I've been using LiPos for about 12 yrs, and so far had no problems. I always balance charge at 1.5A and still have batteries from 2011 which are fine for boats (some of them started off in planes and worked their way down to boats as the performance dropped off) I made a charging safety box a few yrs ago from a cheap metal tool box and lined it with gib board (plaster board) then 8oz glass cloth over that, tacked on with bathroom sealer. The glass cloth can withstand being held over a gas flame (about 1900c) without any major damage.

The gib board lid has a f/glass covering and a 100mm hole in the end, which is covered with glass cloth as a flame arrestor,- the same as the box lid. The lid is left unsealed when charging to allow gasses to escape if necessary in case of a meltdown. The charging leads come through a small hole in the end of the tool box.

The idea is to slow things down to give you time to react, as you will not stop a LiPo fire, (being a chemical reaction when the contents are exposed to air.) Nothing will put it out till the reaction has finished. I always have it handy to a window or door so it can be thrown outside. Not a lot you can do about the smoke, it's controlling the flames which is the necessary bit.

One mod I'll be making is to replace the plastic lid handle with a large wooden one for obvious reasons. I have a number of chargers, the latest being an Imax B6 Evo which can have 10 batteries programmed in to make it almost a 1 touch operation. The genuine Imax and Sky RC and GT Power chargers which I've used for years have been very reliable, and have a temp sensor port (settable cut off temp alarm) which is an extra safety feature for early warning of a problem. These cover most batteries and are ok for LiPos up to 5s. lots of chargers out there to chose from though.

I have some very old LiPos which I might build another box to test with. Only problem is the massive amount of nasty smelling smoke which happens when you let one off (have to wait till the neighbours are out and the wind's right) Lol I'll do a vid If I decide to light one up.

JB

Completely agree on not buying cheapie stuff. My lipo charger cost me just shy of £600 though with some of my helis worth £2-4k I can't take chances. I've a strange issue with boats though in that I love older technology and prefer brushed power and NiMH and nicd batteries. Still I have my trusty Ripmax Propeak charger that I've used for years now and prefer to trickle charge to allow longer battery life.

The culprit battery would have been around £30 and is British built though sadly has had a hidden past that the model shop where unaware of. They have now taken steps to avoid another issue with stopping the trade in of any batteries for the future which is best for everyone.

Anyways all is well though for any newcomers out there a warning of just how easily you can be caught out.

Today is dive into storage day and bring out the boat i got for my 16th birthday! Still never been out of box. I'm 35 now 😅🙈

All's well that ends well eh Scott👍
I also have an ammo box, courtesy of the RAF😉
Used it for years as a tool box. Now it's been repurposed as a charging box.

I also sometimes charge batteries in the living room where I can keep an eye on them.
Batteries and charger stand on thick ceramic floor tiles.
The charger I use also has thermocouple inputs to monitor battery temps and activate an alarm and shut down if the preset temp limit is reached. It is programmable for 20 battery types; chemistry (NiMh, Lithium, SLA), nominal voltage and capacity, and shows on a colour graphic display the charging progress (per cell if required), internal resistance (per cell) and momentary capacity by charge or discharge. Various discharge/charge cycles can be programmed to refresh older or deep discharged batteries. Most useful for NiMh batteries.
Motto! Don't skimp on either the battery or the charger cost. If you do it can come back and bite you where it really hurts.

Have been using LiPos for about six years - never any excitement.
BUT: I NEVER charge at more than 1Amp, smaller capacity or single cell LiPos at 500mA.
I take no notice of the manufacturers bragging about fast charge rates of 10C or 20C etc.
They are no more than marketing ploys to encourage you to drastically shorten the useful life of your batteries so you have to regularly buy more.😠

Only ever had one DOA LiPo battery, one dead cell☹️
Was a 3S, so I chopped out the dead cell and used it as a 2S.
Waste not want not😉
I NEVER buy cheapo No Name batteries. Most of mine come from Conrad, Krick or Absima (just up the road from me) where I can have confidence in their QC and can trace their origin.
ANY battery CAN be dangerous if misused , but follow the rules, ignore Fast Charge bragging, buy a decent charger (no oriental cheapies) and you'll be OK👍
Cheers, Doug😎

Hi all I'm all good here though on further examination the battery had salt crystals here and there given the indication it was used in salt water and possibly submerged at one point and then placed aside. I have been back to the model shop and they had it handed in recently as part of a boat trade in. The original owner had said it had never been used though from scrapes within the battery connector and corrosion which was hidden it's hard to believe that was the case.

I've been given as a gesture of kindness a shiny brand new NiMH.

I charge my NiMH and nicd batteries on a piece of slate on the living room table so that I'm always there for the charge duration. My lipos that I use only for helis and aircraft are 6-12s monsters and are charged within an old ammo box though still always never left unattended. I've only had one lipo fire and luckily it only cost an aircraft and part some crops! My lipo had caught fire whilst I was flying and since the aircraft in question was foam it stagnated very quickly and came down. Other than that haven't had any lipo issues


Heartbreaking though it is to read of so many losing homes etc though thankfully only things that can be replaced and not cost lives. Still very sad though

Regards
Scott

In a previous model boat club that I belong to, one of the members was charging his lipo batteries on his screen porch. Being that I'm posting on this subject you can guess what happened . His entire home except for the garage was totally destroyed. Ironically, he kept his model boats in his garage. None were damaged.

Lew

A galling story that we all should learn from.

In 10 or so years I have never had a problem when charging MNIC, LiPo or SLA batteries. However, this terrible instance is certainly not the first such case I have heard of and even my Club Chairman lost his entire home workshop from a serious Fire a few years back.

Take care - always charge at a slow rate and in fireproof container. Use a smart charger and dispose of all doubtful batteries carefully.

John 😢😢😢😢😢😢

Hi Happy Haggis
NiMh batteries are normally quite stable and I have never had such an incident with any NiMh or NiCd battery. Yes they will heat up on charge or if shorted. Did you check the voltage before you connected your charger? Was the battery correctly wired? Was your charger polarity correctly connected?
I note you were charging at 1.2 amp against the normal recommended 1:10 charge rate ie 240mA for NiMh batteries so this may have been a factor.
The internal liquids are toxic and corrosive so I hope your hands are OK.
All batteries deteriorate over time and even if they look unused could be shorted inside, maybe with just one or two cells, which is possibly the issue with this battery.
Thank you for sharing your experience and glad to hear you are OK
dave 976

Google it n call them if possible

I heard ammo boxes work well too. I like the other Lipos that don’t use liquids. They are made by Sony, BYD and others. Usually by used in tools. They are a little heavier but are safer n can be put in safely in a landfill. I has some A123 batteries given to me to test for RC. They look like a C or D carbon battery in size. They started to catch on then went away. We used to get an electric cordless drill n take batteries out of them. I thought they woukd do great in cars we tested n some electric gliders but seem to have gone from scene

Looks very interesting. Would like more info on this product to maybe see how it would work out? latch doesn't look to secure though?

Batteries are "iffy". Some don't last long while others keep going. Be careful of those chemicals. I hope you are not injured.
Lew