Lipo bag alternatives

[DipTwit]

Originally Posted by targetGspot

I charge ANY battery away from anything that could catch fire and always monitor them throughout charging.

This, times TEN. Never charge them unattended. I spoke with a guy a month or so ago who IIRC is living with some family right now because his house BURNED DOWN. Turns out the fire inspector found it wasn't his LiPo, but the *charger* that went up. We don't usually worry about where the charger is sitting....

Originally Posted by waylander

if it's going to go it's going to go, you do NOT have time to do anything about it

I'm gonna slightly disagree with this one - first off, the guy I mentioned above could have simply pulled the cord from the wall had he been there watching it.
Moreover, from personal experience, I had one (damaged in an RC plane crash as well) go on me in my back pocket... it got REAL warm and started smoking. I had around 15 seconds which was enough to grab a safe bucket, and pour water over it.

No matter what other precautions you take, charge them wherever it's convenient for you to hang around and keep an eye on them.

[waylander]

Unless you're charging in an area that has easy access to the outdoors or are outdoors already, you don't typically have time to do anything. Unplugging doesn't stop the chemical reaction when it starts. Also, water is a bad choice to put out a chem fire with, I keep a bucket of sand near where I charge but I always charge in a lipo bag.

A lipo bag vs burning down your car/garage/house.. etc. is a cheap and easy choice. Lipos damaged for any reason should be disposed of... I won't even use a lipo onces it has started puffing even though I know many that do.

But this is more about transporting them which is easy, just make sure its not transported with anything that could puncture it, a hard container of some kind is best, it doesn't matter what kind.

[SuperHog]

I have used Lipo batteries since they were introduced before airsoft guns even started to use them.

Don't use Lipo bags! If you value your home and yourself.

LiPo Bags - YouTube


I store my Lipos in steel boxes. (Cash box or Ammo box) I also charge them unattended with a steel box!

Lipo battery fire containment test 1 - YouTube

Safely charging and storing your Lithium Polymer (Lipo) batteries. - YouTube

[waylander]

Interesting that the fist video doesn't state what voltage or capacity those lipos are....

I've seen a lipo go up in a bag, a 22.2 3000mah lipo... twice the voltage and twice the capacity that we use in airsoft and it looks nothing like that...

[lurkingknight]

lol.. wat.

I've yet to see a video of a lipo going up like that. But a bag would definitely direct jets of flame given the way it will vent. Even a metal box. That's why you don't have anything flammable near it.

[SuperHog]

Originally Posted by lurkingknight

lol.. wat.

I've yet to see a video of a lipo going up like that. But a bag would definitely direct jets of flame given the way it will vent. Even a metal box. That's why you don't have anything flammable near it.

I race RC cars and fly big E helis. 3S, 6S and even 12S. I've fried a few packs with expensive chargers like Hyperion, Evolectrix and Icharger working perfectly. Bad Lipos will go dumb.

[DipTwit]

Originally Posted by waylander

you don't typically have time to do anything. Unplugging doesn't stop the chemical reaction when it starts
...
I keep a bucket of sand near where I charge but I always charge in a lipo bag.

Sand sounds like an awesome suggestion! Although I still wonder why you'd bother if you insist that you don't have time to *use* it

I think you mis-read my comment about unplugging - that was because the *charger* was frying, and unplugging it would have helped, at least to stop it from continuing. Still would have had to use the sand or dragged it away from flammable materials of course.

The video is cool, but realize it's "zoomed in" and looks worse than it would if sitting in the middle of a concrete floor. When mine went up, luckily, there was plenty of smoking first and so I did have time to stop it, but again, only if you're there to notice...

Agree on transporting in something solid, they're usually easy to keep safe as long as there's nothing that can squish / deform / puncture them.

Cheers all

[Vivek92]

I would just buy a LIPO bag (not that the batteries are ever REALLY going to catch fire) if you're worried. I store mine in one just because the silver bag is easy to pick out in the mounds of endless airsoft gear

[JosephSSmith]

Lipo bag is the safest than getting an Ammo can, there are plenty of sites where you can find it.