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No idea who that is. But I am a fan of Mike Rowe:
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2009/08/safety-third-huh/
It Can Happen...and It can Happen FAST
- Thread starter garlandk
- Start date
No idea who that is. But I am a fan of Mike Rowe:
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2009/08/safety-third-huh/
Jetpainter
640cc Uber Pimp
Some people are just battery problem magnets. Back in the eighties when I started flying there were two guys at the field that were Nazis about cycling nicads. They both preached how you just had to cycle your batteries constantly. They had more battery problems between the two of them than any ten people combined at the field. I had one nicad pack fail back then which I caught before flying. I never saw either of those two guys plug a voltmeter in and check ever.
Common sense will save you from a lot of things. But it's been my experience that it's not that common.
Common sense will save you from a lot of things. But it's been my experience that it's not that common.
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
I know what you mean. I had "ONE" pack fail way back when I started flying. And it could have happened to anyone. Bought a brand new 6.0 volt NiCad for my new plane.... charged it once then cycled it once and took a volt reading. Looked good and went flying. Into the flight about three minutes, I lost all power and yes, lost the plane as well. Upon examining the wreckage, I checked the battery. No volts. Took everything home, opened up the battery.... lost one cell completely. Rebuilt that pack to a 4.8 volt and ended up using it in a trainer for over a year until I sold it. I honestly have not lost a single battery since. It's kind of funny too. This one individual that I have spoken of has only been flying, "ELECTRIC" planes for just two years. In fact, only flying for two years. But boy, walk up to him and he is a "Book of knowledge" pertaining to batteries and the do's and the don'ts. LOL
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
LOL...right? Love your avatar by the way.:winking-thumbs-up-s
the OP did not mention:
1. what charger he was using
2. what brand batteries he was charging
3. what rate he was charging at
&
4. which charge mode it was on
not that this changes anything, since as has been mentioned
safety comes 1st
always charge the batteries in an area that is safe (as has been mentioned)
and, most of all
always remain near by while charging the batteries.
with that said, i would be interested to know what the answer to 1 thru 4 is??
i can tell you this, i do not charge any batteries inside my house.
i usually will charge my batteries night before or morning of
and i will charge them in my trailer or outside, and use an extension cord.
meanwhile, i will be near by, in open view, doing something else like tinkering with something else, but i can always listen to charger as it makes it beeps when it reaches 50% and then 90% and then 100%.
inside my house and garage, there are no chargers. this way, i am never even tempted to try and charge inside the house.
i also use a cell pro power lab 8 charger.
and i also never charge above 1C
and i always balance charge
it is just very disturbing to me that someone has a problem like this, it helps to remind us all of how dangerous these batteries can be. however, i believe, and i may be wrong, if you follow some basic guidelines and principles, this "fire" can be avoided.,
and thus, my last sentence is the reason for my post. are you all telling me, that even if you follow the basic guidelines for charging LIPO batteries safely, it can still cause a battery to fail during charging and cause swelling and possibly even a fire (chance of that occurring being 0.2%)?
1. what charger he was using
2. what brand batteries he was charging
3. what rate he was charging at
&
4. which charge mode it was on
not that this changes anything, since as has been mentioned
safety comes 1st
always charge the batteries in an area that is safe (as has been mentioned)
and, most of all
always remain near by while charging the batteries.
with that said, i would be interested to know what the answer to 1 thru 4 is??
i can tell you this, i do not charge any batteries inside my house.
i usually will charge my batteries night before or morning of
and i will charge them in my trailer or outside, and use an extension cord.
meanwhile, i will be near by, in open view, doing something else like tinkering with something else, but i can always listen to charger as it makes it beeps when it reaches 50% and then 90% and then 100%.
inside my house and garage, there are no chargers. this way, i am never even tempted to try and charge inside the house.
i also use a cell pro power lab 8 charger.
and i also never charge above 1C
and i always balance charge
it is just very disturbing to me that someone has a problem like this, it helps to remind us all of how dangerous these batteries can be. however, i believe, and i may be wrong, if you follow some basic guidelines and principles, this "fire" can be avoided.,
and thus, my last sentence is the reason for my post. are you all telling me, that even if you follow the basic guidelines for charging LIPO batteries safely, it can still cause a battery to fail during charging and cause swelling and possibly even a fire (chance of that occurring being 0.2%)?
stangflyer
I like 'em "BIG"!
I think you're right on the money with what you said. A certain thought comes to mind when I read the input from everyone. Sure, there have been some fires and such. But I still think that a battery chemistry and the battery in general are only as dangerous as "we" the users make them to be. I was once pointed at and snootingly under the breath talked about because of my flying style. Sorry, I do like IMAC and precision flying, I do like 3D alot. I am so past just running race tracks in the sky or burning circle patterns in the clouds just so I can be "ONE OF THE CLICK" guys and fit in. Wrong oh...buck-o. "Those big gasser planes aren't supposed to fly like that"! "They're dangerous"! I totally believe that the safety of the plane is totally determined upon the skills and the competency of the pilot. Guns don't kill people do they?
reyn3545
100cc
OK... as long as we're cleansing our souls about stupid battery tricks.....
I crashed a brand new 91" EF Extra on Sunday, just lost orientation for a second at the wrong time. We went out to pick up the pieces, and since there were so many pieces, one of the first things I did was unplug the batteries and put them in my pants pocket. They were A123's. About 30 seconds later, one of the guys helping out said that my pants were on fire! I looked down, and smoke was coming up through my pocket! I reached in as quickly as I could, pulled the battery out and threw it on the ground.
As it turned out, the charge wires (just servo wires) had stripped in the crash, and they were shorting together in my pocket, melting and smoking the insulation. On top of crashing my plane, that scared the schidt out of me! Needless to say, not my best day at the field.
I crashed a brand new 91" EF Extra on Sunday, just lost orientation for a second at the wrong time. We went out to pick up the pieces, and since there were so many pieces, one of the first things I did was unplug the batteries and put them in my pants pocket. They were A123's. About 30 seconds later, one of the guys helping out said that my pants were on fire! I looked down, and smoke was coming up through my pocket! I reached in as quickly as I could, pulled the battery out and threw it on the ground.
As it turned out, the charge wires (just servo wires) had stripped in the crash, and they were shorting together in my pocket, melting and smoking the insulation. On top of crashing my plane, that scared the schidt out of me! Needless to say, not my best day at the field.