So, I'm gonna' get a metal ammo can and a lipo charge bag...

[CreepyQuarryCrawler]

I've been using LiPos for over a decade in the hobby. I always took it seriously in the sense of having a charging bag and I picked up a ammo can ages ago; it stays in my garage on a metal shelf.

I have been pretty relaxed around my packs but never dangerous and never had an issue.

This year I had two packs swell on me. One while charging, it happened surprisingly fast. I'm glad I was present.

The second was a new pack I was trying to convert from a smart pack to a dumb pack by just putting a balance lead on it. During the process I accidentally punctured one of the cells.

The smell was good awful!

I had a few packs fail under warranty, they were hardcase batteries. One of the manufacturers had me place it in salt water and then show them with a volt meter it was dead.
This was over a decade ago so the process is a little foggy but I don't remember anything else that stands out to me about the process.

 

[Cheetah928]

Yeah I don't leave my batteries alone for more than 2 or 3 weeks. In the cold months I bring them in at night from the garage. I never leave them alone behind a closed door charging indoors. The room I keep them in during winter has a window but the screen broke. Easy disposal . Never had a battery smoke or short or anything, but have come close. 2 have started expanding but weren't bad. Nice thing with Traxxas is their battery trade program. Take them my dud and get a new one half price! Mix and match too. Got a different one last time. Need to take care of one, it went below the minimum voltage and was used a lot anyway. Really nice I get a discount and the bad battery is no longer my problem

 

[TeknoJ]

Yeah I don't leave my batteries alone for more than 2 or 3 weeks. In the cold months I bring them in at night from the garage. I never leave them alone behind a closed door charging indoors. The room I keep them in during winter has a window but the screen broke. Easy disposal . Never had a battery smoke or short or anything, but have come close. 2 have started expanding but weren't bad. Nice thing with Traxxas is their battery trade program. Take them my dud and get a new one half price! Mix and match too. Got a different one last time. Need to take care of one, it went below the minimum voltage and was used a lot anyway. Really nice I get a discount and the bad battery is no longer my problem

So you keep paying for bad batteries then?

 

[22SSragtop]

iv been kicking around the idea of getting a lipo bag for every battery and storing them in some kind of metal box (ammo box if they would fit).
how air tight are ammo boxes? would drilling a couple small holes (say 1/8") be enough ventilation?

Just remove partbof the seal

 

[sylentk]

I grew up on NiCads. You know, fancy "matched cells". Back then, nothing blew up. And they were quite reliable.

A bit heavier, yeah. I'd take the weight over the risk of burning down something in my house.

But those were brushed motors, Teken/Novak ESCs. Does everything have to be LiPo these days?

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

I grew up on NiCads. You know, fancy "matched cells". Back then, nothing blew up. And they were quite reliable.

A bit heavier, yeah. I'd take the weight over the risk of burning down something in my house.

But those were brushed motors, Teken/Novak ESCs. Does everything have to be LiPo these days?

Yes. With brushless motors and high powered esc's eating up current, NiCads can't keep up with the demand. Not in a small enough package anyway.

The runtime difference is substantial too. And when you get peak operating voltage through the entire runtime, instead of the first few minutes......that's huge.

I'm not trying to downplay the possible dangers of using lipo's, but I think it gets blown out of proportion. When you use and store them properly, they're pretty safe. Almost all of the RC lipo fires that I've seen or read about were due to neglect, misuse, or physical damage. Personally I've had more esc fires than lipo.

Hopefully soon, battery tech will catch up to power demands without the limitations and 'fragility' of lipos.

 

[Dominator]

I am assuming each of you has one of these close by.

 

[sylentk]

Ah well....
There was a local "pro" dude. Back in the Nicad days. Each run was 4 minutes. No more, no less. Even on Sunday open practice days. Pretty sure he was in the modified buggy class. I was in stock truck (think JRXT). But he was GOOOOOOD. He had a timer for 4minuntes. I can still hear him poking at his fellow racers...LET"S GO!
HA

 

[ithrowstones]

i just had one of my batteries swell on me. Only had it since end of July. Smc was kind enough to replace it for me since it is swollen sideways vs expanding upwards. Cells do read just fine at 3.7 tho.

 

[RustyUs]

View attachment 253427i just had one of my batteries swell on me. Only had it since end of July. Smc was kind enough to replace it for me since it is swollen sideways vs expanding upwards. Cells do read just fine at 3.7 tho.

It happens to the best of them. What platform were you running that battery in?

 

[ithrowstones]

It happens to the best of them. What platform were you running that battery in?

I run 2 of these 3s in my Sledge. I'm really happy with them, I recommend. Great performance and run time!

 

[64Corvette]

I ended up buying the "drone size" bat-safe. Seems well made. That will be for storage with insulated non flammable partitions between batteries. Going to do charging in a LiPo bag in a 50 cal ammo box since I already have that. Can use my 8' snake grabber to carry it outside if it ever came to that. Our club member that had the LiPo fire in his garage is finally able to move back into his house.

https://www.bat-safe.com/