LiPo fire

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Steve Landeau told us about his 'incident' in his garage:

I thought I'd pass along some photos of my little fire today. I didn't get pics of the flames... I figured I'd get rid of them asap, but they were a good foot tall. Yes, one of my LiPo's caught fire today while charging. I was lucky in a few ways.. 1) to have been home, 2) I was not sleeping 3) I was not standing anywhere near it. When it blew up, it spit burning, sticky debris all over the countertop. The goo landed on a new 8103 which also caught fire, a couple of other LiPos sitting next to the charger, the charger (caught fire), a NiCd battery which shorted and burned too when the goo melted the wire insulation, all over the top of the Patriot that I just bought back yesterday, and a couple sails hanging up next to the countertop.  The message.... NEVER, EVER charge LiPos unattended.

Ken Binks offered some comments:

The low weight of LiPos (achieved partly by the fact that components are NOT in a metal can, which is a safety issue) and tremendous power output are truly attractive, especially for winch type power demands.  I just think we cannot stress too highly the risks if the safety instructions are not adhered to.  And if catastrophic consequences can happen even if you follow the rules, then a BANG BAG must be used when charging.  Steve's pictures convey a napalm-type goo going everywhere, which a BANG BAG would contain.  LiPos need a special charger. And, never allow a LiPo cell to discharge below 3V.

2010-04-05


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