Originally Posted by XtremeJ

Thanks to the folks who have posted good info in this thread.

Originally Posted by bgaidan

Oh, I can get them online all day long. I just don't like paying $20+ per can when you can usually get them for $8.

I'm thinking I may have a metal toolbox that would fit the bill until I'm somewhere where I can find a good surplus store again.

I don't like the idea of storing all of them in the same box either. If one goes, I lose $300 worth of lipos.

Originally Posted by makya

you can also just use a cash box, like the ones they sell at walmart.
they also carry ammo cans at walmart: Blackhawk Ammo Can, 30 Caliber - Walmart.com

Originally Posted by bgaidan

I really need to find some ammo cans...nobody seems to sell them locally. Especially now that I just got about a dozen 3 and 4s lipos from 3DR's clearance sale and I have several on the bench that are a little puffy.

I had an 1800 3s drop to 6v on me this weekend. It's been puffed up for a while and I just kept it around to power stuff on the ground if needed. After seeing it go that low, I salvage the power lead off of it and then threw it on the driveway, repeatedly...trying to make it go critical. Even hit it with a hammer a couple times. Never did anything.

I have a couple more 6000 3s in the mail, which will bring me up to about 20 total in the 3000 - 6000mAh range each.


I have another 3000 3s that I was using to power my vid tx while I was trying to set it up on the bench. It wasn't charged very much when I started using it and I forgot how long I had it plugged in, but it's dropped pretty low too...about 2.8v per cell. Not puffy though. I may try to restore that one...in the middle of the driveway with an extension cord!

Originally Posted by XtremeJ

Thanks

swell is slight, and the battery is firm to the touch.

Part of me wants to put it on a charger and run current into it until it explodes and burns down the entire state. The other (cheap bastard) part of me wants to just get as many cycles as I can before it is toast

Originally Posted by 87manche

some swell is normal over the life of a pack.
It should still be firm to the touch.

When it feels like it's a balloon, then it's puffed to the point of being dangerous.

just make sure that you don't latch the ammo box, or at least drill some good sized holes in the top to let it vent if one goes wrong.

Originally Posted by Alpine4x4

Be smart about it and educate yourself and it's not an issue.

Originally Posted by DWT

Nope, I don't recommend "bump starting" a lipo either but fuggit, I had to try it.


Edit:

As far as skateboard park running my exo is a fawking blast! There is a park in a podunk town near me with a bad ass park that has a 10' tube you can do loops in or drive over. It's a riot but hard on parts.

Originally Posted by DWT

I've used the nihm setting on my $30 chicom charger to bring back a dead lipo. If it's too low of voltage the charger won't recognize it. 15 seconds on nimh and it'll bring it back.


I have 2 pit bull dogs so I obviously live in fear that they will attack me in my sleep while my chicom lipos burn the house down around me.

Originally Posted by DWT

Yup a guy on rc-crawler had a lipo go bad while in an ammo can full of lipos and all it did was discolor the paint on the outside and melt the hard case of the battery next to it. His house didn't burn down and the bus full of orphans driving in front of his house survived just fine.

Originally Posted by bgaidan

Ammo cans are more than enough to contain the potential fire. No need to go crazy with a fireproof "safe". These fires burn hot and fast. If they don't have any other fuel to keep them going, they're done in a minute or two. An ammo can has no problem containing that.

Originally Posted by bgaidan

Ammo cans are more than enough to contain the potential fire. No need to go crazy with a fireproof "safe". These fires burn hot and fast. If they don't have any other fuel to keep them going, they're done in a minute or two. An ammo can has no problem containing that.

Originally Posted by y2kmxz

I just got back into RC's about 2 years ago with my son. I've been charging the Lipo's in the garage on the work bench. On the way home tonight I stopped at the local hobby shop and purchased a lipo charging bag. Going to set up an area for Lipo storage and charging, and will be getting a fire proof document box or equivalent for transporting. It might be excessive, but what happened to the Clifford family and the info provided in these posts has convinced me to take the extra steps.

Originally Posted by CDA 455

Frickin' A-men to your first point.


What's the reason, with your last point ?

I hardly drive my DD any more due to commuting by bicycling and now being retired. It sits 90% of the time now.

Originally Posted by spot4me

they are supposedly "environmentally friendly", but lets get real and figure that they are def not 100% good for the environment.

All it takes is one person to not prepare it for the landfill by discharging it completely or tossing one in that damaged but still has juice and it could still cause a fire. Why not treat it like other batteries and take it to Lowes or Best Buy or a similar place that will take it?

Originally Posted by camo

So educate us, What are the ramifications of throwing a battery in the trash ?

Originally Posted by makya

there always have been. It's the same as buying alkalines at the dollar store vs. buying top of the line energizers.

EDIT: I just realized how much I've been dominating this thread. If you guys want me to back off just tell me.

If not, a little background:
I've been in the r/c hobby since 1985, when I was 11. I started racing in 1986 and got my first sponsorship in 1989. I've built, customized and worked on r/c cars since 1991, off and on, as a side business. I raced regionally in Northern california in ROAR,NORRCA and the defunct R/C AMA circuits. To do that, I've had to learn how to maintain my vehicles, both the mechanics of them and the electronics. I have been running scalers/crawlers for the last few years, but will be getting back into racing next month.

Batteries are extremely important to that aspect, and will make or break a race. The basics are the same as running the old NiMh batteries:

You want the cells to have the same output, duration, and internal resistance. If you have one cell that is weaker than the others, it will create a bottleneck at that connection and build up heat. Build up enough heat, and it becomes unstoppable, rupturing the seal on the pack, and catching fire. I've done it with both NiMh and LiPo batteries. The difference is that the LiPo burns much hotter.