Had a lipo fire in the house. Sharing my experience for others to learn from

[milehighspeed]

Thank goodness this turned out ok. Scary reminder. Now I’m rethinking what else I can do to be extra cautious. This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure. And I have a small notch for the wires which who knows

 

[RC-RAD]

Sorry yo hear about the fire.. glad you n your family are safe though.


I have the same venom charger, have noticed last few times upon starting to charge batts that it produces an odd sound like something is jammed n it won’t charge (maybe the fans inside?) I have to unplug it (there is no power button??) 2-4x than it’ll finally start charging right.

Have you had this issue at all ?

Definitely had that issue. Also done the same, unplugged and plugged it back in. Not sure if it’s the charger or the battery. Tough to say but I’m leaning on battery.

Thinking of getting a better charger as I didn’t like that buzzing sound of the charger when that occurs.

Thank goodness this turned out ok. Scary reminder. Now I’m rethinking what else I can do to be extra cautious. This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure. And I have a small notch for the wires which who knows View attachment 193135

I was thinking about going that route. Seems okay. I’m now cautious of the smoke the lipos expel when it burst. Which is why I’m going towards a bat safe in a steel cabinet.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Thank goodness this turned out ok. Scary reminder. Now I’m rethinking what else I can do to be extra cautious. This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure. And I have a small notch for the wires which who knows View attachment 193135

Lmao this is DIY at its finest!! Just invest in the batt box bro!!

 

[milehighspeed]

Lmao this is DIY at its finest!! Just invest in the batt box bro!!

Yep, might well be time. I have no doubts about the CMUs ability to absorb heat and contain the fire but smoke and gas…not so much.

 

[MambaSenton]

Ok good to know, and yea I hear ya!. It worked flawless for months than started doing that pretty much everytime I go to charge a 3/6s pack .

Thx for reply and safe future charging!

 

[Adiabatic]

This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure.

There is one way to find out: sacrifice a LiPo and do a burn test (outside).

It looks like it should be alright and better than nothing. If that's a ceramic tile on the bottom it should deal with the heat well and insulate the surface beneath. The concrete blocks shouldn't burn but may crack when heated. The biggest issue with a set up like this is lack of soot filtering and gas cooling as it jets out of whatever hole you've made for the charge leads. Bat-Safe seals the charge leads with a rubber wire way and has several large filtered vents. Your set up will most likely shoot heated, flammable gases (mostly hydrogen, carbon monoxide, various hydrocarbons according to this paper) outside the enclosure which may still be hot enough to ignite upon contact with air, and will be carrying a bunch of black soot that will end up all over nearby surfaces.

Ammo boxes are similar in that they will contain some of the heat and reduce the probability of a fire by cooling the gases as they vent out around the lid, but will still get very hot, can still start nearby surfaces on fire, and don't do much soot filtering (lots of video demonstrations of YT). Still better than nothing and definitely superior to those cheap LiPo bags as well.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Yep, might well be. I have no doubts about the CMUs ability to absorb heat and contain the fire but smoke and gas…not so much.

Well then u should watch the video, filters it out!!

 

[Speedy!]

Wow, as someone new to this hobby I'm definitely gonna stop just charging mine on top of the work bench. I always stay with them while they charge, but will do the ammo can deal at a minimum. I keep mine in a detached garage but it houses my Hellcat and tools etc so no bueno if it caught fire.

 

[slick2500]

That really sucks. Thankfully you were able to catch it in time man.

Thank goodness this turned out ok. Scary reminder. Now I’m rethinking what else I can do to be extra cautious. This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure. And I have a small notch for the wires which who knows View attachment 193135

I have a setup similar to this for destroying bad/old lipos.

 

[TheBadazz]

Wow glad you had no damage. I store mines in ammo cans, but I think I'll pickup another for charging. Drill a few holes on the side for my charge lead and balance plug. Or at least a steel tool box. And charge outside only.

I'll probably get a bat-safe also. Only $60 at Amain I have $20 in credit there.

 

[milehighspeed]

That really sucks. Thankfully you were able to catch it in time man.





I have a setup similar to this for destroying bad/old lipos.

That really sucks. Thankfully you were able to catch it in time man.





I have a setup similar to this for destroying bad/old lipos.

What are your observations with the set up since it sounds like you’ve actually set some lipos off in it?

 

[slick2500]

What are your observations with the set up since it sounds like you’ve actually set some lipos off in it?

Oh none of them have ever started on fire or let out any sort of smoke, yet, most of the time they do nothing sometimes they puff up. When I say destroy them I mean I connect a 12v car lightbulb to them and let them drain out. I just use that incase something does happen.

 

[Tex Koder]

Thank goodness this turned out ok. Scary reminder. Now I’m rethinking what else I can do to be extra cautious. This is my set up. The 1” of concrete seems good but I have no way of knowing for sure. And I have a small notch for the wires which who knows View attachment 193135

Well, that's one way of doing it!
You should get that cracked&exposed charging cable fixed though.

In fact, I would suggest you get a New longer extension charge cable so it' can reach further into your cinder block.
And, like others mentioned invest in a lipo safe bag too.

 

[Senton_Prime]

Well, that's one way of doing it!
You should get that cracked&exposed charging cable fixed though.

In fact, I would suggest you get a New longer extension charge cable so it' can reach further into your cinder block.
And, like others mentioned invest in a lipo safe bag too.

Screw the bag!!

 

[RC-RAD]

Wow, as someone new to this hobby I'm definitely gonna stop just charging mine on top of the work bench. I always stay with them while they charge, but will do the ammo can deal at a minimum. I keep mine in a detached garage but it houses my Hellcat and tools etc so no bueno if it caught fire.

I’d suggest if you go ammo can to also use a lipo bag inside. Just for that added protection and to reduce the smoke.

 

[Speed/267]

Glad you and the family are ok. That’s definitely scary.
That’s one reason why the wife isn’t getting a Tesla and parking it in the garage. I can’t imagine how devastating that would be

 

[Doom!]

I'm not worried about flames, I charge on a fireproof surface, but lipo smoke is some toxic stuff. @RC-RAD Glad yor mishap wasn't serious. Always an eye opener when these things happen.

 

[stevenwm]

Thank you for sharing
Glad you and your family are ok

Was wondering if anyone uses the Spektrum s2100 charger with the Batt-Safe charging box

The Spektrum charging cables are only about 5-6” inches
Seems like the cord wouldn’t be long enough

Anyone have experience with these

 

[RC-Dude]

Inside a lipo safe with fire extinguisher granules. Using Extover. Have several lipo safe boxes.

 

[N.Mango]

We all need our own personal firefighter!