# LiPo's catching fire



## OHrcr (Nov 7, 2010)

I made the switch to Lipo batt's and everything I got from the batt's to the charger are warning the batt's catching fire and what not. What are the chances of that happening? when can it catch fire... charging, using the car or just sitting on the bench for the week??? Thanks.


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## OvalmanPA (Mar 21, 2000)

Chances.........slim from what I've seen. If you ever read the warnings when we were using round cells you probably saw the same things. It's called the manufacturer covering their butt. Biggest chances of it ever happening is overcharging (wrong mode on charger), a REAL hard impact that would cause a break in the cell, or I believe I've heard of problems when drawing HIGH amperage which would cause a lot of heat. Overall I've seen many more problems with 4600 NiMh batteries than LiPo.


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## swtour (Oct 8, 2001)

OHrcr,

There are precautions w/ LIPOs that most of us have learned and accepted already now. (over the last 3 years or so)

1 - NEVER Charge your battery with anything other than a LIPO Ready Charger. (other chargers WILL charge lipos but won't know when to shut off - THIS WILL cause a lipo to swell and/or catch fire.

2 - NEVER Over Discharge your lipos. If you are a basher (vs. a racer) when you feel the power start to drop off - SWITCH or CHARGE your pack.

3 - ALWAYS disconnect your batteries when not in use. (NEVER LEAVE THEM PLUGGED IN) over discharging can/will cause them to swell and/or catch fire.

4 - ALWAYS inspect your pack for signs of swelling. (some small amounts seem normal over time, but a more than small amount of swelling - get rid of that pack.)


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## OHrcr (Nov 7, 2010)

Ok, good. So I have some hard case lipos. anything special to look for since I cant see the actual cells?


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## bojo (May 6, 2002)

THe hard case will swell also. If there is something wrong


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## OHrcr (Nov 7, 2010)

ok. good deal, so I live in NE OH and was wondering if I leave the batt's in my car while i'm at work will the cold have any effect on them if I'm headed to the track after work?? and does only running the batts for 10-15 min then recharging them hurt them? of do I need to run them longer before a recharge should be done.?? Thanks.


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## Benracin' (Apr 23, 2007)

Not a good idea to leave them in your vehicle outside for any length of time, this will cause them to discharge below the recommended low voltage.


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## munsonator08 (May 9, 2009)

dont leave them in extreme heat, or extreme cold for extended periods of time. it will degrade the packs, and like said above, they will drop off. 

running the packs for 10 minutes or so will not affect the performance of the pack. This would be a normal cycle, as you would either practice or race, then return to pits and recharge them. if they are warm, let them cool off, then recharge. if they are room temp, you can recharge them after a run. 

I recharge my packs after each run. race for 5-8 minutes, marshall, then the batteries go back on the charger.


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## ohiorcracer (Jan 27, 2002)

I charge my packs on a ice charger and set it at 8000 mah and charge at 5 amps and it does take longer but the batteries work great. I leave it in my car plugged in and I always charge my packs before I go to the track so I can run when I get there. I was out of racing for 3 years and when I came back lipo was in and I was clueless but I have found it to be very convient.


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## edward 2 (Oct 6, 2010)

is the nano-tech li-po any good , i see the price is low.

i wonder if brushless esc will ever drop to the prices of brush escs?


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## smoothie (Mar 23, 2004)

the key point is to make sure you always use a quality lipo charger.
If you are still concerned about the battery, they make lipo safe bags that would prevent a fire from spreading in a case of a fire. You LHS should probably have these. I have seen some tracks that make you charge in these lipo-safe bags for safety concern


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## 4ThePinkRacing (Apr 30, 2010)

ohiorcracer said:


> I charge my packs on a ice charger and set it at 8000 mah and charge at 5 amps and it does take longer but the batteries work great. I leave it in my car plugged in and I always charge my packs before I go to the track so I can run when I get there. I was out of racing for 3 years and when I came back lipo was in and I was clueless but I have found it to be very convient.


http://cdrcracing.com/
about half way down is someone who left there lipos in there sprint car.. a grand burnt to the ground... 

just some info is all .. as u wish u do .. i learned fast form this .. 

not sure on reason this happen i was at the track where this happen .. 
we think being it was an ice chrager and in racing in hurry that the chrager was in nickle mode not lipo but again we not 100% sure 

if you have a ice chrager or one with memory set the memorys to lipo on all and a few mha below ur pack .. this way if you hit chrage n chrager jumps memory or whatever ur safer then if not and its in nickle mode


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