Lipo Sacks: Necessity or scam?

[crazydave]

Alright so initially Lipos made me really paranoid, because of the things I've seen on the internets, and the warning sheet that came with my Losi battery made me feel as if it was a bomb ready to explode, and use at your own risk. I really thought I needed a Lipo sack, not just for charging, but for storage too, wouldn't want a battery going off on the shelf. I tried to buy a Lipo sack then, but apparently I'm not the only one whose paranoid, because they were sold out everywhere, at the time.

Since then I've gotten over my paranoia. Mostly because I've taken my iPod apart and seen the Lipo in it, and I have abused that battery for the last two years. I just charge whenever, usually when I drain it all the way down. Then I'll just charge it for however long I have time for. I figure if the batteries can handle that, and they're using them in toys now too, then with proper cycling and storage, there should be no risk what so ever, but now I'm seeing Lipo sacks from MaxAmps, Racers Edge, and Trinity. Now I have to ask, is this really necessary, or are these companies just cashing in on our paranoia that has been programmed into us?

[betty.k]

i think lipo sacks are a "just in case" measure. if you use a proper lipo charger then (i think) you should have no worries. the fancy curcuittry is geared up to preventing overcharging/explosion shit.

it's just that when (and if) a lipo cell blows out it releases all of it's energy at once and will burn until the energy is gone. no matter what you do.

but surely you've thrown an alkaline cell into a fire, you saw what happened........






(famous last words?)

[Murdoch]

I just use an ammo box.

[sidewinder]

Since then I've gotten over my paranoia. Mostly because I've taken my iPod apart and seen the Lipo in it, and I have abused that battery for the last two years....

I can't think of any good reason to worry about them, unless they are made by Sony or Apple...wait, who makes the iPod? :
Treated for second-degree burns

A 12-year old Michigan boy was burned Wednesday morning when his Sony PSP caught on fire while in his pants pocket.

The incident took place at Warner Middle School in Farmington Hills. Harold Clay was in band class when he felt the device get hot. "He said it wasn't a gradual heat. It really started heating up. He's always been taught, burn-fire-smoke, you drop and you roll. So, he was in band class and he dropped and rolled," Shelia Clay, the boys mother told ClickOn Detroit.


The device burned through his jean pocket and melted to his skin. He was treated at the hospital for second-degree burns to the leg and was able to return to school that afternoon. "It was unbelievable, because it wasn't on. It was just in his pocket," said the victim's father, Harold Clay. The name of the game inside the player was called Burn Out.

Ed Kang, spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said there were no recalls of the Sony PSP. On Sony's Web site it recommends owners of the PSP to use only PSP battery packs and charging devices "that meet out quality standards to avoid hazards such as firing or explosion. Using batteries with such protective devices may cause a failure or an accident." http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/ ... y-sony-psp
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Apple, Sony agree to pay out over battery fire lawsuit

Does anybody remember the Great Laptop Battery Recall of 2006? We sure do. Big companies like Dell, Toshiba, and Apple all issued recalls over their Sony-made batteries within a few months of each other after reports began to spread about random battery fires and explosions all over the world. Sony itself finally issued a global li-ion battery recall in September of 2006. The reason was to address "recent overheating incidents" that had caused computer manufacturers to recall close to 10 million units. http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/ ... awsuit.ars
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Sorry Dave, sometimes I just can't help myself.

[ibjamn]

Someone on here posted about those sacks...... I tried the search, but didn't find it. It was showing an actual pack in it's worst case scenario, and why a sack is needed.

[crazydave]

Thanks SW, now I need a Lipo sack for my iPod.

[sidewinder]

Better than having it melt down and attach itself to your sack.

[Murdoch]

end up in a circus sideshow if that happened.

[frizzen]

Get a Milsurp 30 or 50 Cal. ammo can (don't need the gasket in lid), a bag of sand, and some Ziplock bags. Paint it pretty, put sand in bags, line can with bags, battery in can, hook battery to charger, put one more bag of sand over battery.

If battery in can cooks off, bags melt, sand covers your Class D fire. Fire burns itself out, and dispose of properly

[crazydave]

Get a Milsurp 30 or 50 Cal. ammo can (don't need the gasket in lid), a bag of sand, and some Ziplock bags. Paint it pretty, put sand in bags, line can with bags, battery in can, hook battery to charger, put one more bag of sand over battery.

If battery in can cooks off, bags melt, sand covers your Class D fire. Fire burns itself out, and dispose of properly

I already keep the bags of sand around.

[frizzen]

Please note, that frizzen has not yet tried these method, however of everything I've read it seems as protective, if not more, so than a bag made of what looks like either fiberglass or aramid.
Also, frizzen only runs nimh in his big stuff, and has only a few small 1s Li-Pos in stuff.
Also, I didn't phrase it properly, I ment if you go the ammo-can route, make sure you do NOT leave the gasket in the lid.

If one does cook off, I'd feel more secure in cutting/yanking the charger cables, slamming the lid, grabbing the sand lined ammo can and taking it outside; than I would about one in a fiberglass bag. But then again, never been a big fan of toxic fumes in the house, so I'd probably try to charge outside to begin with.

Finishing (holes don't go all the way through) Concrete or Cinder blocks, Ceramic flowerpots, with bags of sand have also been reported to be good options.

Also found this:
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-ro ... -10-a.html" target="_blank

[sidewinder]

I wonder how hard it would be to provoke one of these demon batteries to catch fire? It might be a great service to people about to lose their house to foreclosure..."gee mr insurance agent, I have no idea of how the fire started. I put my 'toy truck' battery on the charger and went to the store. As far as I know I didn't have anything else electric running. You don't suppose a battery could cause a fire do you?"

[crazydave]

I wonder how hard it would be to provoke one of these demon batteries to catch fire? It might be a great service to people about to lose their house to foreclosure..."gee mr insurance agent, I have no idea of how the fire started. I put my 'toy truck' battery on the charger and went to the store. As far as I know I didn't have anything else electric running. You don't suppose a battery could cause a fire do you?"

From what I read, it's actually not that easy. First you'd have to way over charge or over discharge it, then the battery gets really hot. Then it swells. Then if you're lucky it might leak, then if your really lucky it just might explode when the gel makes contact with air, but from what I understand the whole process takes like 30-40 minutes, so there should be time to react, and I monitor my batteries closely, so I just don't let them get hot in the first place. They are barely warm when they peak.


I try to charge outside, but during the summer, when it's 120 out, it just seems safer to do it in the air conditioning.

[sidewinder]

Got you toss 'em on the ground a few times to crack the case, charge them to peak, then re-charge and go for ice cream.

[Murdoch]

set your ice charger to 4 cells, 9000 mah..... and then watch the fireworks.