Having seen TWO different LiPos on fire seems to be the exception for LiPo experience. I fly at 3 different clubs, so maybe I've had more exposure. But it's proven something to me.

The guys who started those fires were using top name chargers. The chargers were intelligent and their names will be kept out of this..... because in both cases, the boys that destroyed their batteries both made the same very simple mistake. It's a mistake that is actually quite easy to make.

One battery set the shelter on fire. When that battery "blew up", it sounded like a .22 going off. We were flying at the time and kidded about flying so badly that the guys sitting near the shelter were trying to shoot down the model. The shelter's floor is surfaced with wood chips, so that made matters worse.

How did two different guys at different places do the same thing? They were in a hurry. They connected the batteries, turned on the chargers, set the voltage levels and went about getting the next flight in. Both chargers had defaulted to a different chemistry charge program. They didn't notice they'd setup those LiPos to charge as NiCds.

Check the charger(s) you use with LiPos. One of mine came up automatically to do NiCds. I had simply cussed at it and clicked all the buttons that needed clicking and didn't give it another thought. Then one evening I remembered why the fire had started at the field that day. It took me awhile with the instructions to get the sucker to come up for LiPos. I've also dedicated one charger to my TX/RX charging. The others are all set to default to LiPo.

It really is easy to make that mistake.