Hi all, I want to make you (more) aware of some potential extreme dangers of using Lithium Polymer (LiPo) or Lithium Ion (LiIon) batteries in a hobby setting. I'll keep this relatively short, and you can write me on list or off list if you wish if you want more data. I'm not talking about LiPo or LiIon batteries like what's in your tablet, cell phone, or laptop. I'm talking about hobby LiPo or LiIon batteries commonly used in rc aircraft, boats, cars, and robots. I've been studying this extensively over the last week in relation to my quadcopter, and I have concluded that there is no safe way to charge and store these things indoors, at least for me. These things are extremely dangerous if they get ticked off, as in crashed, or over charged, or under charged, or shorted even briefly; which they tend to occasioinally do in the applications I mentioned. They can ignite hours after incurring damage with no prior signs of danger. Most hobby batteries don't have safety features lik e the laptop and cell phone ones do, and most are designed for high current rates, which can lead to violent energy release.
They are extremely volatile internally. If you tick one off, the least that will happen is that it will fill your room / house with toxic smoke. But, it may also shoot jets of flame in any direction 3 or more feet away and burn down anything nearby, including your house. I've just returned a 3 cell 2200 mah pack because I don't want it around. There is no place on my property that's "away from combustables". I'm still deciding what to do with a few 500 mah packs I have. In terms of using in rc vechicles, ask yourself what would happen if your vehicle went in an uncontrolled direction and crashed and it was on fire. I'm not trying to convice you to not use LiPo or LiIon batteries necessarily. I AM trying to convince you to thoroughly study the safety if you use them and make a risk reward judgement for yourself and take precautions. Search for lipo fire on both google and youtube. Read through the posts from people who've had incidents. If you want more info about what led me to these conclusions, I'll be glad to provide it. Note, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFe or LFP or LiFePO4) batteries are much safer, but cannot be used in all applications. Sincerely, Ron -- Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail. Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch screen. (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to call on the phone or send again. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.) Ron Frazier 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message. techchatlistinfo AT techstarship.com - blog - techstarship.com Blog RSS: techstarship.com/feed/ _______________________________________________ tech-chat mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxmoose.com/mailman/listinfo/tech-chat
