Blown LiPo battery

[weave]

Just would like to inform you all about LiPo battery's. My neighbor just sent me a picture of his 5000 mAh 3S 60C battery and said look what just happened. He blew the hard case wide open. I sat here wondering how did he do that playing with his Torment. I text him back and told him to put the battery in a bucket of salt water otherwise there was a chance the battery could catch catch fire. I didn't get any response so I called him and told him to open the garage im coming down. I ask him if the battery was in the car when it blew and he said "no I was charging it". There was the problem, he was charging the 5000 mAh battery at 7 amps. The battery got hot and boom! He's lucky it didn't blow up and catch fire. Just to let the newbies know, LiPo's can be dangerous if you do the wrong things, or don't have any knowledge of them.
Never over charge a LiPo, never charge in your vehicle, use a LiPo bag if possible, never charge LiPo when its warm or hot, never charge in NiMH mode, never charge if the battery if it swollen and always unplug the battery when not in use. I say this cause this young man almost burned his house down 1 1/2 years ago for doing the same thing, overcharging. Be aware at all times when handling LiPos, under charge to be on the safeside, such as; 5000 mAh at 4 amps(5000 mAh = 5 amps). LiPo can be safe to use if handled and used in a safe manner. Be safe and Happy RC'ing.

 

[Lephturn]

Remove the “if possible”. ALWAYS charge and store in a LiPo safe bag. The bags are cheap compared to everything else in this hobby so there is no excuse to be without them.

In addition to the LiPo bag I recommend keeping it away from anything flammable. I charge and store mine inside a steel cabinet on the concrete floor of my garage where there is concrete behind it instead of wood or drywall. It doesn’t hurt to be extra careful. Another good practice is to have a bunch of the cheap voltage alarm/checkers around and check the batteries regularly to ensure they stay close to storage voltage.

 

[Djones48]

Wow..that's insane..7A..my god I can practically hear that energy buildup as the battery receives the immense charge. Was it a balanced charge I wonder. I was told at the hobby store that because my charger only went up to 4S including the ground wire that my balancing board wasn't needed. Now is there a cable that will plug into the balancing board with a smaller cable that will plug into the charger? The one rhat came with the hi tec one I bought is too wide (for bigger charging units) and will not fit. Or perhaps an adapter. I'd hate to have anything happen. Having mentioned that though it does appear as though the Lipo I do have should charge ok. Just looking to be safe.

 

[weave]

Yes it was a balance charge. What model Hi-tech charger do you have? I assure you, you do need a balance board to balance charge your Lipo batteries. With that said, your one cell batteries don't come with a balance plug on them and some 2s batteries only come with a balance plug, such as a 180 mAh 2C battery. This is what happens when you over charge a LiPo. Over charging meaning 7 amps into a 5 amp battery. Remember 7000 mAh = 7 amps, 5000 mAh = 5 amps. PLEASE be careful when charging and double check that your charger is set to the specs on the battery.
Happy RC'ing.

 

[Djones48]

I don't have a high-tech charger I have a Sky RC S65 with a balanced input built in. I was told by the guy at the hobby store that all I needed to do was plug the Lipo balance lead into the charger and then into the charging input and I would be okay the input connector that came with my Hi-Tech balance board will not fit into the S65 charger it does not fit into the balance port. It's too wide.

 

[Spanky]

Lipo batteries are scary if you dont know how to charge them ,if they get over charged, under charged, run down past there set voltage, I've seen one burn a hole in a steel dumpster when it popped out from being over charged

 

[weave]

Djones, that charger looks ok for your purpose. I would how ever look into a Multiple Charging Harnesses “Octopus” with the different types

 

[weave]

This is what happens when you use the wrong settings for charging a LiPo. Make sure your charger is set to the specs of the LiPo battery. This young adult is lucky it didn't explode and start a fire ? in his garage. Take heed!
Happy RC'ing

 

[Lephturn]

I don't have a high-tech charger I have a Sky RC S65 with a balanced input built in. I was told by the guy at the hobby store that all I needed to do was plug the Lipo balance lead into the charger and then into the charging input and I would be okay the input connector that came with my Hi-Tech balance board will not fit into the S65 charger it does not fit into the balance port. It's too wide.

You NEED to have the balance lead properly connected to balance charge your 2S.

Post some pics of the charger, balance board and your battery. I am not sure I understand what you are looking at. On my charger when I start a charge it checks the number of cells on the program with the number of cells it detects and has me confirm before it will start the charge.

Sounds like the wrong balance lead - the HiTech balance board is probably wired for up to 6S and your charger may only have a connector for 4S.

Always check your battery mAh and your charge program. 7,000 mAh battery can charge at up to 7 amps but if you charge a 5,000 mAh battery at 7 amps you’ll burn it up. I have two 5,000 and one 7,000 mAh so I set my program to 4.8 amps. The 7,000 mAh just takes longer. If I bump it up to 6.8 to charge after I charge I turn it back down again. Most times I just charge it at 4.8.

 

[weave]

Good information LephTurn for the newbies, thanks.

 

[Djones48]

So this is the set up I used to charge the lipo. It worked fine. Total charge voltage was 8.4 at 1C when it was all done.. I was able to scroll through the readings which told be the percentage the charging process was at as well as the total voltage.I made sure to plug in the balance leads good by checking the battery meter. When I had the balance lead plugged in properly I got the 3.84 per cell. The pic is attached as well as the one with the balance board. And yes its not a dual charger so it only goes up to 4S...hence the reason why the balance board plug is too large.

 

[Djones48]

I set it to 4.4 for the balanced charge took about 1.5 hrs..give or take

 

[Djones48]

Sorry make that 4 2

 

[Lephturn]

Great, did you run it yet? What do you think?

 

[Djones48]

Kicks like a mule. Did a wheelie for a good 2 feet. She was super fast. Makes we wanna pick up a brushless speedster.

 

[weave]

This is my Amp Crush and Amp Mt. and yes they will both do wheelies to the end of our cul-de-sac. However they are both brushless and run on a 3S 7000 mAh battery.

 

[weave]

Both these trucks have suspension mods. Tha Amp Crush, i have the wheelie bar at its lowest level, it will do a wheelie all the way down the street if I let it. If I raise the wheelie bar the truck will flip.

 

[Lephturn]

Awesome mods and great trucks!

Brushless ESC and motor on the way already. ? I got a set of aluminum shocks for it but haven’t checked the fit yet and need oil for them. They fit my Redcat if they don’t work for my Amp.

 

[weave]

So these shocks on my Amp didn't quite fit right so I made a set of shock mounts. I've seen theses at one of the online hobby shops after I made mine, but can't remember which one. You can make them for the front and rear. Take a close look at the ones I made on my Amp. If you have a drill press there easy to make. A little harder with a hand drill but can be done.
Happy RC'ing

 

[weave]

LephTurn, surch for, RC modified shock mounts, and you will come up with a whole lot of choices. Many listings on Ebay. This one of them below!

Siaonvr 4pcs Aluminum Lower Shock Mount Lift Kit For Axial Scx10 1/10 RC Crawler Car