Guess.......

[Doom!]

I think I like @Tunedfrog 's method the best.

 

[Greywolf74]

I think I like @Tunedfrog 's methodthe best.

It does have a certain simplicity to it doesn't it?!

 

[KnowAir]

I prefer. one of these..sevral items there will do the job safely

View attachment 200043

Looks a bit like my workbench, except yours is cleaner! LOL. I actually have a half dozen lipo's laying around that I need to "do something" with.. been tempted to just throw them in the fire pit and give em a whack w/hammer or similar.. Maybe I'll just hook them up to a cheap charger outside on "discharge mode". I really don't want to pollute our environment any more than necessary.

 

[Doom!]

The best way to get rid of used LiPo batteries is to strap them to your chest and walk into a bank, at that point the nice officers will get rid of them for you.

 

[Greywolf74]

I actually have a half dozen lipo's laying around that I need to "do something" with.. been tempted to just throw them in the fire pit and give em a whack w/hammer or similar.. Maybe I'll just hook them up to a cheap charger outside on "discharge mode". I really don't want to pollute our environment any more than necessary.

A lipo charger will not discharge a lipo down past unsafe voltages. At least not a modern one, anyway. I use a SkyRC lipo discharger to take them down to about 3v/c, and then I take them outside and put them in an ammo can, where I plug a 5v fan and an LED in to the pack. This will drain a 2S pack down to about 2–2.5v. When the LED is no longer being lit at all, I then strip the wires and twist them together and leave them there for a week. That will drop the 2S pack voltage down to about .1 - .2V. At that point, you can throw it in the trash. Technically, at 2.5V there's not enough energy left in the pack to be reactive even if you drive a nail through it, but I like to take it down all the way.
*NOTE* If you're using bigger lipos like 4S or 6S you'll have to use a 9v or 12v fan until it won't run anymore, and then you can switch to the 5V fan and LED.

The other thing you can do, if that's too much hassle for ya, is to cut the connector off of the battery, cut the wire to different lengths so you can strip the ends of both the wires so they can't touch, and place it in a jug of salt water and leave it there for a couple of weeks. That will also discharge the lipo pretty good. I find this method messy and I have all the other fans and LEDs etc. lying around my hobby room, so I opt for my method, even though it's a little more involved.

 

[KnowAir]

A lipo charger will not discharge a lipo down past unsafe voltages. At least not a modern one, anyway. I use a SkyRC lipo discharger to take them down to about 3v/c, and then I take them outside and put them in an ammo can, where I plug a 5v fan and an LED in to the pack. This will drain a 2S pack down to about 2–2.5v. When the LED is no longer being lit at all, I then strip the wires and twist them together and leave them there for a week. That will drop the 2S pack voltage down to about .1 - .2V. At that point, you can throw it in the trash. Technically, at 2.5V there's not enough energy left in the pack to be reactive even if you drive a nail through it, but I like to take it down all the way.
*NOTE* If you're using bigger lipos like 4S or 6S you'll have to use a 9v or 12v fan until it won't run anymore, and then you can switch to the 5V fan and LED.

The other thing you can do, if that's too much hassle for ya, is to cut the connector off of the battery, cut the wire to different lengths so you can strip the ends of both the wires, but they can't touch and place it in a jug of salt water and leave it there for a couple of weeks. That will also discharge the lipo pretty good. I find this method messy and I have all the other fans and LEDs etc. lying around my hobby room, so I opt for my method, even though it's a little more involved.

Good info, thanks. When I suggested plugging into a charger, I meant a charger set to a different battery chemistry. IDK if that's possible as I never tried. But I have plenty of fans and light bulbs around I could easily wire too. I already have loped off the connectors from several of the "bad" packs (to reuse). I even dissected some packs with intentions of making new packs from the good cells. I couldn't figure out how the heck the leads and balance wires are connected, so I gave up on that idea. I mean really, trying to save a cell from a $15 2s Zeee battery is going a bit too far I guess.. LOL. But I do have actually a pile of batteries with bad cells now that I think about it.. I know they have to be same specs, and still not likely "worth it".. like trying to get change from a penny I suppose.

 

[Greywolf74]

Good info, thanks. When I suggested plugging into a charger, I meant a charger set to a different battery chemistry. IDK if that's possible as I never tried. But I have plenty of fans and light bulbs around I could easily wire too. I already have loped off the connectors from several of the "bad" packs (to reuse). I even dissected some packs with intentions of making new packs from the good cells. I couldn't figure out how the heck the leads and balance wires are connected, so I gave up on that idea. I mean really, trying to save a cell from a $15 2s Zeee battery is going a bit too far I guess.. LOL. But I do have actually a pile of batteries with bad cells now that I think about it.. I know they have to be same specs, and still not likely "worth it".. like trying to get change from a penny I suppose.

I wouldn't recommend taking a cell from one lipo battery and placing it in another lipo battery anyway. The cells are matched when they are originally assembled. I have removed a bad cell from say a 4S pack to create a 3S pack because all the remaining cells were matched originally. That being said, It's really not worth the effort/risk anyway unless it's a really expensive battery you're trying to salvage.

 

[KnowAir]

I wouldn't recommend taking a cell from one lipo battery and placing it in another lipo battery anyway. The cells are matched when they are originally assembled. I have removed a bad cell from say a 4S pack to create a 3S pack because all the remaining cells were matched originally. That being said, It's really not worth the effort/risk anyway unless it's a really expensive battery you're trying to salvage.

Agree, thanks brother!

 

[CertifiedMike]

I agree. I would never thought, even considered to "discharge" a battery in this manner. Great info!
The ever-expanding world of lipo!