lipo crash... what to do?
 

Hi!
I crashed my electric trainer in a tree today, didnt got it down and it still is there:(
My question is if the lipo battery can explode by itself up there? i am very nervous right now.....

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

If the battery was going to go "boom" (or catch fire ), it would have done so by now. Once you get the plane down you need to carefully inspect the battery for any bulging. If no bulging is visable, then go ahead and charge it, BUT KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON IT WHILE IT IS CHARGING.

You will definitely want to do this battery charge outside. Have a bucket of salted water near the charging area, and if you see any bulging at all, disconnect the battery and drop it in the bucket of salted water.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Campy, why salted water?

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

i just dont know how to get it down!
my fear is that it will catch fire while it is in the tree... can that happend or will it get destroyed by the cold and rain?

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

If lightning by some far fetched reason strikes the battery it could explode and catch fire. Try to locate a tree pruner or climber and pay him or her to get your plane down, GL

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

oh...
think i have a problem here....
but it is raining right now, how will that efect the battery? how will the battery be if it is out there this winter`?? hope it will get destroyed before summer, so the field dont burn down:D

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Li-Po's hardly handle adverse conditions very well. A fall as short as 2 feet can destroy them, and I'd assume it would respond similarly with weather conditions. However, as far as I know, (and I asked quite a few questions when I got mine) they can only catch fire when the cells are pierced in a situation like this. If it was somehow hit by a twig or something, it would have already caught fire, since it almost always happens within the first 15 minutes. Now, unless your plane is waterproof, I wouldn't count on it surviving, but really, if you're willing to sacrifice an expensive battery, why can't you hire someone to get it down? If it were me, I don't think I would even leave as long as it was up there.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Is this guy serious? Am I reading this right? Is he just willing to wait until summer to try and get his plane down?

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Motions: you dont understand!
The plane is a wreck and the radio gear is destroyed. I just wondered if the battery could catch fire while it is up there.
No way that i can get it down, it is so high!

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

From what I have been told, well salted water inhibits (neutralizes ? ) the chemicals inside the lipo. This presumably makes the battery "safe" so it can be discarded safely.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Umm how do you know the radio gear is destroyed?
I'd go get it and salvage what you can..
Even if it's wet it should be ok when it dries out.

Run down to the Walmart or a Sporting good store..
Get a roll of fishing line and a big lead weight..
Try and toss it up and over the plane to snag & shake it out.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

ok, i will go to the local sport store and buy some rope.
Has this happend to any of you?

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Happens at least 10 times a year at our field. Myself included. We keep a 30 foot telescoping pole nearby to help retrieve them. I used the weighted rope method for mine. Is it too high for you to throw a weight over the branch?

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Who wants to fly an airplane with a battery so dangerous that flying it into a tree can cause the battery to explode/catch fire and set the world ablaze?

Regards,
doubledee

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Murdoc --- go to your local Electric company field barn and get hold of a lineman and ask if he would get your plane down. He may charge you something but thats better then leaving it in a tree all winter. NOTE: if he don't charge you at least buy him a pint or donuts for morning coffee. ENJOY !!! RED

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Don't fly around trees!

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

If the electrical wiring to the speed control and receiver are intact it is likely fully discharged by now. Probably no fire hazard, but the battery is probably ruined for any possible future use.

LarryC

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

What planet are you from ? :)

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Drive out east of Denver sometime.. Good luck finding a tree out there.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Give me a break. If lightning hits the thing, the last thing to worry about is the battery. Get serious. If lightning hits it, bring the marshmallows and weenies. :D That tree will be history and the battery vaporized.

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Can't help it. If a tree sees a model plane that's made out of balsa, it naturally assumes it's looking to come home and the tree just runs right out and grabs it. :D;)

As far as the battery is concerened it's like this

If it did not smoke/burn in the first 15 minutes it is not going to smoke/burn. As was already mentioned it's probably completely discharged by now and most likely it has been discharged past the point when you can even recharge it safely so again, so it's toast.

As far as the radio gear being destroyed, if the plane is so high up how can you even tell for sure that the gear is destroyed. Even with binoculars that would be hard to tell for sure. The gear needs to be connected and tested that way.

Someone asked why would you run a battery that could litterally burn up your plane. I'll say this. I have a couple of electrics and the power output of Lipo batts in amazing. Outrunner motors just love them and not to mention the weight savings. With care, these batteries are as safe and any other.

I use Li-Ion's in most all of my planes. As an example, I have a 4800Mah 7.4 volt Li-ion from Fromeco. It is regulated to 5.9 volts using their Super Regulated Switch and has roughly 20 flights on it and it still shows 7.6 volts under a one amp load. A Nicad/NIMH battery of the same size would be enormously heavy where this Li-ION pack is 6.4oz's. Fromeco suggests recharging at 7.2 volts and and never let the battery get below 7.0 volts. A complete setup like this (Battery and Regulated Switch) weighs less than most 2000Mah NIMH batteries alone that I would need to power my digital servos for 4 flights in my large scale planes

I love the idea of charging these batteries about once or twice a month and being able to fly the planes when everyone else has to recharge.

Another good thing about them is they can take many more recharge cycles that any NiCad and NiMH batteries and do not lose hardly any charge if they are just sitting around and not connected to anything. I have another Fromeco 2400Mah Li-ION that I fully charged 3 months ago and sat it on my desk and I installed it last night into a GP Ultimate for the ignition and it was still at 8.3 volts and a full charge is 8.4 volts. Total weight for the battery and switch/regulator was 4.7 ounces

Yes they are more expensive at the beginning but the prices are really coming down

RE: lipo crash... what to do?
 

Happened to me on one of my first flights after I got my wings. Needless to say, I stay really far away from the trees now.

My plane was stuck at the top of a birch tree that was 50 -60 feet high. I got it down by throwing/looping a small sledge hammer attached with a rope, over a branch (as high as I could throw). Then my Dad and I pulled both ends (at the same time)of the rope to try and bend the tree down in order to get the plane to within reach of my pole. We bent it as far as it would go then tied the rope to another tree to keep it there.

The pole I used consisted of a 20 foot pool (skimmer) pole, and a 15 foot chimeny sweep pole and a 10 foot tree pruner all duct taped together (It was really hard getting the whole thing pointed straight up in the air especially because it was in a heavily wooded area.) Once the pole was up I was able to grab the plane with the pruner and yank my plane down slowly (The top of the tree had alot of little branches). Eventually the pool pole broke because of the weight it had to carry. But luckily by that time, the plane was within reach of my "downsized pole".

The pruner did a bit of damage to my fuse but it was easily repaired. The leading edge of my wing had a 2inch gash in it which was also easily repaired. All in all it took approx 5 hours to get my plane down. We tried many different ways, but this was the way that finally worked for me.

Moral of the story.......If you don't want to loose your plane, do what you gotta do to bring it down.