thewhizz*

Hi, I bought an e-sky CP2 recently and love heli's so much I brought it on holidays with me and the girlfriend! but I was chargin it last night an it caught fire! I've heard about the warnings about lipoly and I know... I should have had it on a fire proof thingy etc. and not still attached to my honeybee, or on something that could burn etc. I charged it with the correct e-sky charger, and thank God i was not too far away. I am close too tears.. well ok maybe not, but i am so disapointed I cant tell you how much, cause it'll be a while before i can get another, i think ill go to the pub and get crosseyed! but i'd like to ask the forums advice.. I just bought it a month ago on ebay.. do you think i should report it as damaged goods, or just put it down to-- tough luck mate, you should have charged it in a lead lined underground bunker!
thanks,
Murt.

Gorgok

I doubt that would count as damaged goods... a month of use after it was bought. Unless that LiPo was damaged to begin with... and now finally burned. But that would be hard to prove. Of course if you did something wrong (not saying you did) when charging, then definately tough luck.

I was just looking for a LiPo reciever battery last night, then read the warnings and decided not to look for one anymore. Taking it out of the model to charge, no overnight charging etc... Too many rules, too many warnings.

Sorry for your loss.

thewhizz*

..ok maybe I did something wrong, but I ran the batteries down learning to keep the tail tracked, but read somewhere they should be run down, to keep them in good health. I cant blame the batteries as they will prob go on fire if over charged, but if you look at the photo the lead from the battery is still plugged into the charger, and burned off the battery, so the charger kept on charging without stopping- hence the fire! so the charger must have been faulty? I donno i'm really pissed off, maybe i should have babysitted the battery and kept checking to see if the battery is gettin hot. even if ur supposed to keep checkin the batterys temp, there shouldnt be a risk of losin your house!

fritzthecat

My Feedback: (4)

I think that while you wait, you should read up on Lipoly batteries.
Here is a good start:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209187

1. Lipoly batteries do not need to be cycled. Running a lipo down too far will destroy it.
2. Lipoly batteries do not get hot while charging. They get hot when overcharged but the temperature will reach 2000 degrees in 20 seconds or less. No sense to hold it in your hand to check.


Fritz

RC-MAN-4EVA

HOLY!!! is that ur heli? Wow........ i hope you have insurance! its ok... i nearly burned my house down too with my car battery.... luckly i it showed smoke first.... Better luck next time

thewhizz*

Yeah ok i think it was my fault.. after reading the post on batteries I let the voltage go down too much, and must have damaged the battery. [:@] as it says above, I'm resistin the urge to curse, flame, degrade, and insult someone or something! yup the photo is my heli on a storage box, that had some wiring inside it. I hope the photo is of some use as a warning to the unwary!

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Yeah they are pretty sensitive in regards to abuse and charging. You need to make sure you keep them above 3.3V PER CELL with a 1 amp load applied. If you discharge them to much they can become out of balance and what usually happens is one cell goes puff and either 1) puffs or 2) puffs up then catches fire

heli-john

Same here, too much to worry about and now I've seen that pic....well. It's a sad sight. At least when I wreck my helis I can salvage some of the bits.

thewhizz*

I'm actually seein the funny side of it now! there i was bein so careful so as not to damage it and the whole lot goes up in flames! I should have flew like a wild thing while i had the chance! So I think i'll get the 450 xl cde looks good, and I like the quality. Can anyone recomend a good seller?

Butuz

That is a really hard way to learn how to properly use and look after Li-Po's

Butuz

Chris_s

same thing happened with the lipo that came with my HBCP2... almost. I drained it way down and tried to charge it up again, luckily I caught it before it burst, but it was all puffed up!

ChopperMike

That rule really applies to all battery types though.


Mike

1ight

Someone on this forum said that they put a smoke detector by their gear when charging batteries. That to me was a very good sugestion. I've been doing it ever since.

thewhizz*

thanks for the comments.. I'll still get another heli, looks like the 450 cde, and i'll still use lipos but boy do i respect them now! I'll be takin it out of the heli to charge, and chargin it on concrete in the garage in future! smoke detector is a good idea but just in case, it cant set concrete on fire. I might not be able to fly too good but i'm expert on heli fires now

Fiream

Murt,
That is really sad. Sorry it happened to you but glad it wasn't any worse. If you used a credit card for the purchase you may have a buyer protection plan on the card. Some of them are good for up to a year after purchase. If it's a free service provided by the issuer it may be less but will probably still be 90 days. Check with them before disposing of the remains as they may want more pics. Don't just assume you don't have the coverage as many card issuers don't advertise the fact that it's there.
Good Luck,
Fiream

thewhizz*

Fiream.. its only true pilots who understand the loss of their heli ! thanks. I was thinkin about how to charge lipos safely, cause its possible for pyrex bowls to break with heat, esp. 2000 degrees, and then the lipo falls on to whatever the pyrex bowl was sittin on. you cant use a metal tray so if a pyrex bowl was filled with sand, and the battery was stuck into it with the wires out to charge? just a thought.
My 450 xl cde is on its way! yeeehaaa cant wait.

zx1100

Sorry to hear about your loss. I should be more careful myself but currently I charge my lipos on my all brick fireplace ledge and the only thing near it is the charger. When I store it I put it in the fireplace and shut the door. Stays cool in there and should be safe