LiPo’s dangerous or not ?

[EDcase]

6 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

Oh, right.

 

That reminds me, I have a stack of (claimed) 2Ah-ish 18650s lying around, and was wondering what would stop me from wiring a couple of them in series and throwing a Deans connector on.

Depends on their max burst current output I think.

Might get more info here

[Rogerborg]

26 minutes ago, EDcase said:

Depends on their max burst current output I think.

Might get more info here

 

Or, fire until they explode, then back off the trigger by 10%.

[Lozart]

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

 

Oh, right.

 

That reminds me, I have a stack of (claimed) 2Ah-ish 18650s lying around, and was wondering what would stop me from wiring a couple of them in series and throwing a Deans connector on.

 

 

Very little I should imagine.

 

The "soldered together cans" is why the Titans only come in a few different form factors of course. I have four of them now but they've not been on the market quite long enough for personal experience of their claimed longevity but all I've done with them so far is charge them, use them and then chuck them in my kitbag (in a LiPo Safe bag - I'm not THAT mental).

[Druid799]

On 04/11/2021 at 17:22, Hatchet said:

As an alternative to ammo boxes, these Bat Safes might be worth considering. I've got one, although obviously I've not put it to the test (and hope never to have to).

Looks like a posh biscuit tin to me ?😳

[Nick G]

I've seen one start spewing smoke in the safe zone when someone yanked out of his gun by the balance lead. It got lobbed into a bucket pretty sharpish. 

 

And I've had an RC helicopter totalled when the lipo went up. I suspect the outrunner motor may have worn through the outer covering on the Lipo . My fault if so as the battery wasnt in quite the right position. That was 'interesting' when it started spewing smoke ! got it on the ground before it went up at least.

[Druid799]

I’d say a pattern is definitely emerging of some kind of operator ‘miss handling’ being a major factor in all the stories with any kind “oh shit it’s burning !/its jetting out smoke !/its going nuclear on me !” in it but few “it just exploded all by its self for no reason at all !” stories ? 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Yes, it does seem that mishandling is the main cause, but when that could be as simple as catching a lead in the wrong place when you're changing battery in a hurry between games, that's something we can all imagine doing isn't it? 

That's the (slightly) scary bit for me.

[concretesnail]

The bat safe boxes are really good. I use one for charging larger batteries indoors, rc and fpv along with airsoft means all shapes and sizes of lipos. Having seen larger packs go up it makes sense.

[Druid799]

On 06/11/2021 at 07:48, RostokMcSpoons said:

Yes, it does seem that mishandling is the main cause, but when that could be as simple as catching a lead in the wrong place when you're changing battery in a hurry between games, that's something we can all imagine doing isn't it? 

That's the (slightly) scary bit for me.

Yup totally agree , hence most of my LiPo’s that have the potential to be problematic getting out of what ever I’ve stuck them in have an attached loop of nylon filament(the thread from the core of paracord)around them so if I do need to give it a ‘tug’ to get it out I don’t need to fanny around with any of the wires just pull on the loop and out it pops .👍

[SBoardley]

On 25/10/2021 at 22:05, EvilMonkee said:

@SBoardleywas it being charged/used at the time it went up?

 

Sorry been out of the loop….

the battery was an unskirmished 11.4v 1200mah bought in uk. It was being  charged on a good quality programmable balance charger. Ok, the charger is over 10 years old?! I HAD 2 of these batteries, both stored in their own hard plastic boxes that they came in. I’ve had lipos for years and am aware of how delicate they can be. I’ve had a couple puff, and I’ve had to Chuck one quickly across the the garden smoking as as it went due to roughly pulling it from a stock tube. But the battery in question was used only to chrono aegs. 
but I’ve learned a valuable lesson. As discussed ^^; use a bag or a metal box, and do not leave them unattended. EVER. Seriously I could have lost my son. Nothing, not even airsoft is worth THAT risk. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by SBoardley
Piss poor auto correct

[Shamal]

1 hour ago, SBoardley said:

 

 

Seriously I could have lost my son. Nothing, not even airsoft is worth THAT risk. 

Amen to that! 

 

Regards 

[SBoardley]

Props to @Shamalfor being a top bloke!!

[RostokMcSpoons]

The mention of the Li-Ion batteries somewhat passed me by when I first read some of the replies, but I came across these batteries today, and by-all-that's-holy they do look to be cat's knees.  Or the bee's whiskers. Take your pick.

 

Yes they may be a bit pricier in some instances, and yes they are available in fewer configurations, but they do seem to solve all the innate LiPo safety problems, and handily beat LiFe batteries in terms of power density.  I'm willing to take a punt on them!

The only issue is I just bought a LiPo / LiFe charger.   Some of the sales blurb on the batteries mentions it's fine to use LiPo chargers, but some forum posts says not.  Some of the chargers are marked specifically as Li-Ion compatible, but others say .. nothing.

 

So what's the story?

 

Edit:. Just watched a video with a guy from Titan saying normal lipo chargers are fine.   Which was nice.

Edited November 8, 2021 by RostokMcSpoons

[Lozart]

21 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

The mention of the Li-Ion batteries somewhat passed me by when I first read some of the replies, but I came across these batteries today, and by-all-that's-holy they do look to be cat's knees.  Or the bee's whiskers. Take your pick.

 

Yes they may be a bit pricier in some instances, and yes they are available in fewer configurations, but they do seem to solve all the innate LiPo safety problems, and handily beat LiFe batteries in terms of power density.  I'm willing to take a punt on them!

The only issue is I just bought a LiPo / LiFe charger.   Some of the sales blurb on the batteries mentions it's fine to use LiPo chargers, but some forum posts says not.  Some of the chargers are marked specifically as Li-Ion compatible, but others say .. nothing.

 

So what's the story?

 

Edit:. Just watched a video with a guy from Titan saying normal lipo chargers are fine.   Which was nice.

 

I charge my Titan Li-Ion batteries with the same charger I use for my LiPos (Accucell S60). They're all basically the same chemistry at the end of the day, the bit that is a touch confusing is that when you get a Titan battery it has "CHARGE ONLY" on a label on the balance lead and "DISCHARGE ONLY" on a label on the main power connector. Thing is that my charger won't balance charge unless BOTH are connected. Hasn't burnt the house down yet though.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Yeah I'm taking the plunge (well it's not much of a risk really) and buying the Titan 7.4v Li-Lion 3000mAH stick battery.  It'll fit in all my guns (once I've rewired to Deans), and I reckon I'd be able to play through the day quite easily with the one battery.  Good stuff