Lipo Battery Winter Storage

[jbilby62]

Hey guys,

Just looking for some opinions and what some of you do for winter storage of your lipo batteries.

I have 2 6700 mah 4S batteries that I have been storing in my garage. I store these batteries inside an ammo can that is inside an old fire extinguisher box. And of course at a storage charge of 3.8V/Cell. But with the winter months coming in upstate New York, I was not sure what my best option would be. I do have an attached garage, so I was thinking that I could store the batteries in an ammo can inside a homemade cinder block bunker that would be up against a wall between the garage and the living quarters of the house. With the hopes of some of the house heat making it to the bunker. I would like to stay away from keeping the batteries in the house if possible. I am without a basement as well.

Let me know what you think!

Thank you,

Joe

 

[tntpoof]

I have 200+ in a 1942 evaporator fridge in my basement with smoke detector inside with external speaker. do a bimonthly check and charge if needed.

 

[WickedFog]

If you just have a couple batteries, I wouldn't be worried storing them inside an ammo can inside the house, but not near anything flammible. I have about 30 LiPo's stored inside my apartment in my Kennedy roll around toolbox. Now, they are in the top drawer, and would have to melt through 3 heavy duty drawers, plus the bottom of the toolbox to reach the floor. I have always had a plan to line the top two drawers with welders blankets, but have yet to do so.

LiPo batteries won't typically spontaneously combust, though I would imagine it can happen. As long as they aren't damaged, haven't been misused, or aren't showing high internal resistance, or aren't puffing, I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[Greywolf74]

Hey guys,

Just looking for some opinions and what some of you do for winter storage of your lipo batteries.

I have 2 6700 mah 4S batteries that I have been storing in my garage. I store these batteries inside an ammo can that is inside an old fire extinguisher box. And of course at a storage charge of 3.8V/Cell. But with the winter months coming in upstate New York, I was not sure what my best option would be. I do have an attached garage, so I was thinking that I could store the batteries in an ammo can inside a homemade cinder block bunker that would be up against a wall between the garage and the living quarters of the house. With the hopes of some of the house heat making it to the bunker. I would like to stay away from keeping the batteries in the house if possible. I am without a basement as well.

Let me know what you think!

Thank you,

Joe

you're overthinking it to much. Just put them in your ammo can and set your ammo can in the laundry room or somewhere that has a cement floor. Or if you have to, set a concrete block in the laundry room and store the ammo can on top of it. As long as theres a small hole in the ammo can so that trapped gas can vent you wont be in much danger of a lipo fire actual burning anything. Its extremely unlikely that a LiPo would catch fire just sitting in storage in the first place.

 

[jbilby62]

you're overthinking it to much. Just put them in your ammo can and set your ammo can in the laundry room or somewhere that has a cement floor. Or if you have to, set a concrete block in the laundry room and store the ammo can on top of it. As long as theres a small hole in the ammo can so that trapped gas can vent you wont be in much danger of a lipo fire actual burning anything. Its extremely unlikely that a LiPo would catch fire just sitting in storage in the first place.

I definitely agree that I am overthinking it. Just want to make sure that I'm covering all by bases incase of the rare event of a lipo catching fire.

 

[WickedFog]

I definitely agree that I am overthinking it. Just want to make sure that I'm covering all by bases incase of the rare event of a lipo catching fire.

If your garage is not heated and cooled, I definitely wouldn't store them out there.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Mine are in the same place as they always are. I keep them in Lipo bags and the bags are in ammo cans. I see them as we speak. I check the storage charge every couple of months just to be safe.

 

[ahr43]

Hey guys,

Just looking for some opinions and what some of you do for winter storage of your lipo batteries.

I have 2 6700 mah 4S batteries that I have been storing in my garage. I store these batteries inside an ammo can that is inside an old fire extinguisher box. And of course at a storage charge of 3.8V/Cell. But with the winter months coming in upstate New York, I was not sure what my best option would be. I do have an attached garage, so I was thinking that I could store the batteries in an ammo can inside a homemade cinder block bunker that would be up against a wall between the garage and the living quarters of the house. With the hopes of some of the house heat making it to the bunker. I would like to stay away from keeping the batteries in the house if possible. I am without a basement as well.

Let me know what you think!

Thank you,

Joe

Hey Joe. You're not overthinking it. LiPos are not to be trusted. Your method of storage RE: ammo can/Fire extinguisher box should be o.k. sitting at storage charge for winter in your garage. I would discourage keeping them in the house. Doing a cycling charge with return to storage voltage, say monthly, is a consideration. 'AC'

 

[jbilby62]

If your garage is not heated and cooled, I definitely wouldn't store them out there.

How much of a negative impact would storing in a non temperature controlled garage be?

 

[ahr43]

How much of a negative impact would storing in a non temperature controlled garage be?

Joe, store my LiPo's in a non-temperature controlled attached garage year around. 100deg F summer. 26deg F winter. Near as I can tell, no negative impact. 'AC'

 

[WickedFog]

There has been videos showing LiPo's don't do well in cold weather. This is from Castle Creations web site...

LiPo batteries and cold temps don't mix well. The discharge rating of a LiPo battery is directly affected by the temperature of the battery. When the temperature of the battery is below 50° F (10° C), you'll start to notice performance drops; significant issues start to occur when the battery gets below 20° F (-7° C).

I watched one of the DJI drone guys I subscribe to do a test of the mAh of LiPo's From room temp to cold weather. The run time was drastically reduced in the cold.

 

[jbilby62]

There has been videos showing LiPo's don't do well in cold weather. This is from Castle Creations web site...

LiPo batteries and cold temps don't mix well. The discharge rating of a LiPo battery is directly affected by the temperature of the battery. When the temperature of the battery is below 50° F (10° C), you'll start to notice performance drops; significant issues start to occur when the battery gets below 20° F (-7° C).

I watched one of the DJI drone guys I subscribe to do a test of the mAh of LiPo's From room temp to cold weather. The run time was drastically reduced in the cold.

Would over charging/discharging and not storage charging be worse for a battery than storing at colder temperatures? Say around freezing.

 

[WickedFog]

Yes. Overcharging is very dangerous. As you crest 4.2v and up, your chance of the LiPo going up in flames goes up exponentially til you hit 4.7v, which is basically game over. But it can happen any time you charge a LiPo at any voltage. It's just very uncommon with a healthy pack, as long as you stay at 4.2v per cell and below.

Over discharging will damage the pack, but it's not nearly as dangerous as over charging. Although when the pack drains below 3.0v/cell, it will start to produce carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, causing them to puff. They also produce their own oxygen, so if there is any internal damage that can cause a short, they have fuel to feed the fire, kinda like a cutting torch. For example, a cutting torch burns at near 4000°F. A LiPo can burn upwards of 3600+°F. And when they vent from puffing beyond the cells ability to remain intact, they expell dangerous gases on top of the flames.

And because they produce their own oxygen, a truckload of water won't put them out. Sand won't put them out. Fire extinguishers won't put them out.

I have been using LiPo batteries for a number of years. As long as you don't mistreat them, store them improperly, etc, you don't have much to worry about.

 

[DavidB1126]

I storage charge my lipos right after I'm done using them. I take my RCs out mostly every weekend so I really don't worry about long term storage. I keep my lipos in a lipo safe bag. ( I can fit about 5 normal ones and 2 mini ones) The lipo safe bag works the best for me since I don't have alot of space in my house. I use this lipo bag. It is similar to the one I have but mine is bigger.

 

[Smilinbri]

Get one of these for a quick check of each batt/each cell every month or so. Peace of mind.
Dang, this one is no longer available, but there are others out there like it. Takes literally 10 seconds to check all the cells

 

[DavidB1126]

I have these Apex RC Products 2 Pack Lipo Battery Voltage Checker Alarm LED 1-8 Cell 1655 They beep when the voltage is low. The one of them I have doesn't beep anymore though.

 

[WickedFog]

Get one of these for a quick check of each batt/each cell every month or so. Peace of mind.
Dang, this one is no longer available, but there are others out there like it. Takes literally 10 seconds to check all the cells
View attachment 153951

This is about the same price, but also includes a servo tester.
RC CellMeter 8 Digital Battery Capacity Checker Battery Voltage Tester LCD Backlight for LiPo Life Li-ion NiMH Nicd https://a.co/d/eouhKbP

 

[Greywolf74]

Would over charging/discharging and not storage charging be worse for a battery than storing at colder temperatures? Say around freezing.

The main thing to worry about storing LiPos in the cold is making sure the electrolytes in the pack dont freeze. This happens at about -22F (-30C). Frozzen electrolytes can cause a short in the cell and that can cause damage to the LiPo up to and including them catching fire. Just make sure that you let the packs warm up in the spring to room temps before charging/using them. Thats why I was saying just store them in the house. Put them in lipo bags and then inside the ammo can and place the ammo can somewhere that even if the lipos were to go up the heat can't catch anything else on fire. Check them every month or two. Just my worth

 

[Chipper]

If you just have a couple batteries, I wouldn't be worried storing them inside an ammo can inside the house, but not near anything flammible. I have about 30 LiPo's stored inside my apartment in my Kennedy roll around toolbox. Now, they are in the top drawer, and would have to melt through 3 heavy duty drawers, plus the bottom of the toolbox to reach the floor. I have always had a plan to line the top two drawers with welders blankets, but have yet to do so.

LiPo batteries won't typically spontaneously combust, though I would imagine it can happen. As long as they aren't damaged, haven't been misused, or aren't showing high internal resistance, or aren't puffing, I wouldn't be too worried.

What amount of resistance is too much? I have a 3 cell that resistance of 3 on two cells and 8 on the third. Thanks

 

[Greywolf74]

What amount of resistance is too much? I have a 3 cell that resistance of 3 on two cells and 8 on the third. Thanks

It kind of depends on how heavy of a load you're putting on the LiPo. Its its a heavy load Id want my IRs to probably be less than 10. If its got higher IRs than that then Id relegate it to light duty use until the IRs are at about 20 or 25 at which point Id start thinking of retiring the pack permanently.

Your pack poses a different problem. When you have 1 cell thats a lot higher IR than the other two you risk having a failure at some point. Not necessarily catastrophic but it could be. The cell with the higher IR is going get a lot hotter and drain faster that the other two which could cause a failure at some point. At the very least the higher IR cell will deteriorate faster than the others. At 3 and 8 mohm its probably not a big issue in light to moderate loads. I would not run an unbalanced pack like that under heavy loads and if the IR spread gets much bigger Id stop using it at all.