it flamed. Lithium being on the far left of the periodic table is a very reactive metal. Being very reactive it harnesses a lot of energy! Hence the power of LiPo's.

Remember to keep the taps and your bullets. You may use them in the future.

Ryan

ormer

can i just add you should still check that the cell has no current left in it with a multi meter ov had one in for almost 3 weeks that still had slight charge
and that was very salty water

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Discharge the bad cell to zero and throw it away. Mine get discharged with a bulb , then the tabs are shorted and left in the fire pit until I remeber it.

CadillacDTS2001

Guver. discharging a puffed cell is NOT good. even with a light bulb. as soon as there is activity it will begin to puff and expand even more.
it is a bad idea no matter which way you look at it.
Ormer.
how slight.
when adding salt you should use quite alot, almost a 1-1/4 ratio or water to salt.

platinumjason

I was told that you should soak the cell in water mixed with salt for a few days. Should be good to dispose of then.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Salt water is unnecessary and may be a bad idea. The sure way to drain the charge is simply hook a load to the offending pack/cell and allow it to go to zero. If you want to short the two terminals after that for a time then so be it. It can be put in trash after that.

CadillacDTS2001

salt water is the best way.


now hooking a load to the cell IS A BAD IDEA.

platinumjason

Do as you please, wont catch me putting a load on a cell puffed like that. Salt water FTW.

Forgot to add, I was told this by a Thunder Power tech.

ryan_t888

A salt solution only should be used. Never place a load on a puffed cell.

Salt water solution provides an extremely small safe discharging load.

Ryan

Raydee

My Feedback: (3)

Taylor were those packs the PQ packs from HobbyCity? I noticed that all the PQ packs seem to have a puffy look to them. If you look at my PolyRC cells and my Flighpowers they are all perfectly flat but the PQ packs are all higher in the center and almost look puffed. Because of the tight battery space in my Whiplash hull that stopped me from buying the PQ cells.

CadillacDTS2001

i dont buy from Hobby city. these are direct from enerland them self.
the only reason the PQ packs look that way is because they all come with a hardened 1/16th inch plastic flexible case around them to prevent penetration. i can take a pic of the one that came off mine.

Here is the cell in salt water.

Raydee

My Feedback: (3)

Ok I knew there had to be a reason they all looked like they had some puff to them.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Saltwater diver's info is a bit pre-mature , it is not quite up to date.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...91&postcount=6

monsterbrad

I asked the guys at Max Amps about this and they said drain the pack all the way down with a discharge light and throw it away of course cut the wires off of it first.
That was straight from Max Amps.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I save all my wires, connectors and such too. I have many balance leads now.

CadillacDTS2001

well... thats max amps for ya. there cells are horrible and as it turn out so is there information regarding it.
never buy a product they have there name on.

monsterbrad

wow another bad mouth for Max Amps
My battery is only 2 years old and my 4200 duratrax batteries are better then the Lipo.
Oh well I will not buy any more of there Lipo's either just telling you what they told me a while ago.

ryan_t888

Max Amps cells are not thaaat bad. I ran a 2s 6000HV in one of my hulls. It did just as well as my FlightPower EVO 25's and it's a year old.

Ryan

Silent-AV8R

FWIW, I checked with Pat, the owner of RC Lipos. He was clear that the ONLY way to properly dispose of a dead/depleted/puffed lipo cell was to soak in salt water and then wrap it in some newspaper and dispose of it in the trash.

And as far as puffed cells go, it is a bit like being pregnant, it is either puffed or not. And no matter how "little" the puffing is it is still dangerous to keep using that pack. Soak and trash it. I've had to do this to nearly $2,400 in cells this year thanks to some very heavy duty SAWS runs in a 10S boat. Puffing FOUR 5S-6,000 packs at $300 a pack hurts. Then do it again just for grins. And throw in a fried to the board Schulze 40.160 AND a Lehner 3060/10, and you can see why I am racing more gas boats these days!!! SAWS and 2-lap have cost me about $4,000 in packs, ESC, and motors this year!! But at least I have 3 records to show for it!! Yep, that really helps to take the sting out of it!!