Don't let the🔥out! An FPV pilot's guide to basic LiPo safety

[@justinslaight]

I like to parallel charge bc my time is important to me. I’ll run a couple boards at once on a couple chargers. But I keep my packs together, all the ones I bought at the same time and date them. I just sit there, watch and feel them through the charge to keep a sense of whether the packs are not getting warm or smoking or puffing. Great video BaconNinja! As usual! 👊👊

[@fp-AvERY]

I now have the urge to go home and make sure my house is not on fire 😅. Great video, super informative! Keep the good work up!

[@AtradiesInc]

Ummm yea I fly everyday and been doing it for a year. I have had 4 packs catch fire. My charger looks like it came out of a apocalypse. Don't ever ever ever ever charge without being next to them or locking them in a grill or military ammo box. BTW I had NO WARNING but a couple of crackles of the packs plastic.

[@colincouperthwaite6299]

At work with anxiety right now😂 I never charge when I’m not home but I’m nervous they are going to start charging them selfs now and burn down my house. Good video lol thanks!

[@dondupuis4007]

Thanks!

[@megadony93]

CNHL packs are my favorite ones. They do have really stable chemistry in my opinion.

[@amin0_acid310]

No joke, I just tossed my parallel board about the time this video posted looking at the time stamp. Safely paralel charged 4x 4s 1500mah Lipos, went to charge 2x 4s 450's and noticed one cell's voltage dropping fast as I pluged the second battery (I'm using the same charger, love it!). I was able to save tha betteries but I'm keeping an eye on these two. Balance boards are awesome, and great, until they aren't. Got lucky not using them anymore.

[@William_NS]

I really like the RC Hackers packs! They're inexpensive, hold up okay, and are pretty light. I also love my speedy pizzas!

[@MallyFPV]

Another thing to mention is individual cell internal resistance, if I notice that one cell has gotten a much higher IR that the others the pack gets instantly binned. It won’t balance properly and each time its discharged/charged that cell will be put under stress from the other cells with lower IR. The lipo becomes essentially a ticking time bomb at that point.

[@Bucketheadzie]

I would also suggest storage charging at 0.5 amps unless the charger is rated higher. I found this one out the hard way , but fortunately just burned up the charger. Some chargers Ike the HOTA D6 default to this when storage is selected.

[@clifffield1]

I have heard over and over again that disposing of a lipo in a land fill is "very bad". However, if the battery is discharged fully, it poses no more environmental risk than most other waste in a land fill (plastic, metals, and some 'chemical compounds' that are contained in a LOT of other items that get thrown out - and yes, "landfills bad" etc, I get it). I asked around about this as you hear that old chestnut of "water and lithium" not mixing well - which is true - apart from the fact that our lipos use a lithium compound - not pure lithium and they DO NOT react with water the same way as pure lithium metal (trust me, I tried this for a fourth time the other day with a water spray gun and a disassembled battery with lithium foil exposed - and - nothing - again). Yes, there are other 'chemicals' involved and I want to make it clear that I am NOT condoning anyone throwing stuff out, if it can be recycled. I do think it is worth not guilt-tripping yourself to an early grave if you throw them out as they are not really any worse than most other items that find their way to your local landfill - so don't think you're a bad person for doing so. I discharge mine, then physically destroy them (normally squash them into nothing with a plastic mallet), then throw them out - because no organisations near me recycles them - I spoke to my local refuse centre and they had no idea at all - couldn't event tell me where to ask. Cheers Mr Ninja for the content. I'm in the "parallel charging is OK if you don't make a mistake" camp.

[@mssippijim]

Lowe's stores have battery disposal units that I have used before, being very careful to avoid any potential of connections shorting, etc.

[@vberz4778]

Destroyed Lipo are used to make higher purity Lipo batteries than from raw materials. Same with electronics. Same with steel. Getting raw materials are hard and puring them are even harder.

[@Reyes_Garcia]

I am with you regarding parallel loading. I recently had a big scare with it, luckily it was just a scare. But the first of 4 6s lipo batteries overheated because of too much amperage and exploded, taking the other 3 with it. I found the video very good. I would have liked to see this video when I started.

[@MCsCreations]

Excellent tips, dude! Thanks a bunch!!! 😃 Yeah, I've heard of people losing everything in lipo fires... That's definitely not fun stuff. 😬 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@lambo_drives]

14:57 uht.... that's MY first charger.... Definitely need to look at a Hota 😊

[@Fistful_of_Mana]

You're awesome, thanks for the jam packed, concise info!

[@JohnCuppi]

13:04 well said. It’s not even a matter of opinion, parallel charging has an increased risk surface over single cell charging. One thing you didn’t touch on with parallel charging is that besides voltage, they should all be around the same resistance levels too. Mixing packs of too varying resistances can be really dangerous, and is often overlooked. It is yet another thing that you need to be checking to “safely” parallel charge. I’ll parallel charge outdoors, but not inside my house. I thought it would never happen to me until a JB strix board lit up.

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

yeah, no doubt it is way more dangerous than single channel charging! I did intentionally leave out a lot about internal resistance, but that was mostly because the specifics of accurately measuring it and how it changes during charge state and cell size seemed way more confusing to talk about than I wanted this particular video to be, lol. But for sure that is a big thing to look out for too! More resistance means more heat, which means more gas generated, and that leads to real potential issues. I had an ISDT parallel board for a long time with the built in fuses, but boy oh boy was it a pain to constantly monitor the packs for health just so I could make it anywhere near safe. Glad you are doing yours out doors! If you are going to do it, I highly recommend it not being in the house.

[@danjensen9425]

I charge outside when parallel charging and plug in the balance plugs first for awhile. But I recently bought a bunch of li-ion batteries for long distance and a couple for my HDZero goggles. Is there a difference in charging li-ions?

[@LobstersLobsters]

October 28th is now officially National Day To Throw Out Your Parallel Charge Board Because They're Dangerous... Day.

[@DINSTAAR-FPV]

Great info! Thank you for posting! ✌🏾 ❤

[@christhorney]

the risk with parellel charging is if one balance lead doesnt get plugged in properly, the other packs will hide it and you risk overcharging what ever cell isnt connected and thats the fire risk more than anything -driftingS13

[@msky33]

Good information as always. I don't remember if I have commented on any of your videos in the past. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate and enjoy your videos brother!

[@richardburrows1610]

Really good video about lipo safety. I learned a lot from this!

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

Thank you!! I am glad it was helpful :)

[@sea_kerman]

another way is do some I=V/R and stick an appropriately ohmed (and watted) resistor in the balance lead.

[@AtradiesInc]

Balance charge to be safe. If it won't balance charge then your taking a big risk because your charger can not watch the cells. If your charger say 5s and it's a 6s you have a potential fire waiting to happen on that next charge

[@gandaulf_fpv6925]

Bardwell all day!!

[@john_h9281]

Great informative video. Thank you👍👍

[@rayang9929]

nice vid, thank you for this info

[@MystikSquash]

Great advice.

[@Mupshot]

I charge my packs in an ammo box, but I need to better line it, because I have had a spark when the balance lead touched the steel. So for now, a flammable towel lines the box, but it's non conductive at least

[@fpvjourney]

Hey, great video! Many thanks. Just got my first (non "smart" / DJI) lipos last week. Is salt water LiPo disposal also not recommended? Thanks

[@pianomans1]

Have you ever heard of people using a metal ammo box to charge their lipos in. I drilled a hole in the side of it and put a rubber grommet to run the power cable for the charger through. Many times I leave the top cracked open to get some air. I'm just curious do you think if I close that top it will get too hot in the box and that can be more trouble. I've had one LiPo go bad while charging. It didn't look bad. It wasn't puffy. It wasn't that old. I have a good charger like the one you showed in the video. But I I'm always near the charger when charging. I heard a little sizzling sound and smelled something a little funny. I grabbed that metal box and ran outside as fast as possible. Scared to live in beges is out of me. A friend told me to put the battery in salt water he said it would discharge the battery safely. Thankfully nothing blew up and there was no fire. But I am curious about your opinion about the charging in an ammo box and the heat if it's closed all the way. Thank you for a great video

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

Ammo box charging is something quite a few people do! usually you have to take some precautions like lining the box and sealing the lid to make it as safe as possible. In reality, I do always worry about heat build up in those things while charging. It should technically be pretty minimal as long as you are doing 1C charging though :)

[@pianomans1]

@@BaconNinjaFPV thanks for the info. When I first got into the hobby, Some one told me that charging at 2c was ok . I've been doing that for about 5 years . I'm going to start charging at 1c. Lastly Does charging at 2c shorten the life of a battery ? Thanks Bud!

[@marmachul]

Hey, can you please make update on the SLA FPV parts printing? Has anything change? Do you still use SLA to print stuff? Did you find something better? I wanna know everything! :D

[@soursham]

Great video,super helpful. Thank you. I put my puffy lipo’s in a plastic bottle with salt water for a couple of days. Is that a thing to do ?

[@pianomans1]

I had a lipo go bad while charging. Started to smell something funny , heard like a sizzling sound. I ran to the charger which I put in a metal ammo box while charging, unplugged it and got it out side as fast as possible. It scarred the hell out of me. A friend told me to put it in salt water for a couple days and that will discharge the battery. That was my first and hopefully only lipo scare. So I believe the saltwater trick does help! If the cells swell enough to tear the plastic cover , it's time to put it to sleep. Happy flying !!

[@mercurymoyes4018]

Flounder spear way safer to puncture packs! Gnb

[@FlyZoneFpv]

Awesome job on this informative video Bud . I agree with everything. Gotta be careful with lipos for sure. Hmmm can we cook back on them when on fire hmm🔥 🤔 😂

[@aarondodson1261]

Is the mars 3 a good charger

[@McShakyFPV]

and never cut both leads at the same time I have a video of what happens when a frozen lipo gets shorted

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

Yeah, aside from the massive short, amp surge, and heat generation...you tend to melt some scissors at the same time! There is literally a whole other video worth of safety tips I need to do, lol....this one was just sooooo long already.

[@LehtusBphree2flyFPV]

I wish they made Bacon ninja batteries. With scratch and sniff of bacon

[@HW_Printing]

I make sure to store my batteries in a metal ammo box. I have 2 of then so I can separate the spicy bois from the new ones so if one decides to kill itself I won't loose them all.

[@Caroline_Tyler]

Errr. Oxygen is not flammable - not at all, what it does is facilitate oxidation....really fast oxidation, that is FIRE!!!!

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

very scientifically accurate!!! You are absolutely correct, im just speaking in generalizations for the benefit of basics as there is plenty of other things in a lipo to be oxidized during combustion :) I appreciate you pointing that out!

[@Caroline_Tyler]

@@BaconNinjaFPV I am technically correct. The best type of correct ;)

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

@@Caroline_Tyler hey, I always appreciate technical correctness! It means you are a smart cookie :)

[@CantFly_FPV]

@BaconNinjaFPV. ​*Technically* it means they are a smart cookie. Also, I thought llpo's were ok to trash after properly destroying them like draining and salt water soak? As for which of your patrons has stabbed a lipo, I am fairly certain I saw a certain youtuber from your patron list stab one in a video. I won't call him out but I know you know I know lol

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

@@CantFly_FPV yes they are "technically" ok to throw in the trash :p but they do have lots of harmful things in them that aren't so good for ground water, like cobalt. They are also pretty hard to get to full discharge using salt water exclusively...unless you let them sit for weeks and make the salt water mix in such a way to ensure full saturation so that it is conductive enough. Always a better bet to ensure destruction electronically and give to a recycler :)

[@DigitalCruzer]

Need a lab coat for these type of videos, and making bacon

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

I whole heartedly agreeeeee!

[@LehtusBphree2flyFPV]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣IKR

[@h2o40fpv]

Yes another great video thank you.Thats why the Elon electric cars if they get on fire run.😅😂😊

[@xORLOCKx]

The dreaded.. thermal runaway! Lipos terrify me.

[@McShakyFPV]

Oxygen itself isn't flammable. Just sayin'

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

Yeah that is absolutely true! Just in this case, there's a ton of things to oxidize on combustion in there. It was for the sake of simplicity :p I appreciate you posting it out though!

[@MrJarrod]

I buy new lipos every year. Just for safety. Better to spend $80 than be homeless.

[@ericseidel4940]

I stopped it when you said that Oxygen is super flammable. No its not. O2 is the Oxident, not the fuel. The point is, there is other flammable materials inside a LIPO, and these flamable materials release gases that can easily catch fire INSIDE the LIPO, without any contact with the outside air. Because any temperature rise inside the battery releases more and more flammable gases AND oxygen, the fire is SELF fueled AND Oxidized from the inside of the battery. For this reason it is very hard to stop.

[@BaconNinjaFPV]

Yes, you are absolutely correct! O2 is the oxidizer and there are tons of things in a lipo to be rapidly oxidized during combustion :) I appreciate the scientific accuracy!

[@LehtusBphree2flyFPV]

Right, a lab coat is what you need making this video