ORIGINAL: Matt_M
Is there any general guidelines I should follow with charging or use of Lipo batteries?
I hear stories about them catching on fire (I know someone who had one almost start his house on fire), and I'm not sure why this happens. Aren't they the same thing that's in laptops and cell phones?
Over charging and over discharging is your worst enemy with Lipo's. Get yourself a good quality balance charger so that all cells are charged equaly, Never charge/discharge at an amperage rating bigger than the batteries capacity, EG: 1800Mah 10C =18Amp maximum discharge, 1C charging input means no more than the batteries maximum capacity into the battery when charging (1800Mah in above example). The number and letter capacity codes on your Lipo give you important information about what power it will supply without any risk of fire. There is a thread on Lipo use somewhere on this site, have a look around and you should be able to find it.
Hope this helps.
guru