Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

Any ever heard of this happening? I just bought a brand new Axe EZ. Took it out, watched the DVD, read the instructions, put the training gear on and took it for it's first flight. The first flight was wonderful. However after the battery started getting low I turned everything off and removed the battery only to find that it was "puffed" up. (for lack of a better term). You could literally see that the plastic around the battery was blown up like a balloon. I literally thought it was about to blow up in my hand!!!

Has anyone see this happen before? I've been in this hobby for quite some time and never saw anything like it. I know I've heard of Lipo batteries being "fragile" but this is ridiculous. It wasn't dropped, it wasn't overcharged, it wasn't run until it was dead. Why would the battery blow up like that?

RE: Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

Get in touch with the helimax people, they can answer those questions when they look at. They seem very fair to deal with, Doc

RE: Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

That's typical of an overheated Lipo.
Sometimes they'll recover, other times not.

RE: Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

How could it have overheated though? It was charged with the included charger. When I installed it in the heli it was cool to the touch, and when the flight was over it was warm, but definitely not hot. It was cool enough that I could hold it in my hand.

BTW I have emailed Helimax, hopefully they'll get back to me tomorrow. I'll keep everyone updated how it goes.

RE: Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

Unfortunately Heli-Max has told me I'm on my own. They said that more than likely since it was bought off ebay that it does not have a warranty EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NEW! It's really disappointing to see a company as large as Heli-max and Great Planes to not warranty a very obviously defective part. I could understand if the item was previously used and abused but this thing was brand new in a sealed box!

Just for the sake of argument lets say the item was used. Does that mean the item isn't defective? Does that mean Heli-max has no responsibility in the matter? Does that mean the item should have blow up like this? What I mean is, if the battery/charger combo are supposed to be safe then there is no reason for this to have happened, and if that is the case then Heli-max should at least want to take a look at it. Instead they kicked a customer to the curb.

I for one will never buy another Heli-max product again.

RE: Defective Axe EZ Battery?
 

That really sucks. Try and get some customer service from the store you bought it from.

That battery should be completely drained of power and discarded. Don't re-use it, it could cause a fire. You will want more batteries anyway, so do some research and get the largest mah battery that will fit with the same weight and with the highest "C" rating.