Is Your LiPo Safe To Charge | WHEN TO THROW IT OUT

[@crudboy12]

I left a 3s plugged in when I was just getting into RC. It was dead as a doorknob the next day. I used NiMh mode to restore it and it seemed to work fine for a little while. (Being used for a hovercraft) I was charging it while watching a youtube video of someone turning a pancake on a lathe and I heard a loud thud and turned over to see several feet of red orange flame coming out of my dresser drawer. I dumped out the contents of the drawer and wrapped them up in a rug to stop the fire, this did not work and the lipo ate it's way through the rug and damaged the floor. (dorm) When it finally stopped burning there was nothing left but some bits of what looked like copper foil, a very destroyed rug, and one unhappy roommate.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

This is why I don't suggest "recovering" dead LiPo :-) Thanks for sharing this example.

[@KyKane]

wow

[@kskmain]

I really want more of these lipo safety contents. I just got into this fascinating hobby but since I started flying quads I can't stop feeling anxious about fire issues.

[@apaxman00]

"OH NO! That's a 6 cell!!" LMAO!! 🤣😂🤣 Your entertainment value alone is worth the patrion... The extra knowledge is just a bonus!

[@salvatoregrillo1227]

omg I'm crying at my desk trying to learn about lipos. What a moment

[@chrisrb7876]

Lmao. As soon as he plugged it in it looked like Jesus just walked in Joshua’s room lol.

[@arjunmelwani4788]

Lol u hang the battery to kill it

[@GearheadENG]

Hung in the closet for a slow and painful death... He had a lot of energy in life and will be sorely missed. He tried lithium treatment and shock therapy for his depression but in the end, it only left him with a damaged brain cell

[@Forzaplayer]

Just like Epstein

[@jameshankssr466]

Finally a video that tells you throw it out and not do something stupid like trying to fix it! The price of a battery is not worth a fire period

[@XZLR8N]

JB: "Don't roll the dice on lipos" (Rolls dice in closet)

[@heroflying]

Honestly, that did actually baffle me. I would in that Le Drib battery still use it, just with precautions well before I'd discharge it inside the closet like that with no fire prevention like a lipo bag. lol

[@fpvwing]

Bash with hammer. Return to Drew for giggles.

[@lukagroot7409]

@@fpvwing I've heard of a guy, I cant remember who but he took his retired lipos into the desert and would do target practise on them ;p the lipo exploding is a nice hitmarker

[@sunshynff]

@@lukagroot7409- I've done that a few times, my buddy has property out in the sticks where he hunts and goes 4-wheeling. We'll gather up all our bad lipos and head out there with our rifles, it's actually more fun shooting them with just a little .22cal round, does just enough damage that come apart pretty violently, bigger calibers sometimes just blow them apart before chemical reaction can start.

[@taattataattataattata]

I got a bucket of saltwater

[@nickmcmahon1458]

I crashed 2 years ago and broke something in my quad and never got around to fixing it. My 3 tattu 4s battery’s sat for the last 2+ years. Two were plugged into a parallel charging board and one by itself. I just bought a diatone f5 after seeing JBs review and tried to charge the batteries up. The one sitting solo was fine at 3.7v per cell. The two in the parallel charging board had two cells at 3.7 and 2 cells at 0... I tried to revive one and it was drained the next day. Glad I saw this video today and they will be going to the great battery place in the sky.

[@chasewalker3924]

Just got into FPV a month or so ago and have learned so much from your videos!!! I knew lipos had a risk of fire so the first thing I bought was a fireproof battery bag. This video also included very informative information and I checking all of my packs tomorrow. Thank you so much!

[@MatMabee]

Those bags do nothing. use a 12x8 and a 13x9 glass baking dish leaving room for ventilation. Contains the fire and heat without expelling anything.

[@TrentTationnaiseXization]

Just had a 1st hand experience with that thumbnail. Got my first FPV setup and no simulator prepared me for this... The bms lead got sucked into my ducted frame and diced up, broke a wall piece, dinged my prop, and punctured a cell! There was definately a fire. 🔥

[@haroldseaman4243]

I'm a noob and Mr. Bardwell is Outstanding!!!! I've been able to progress with confidence and watching his video makes me want to learn more about the hobby!!!!

[@Stygmah]

OH NO THAT'S A SIX CELL! watching this at 1.5 speed was hilarious, but its the only way to watch JB talking videos.. love you JB

[@marcandreasson87]

Fantastic video. I am 100 percent new to lipo Rc fun. Ive seen a few of your videos on lipos. I am very safety conscious about many things in life as we all should be. Thanks for sharing invaluable information on how to know when to retire a lipo. Every newbie and seasoned hobby player ( refresher training ) should have to watch a video like this before they get into the Rc lipo fun. Like a drivers licence.

[@vincentrobinette1507]

If you are discharging a damaged battery, I would recommend discharging through the voltage balancing terminals. Discharging through that low impedance resistor is dangerous, because the weakest cell can be reverse charged by the stronger cells. That GREATLY increases the chances of a conflagration in that cell, which will light all the rest of them. An individual resistor between each of the balancing leads will guarantee that all the cells fully discharge, without reverse charging the cell(s) that's bad. you want to give each cell its own resistor. some cells will take longer to discharge. If that's a .5 Ohm resistor, a 4 s battery will put ~28 amps through it. You don't want to use a value that low, if the battery has a weak cell. The cell will have almost that much resistance, and will surely heat up. It would be better to use 5, or even 10 Ohms or more, to discharge over a longer period of time, to avoid heating weak cells. 1 to 2 Ohms would be appropriate, for discharging individual cells, using the balancing leads. That's definitely the safer way to discharge a battery for disposal.

[@sklobi]

This and your “65 FPV Tricks” video are over a year apart, yet you looked the exact same in each video… same shirt. Haircut. Clean shaven. Same weight. Same everything! Your an ICON in this community, good sir, and we thank u!

[@XZLR8N]

Joshua...please...I can not sleep at night...GET THAT THING OUT OF THAT CLOSET!

[@chiefshalot2986]

What about if it's in a lipo bag,, well I'd say it still cause a fire what a metal bullet box? What's safe nowhere really outside burried

[@crazyrc4610]

My lipo is on my table next to my bed 👀

[@LazerLord10]

Rolled the dice on a CHL 4S that got discharged when I got stuck in a tree. I recovered it, and it held storage within 50mV over the course of 8 months.

[@dirtrider88]

what a nightmare, getting a drone that turned on (obviously) stuck somewhere you cant get to

[@Mediamarked]

I flew a 4s LiPo on the end of its life, down to brownout voltage. Was lucky to make it back to my feet. Picked it off the quad, smelled the insides of the battery on the wrong side. It was HOT, as in, burned a few holes through the shrinkwrap hot. Buried it deep in the sand, with intention of digging it up later in the day when things cooled down. Actually forgot to pick it up, and after 3 years buried underneath the sand, enduring frost and summers heat, I finally found it with a metal detector. The battery was cool, flat, and STILL HAD 3.2V IN 3 OF ITS CELLS! The one cell that was completely flat, had vented via a failed seal in the corner. But the surviving cells still holding a charge, nothing short but amazing. Zippy 1600mAh 35c, what were you made off.

[@DoRC]

Saying youd never leave that discharge setup unattended is an example of good intentions. If there were a valid enough distraction (emergency etc) it would be easy for anyone to forget what they were doing. Since it would be trivially simple to just bring the resistor outside why take the chance? The cells youre discharging are already condemned as faulty. Seems like a bad idea to give them their final discharge in the very place youre trying to protect.

[@thomasmiller6712]

Best way to discharge a lipo is to throw it in a burning fire pit for a few hours. No?

[@sunshynff]

@@thomasmiller6712 No

[@nickdeadman4942]

He said he leaves it hanging there over night in the video

[@Lorduss1]

back in the first years of lipo I remember how many homes and cars were burning down from them, it was way more common than most now realize, I have been in this hobby a long time.

[@FPVJerry]

I used the comparrison the other day of driving on the Highway. Yea you can go over the speed limit. It doesn't mean you'll burst into a ball of fire as soon as you pass that limit bad your chances of getting into a crash goes up.

[@Rowrin]

Whenever I replace laptop batteries for friends/family, the sketchy cells/pack goes into a spare ammo can until I can make the trip to a recycling center. 30 cal ammo cans, new or surplus are typically only a few bucks. Could spread good batteries across a few cans to mitigate loss if one goes supernova and dump sketchy cells into a dedicated 30 or 50 cal can.

[@DoRC]

You missed one of the biggest signs of impending failure which is puffing. In industry offgas detectors are used as an early warning sign of failure and anytime a battery stays puffed its a sign of damage.

[@robwaters3080]

Thanks for the video Josh, this is one of the portions of the hobby that I've always been a bit worried about... and my wife is always pretty freaked out about.

[@dogswhistlesharam9029]

We were told at the CAA drone pilot class if you don’t have a resistor to drain battery befor disposal, a bucket of salt water will do. Put the battery in the salt water completely covered including the connector and leave overnight outside. I’ve done this and it’s totally discharged safely by the morning. A good tip!

[@someonespotatohmm9513]

Yes great idea, lets put a bag full of material that reacts explosively with water in a water bucket XD. Tbh most of the time you will be fine as the cells are supposed to be water tight. But if its physically damaged and somehow not gone up from moisture it will be a nice explosion.

[@faebu8601]

i like the nail method quick and dirty

[@billybbob18]

Everything on that column on the periodic table will react violently with H2O. I made pure sodium once out of sodium hydroxide. There were a few bits of sodium laying on the concrete when I was cleaning it up with the water hose. Tiny fires were EVERYWHERE as the water reacted to form sodium hydroxide again. The first column of the periodic table is sketchy as F.

[@someonespotatohmm9513]

@@billybbob18 : The lower you go the better it gets. Bonus points for Francium its radioactive as well XD.

[@SpicyFPV]

I use a 12V 20W Landscaping light bulb wired to an XT60. Toss the light and battery in an ammo box that has some vent holes and just leave it outside on a gravel pit. Took a near full charge 4S battery with a crap cell (ie 4.18v/4.17v/4.19v/3.64v) down in about 30min. I usually gator clip the leads as a direct short after the light has been off for 5min or so. Claim the balance/XT60 connectors, solder the leads together, trashcan. When you mention some cells being lower than others, but not horribly lower, I would have to say that is almost present in all of my batteries. Even those that are close to brand new. (I am pretty OCD about only charging to 4.2, only flying them down to 3.7, and always bringing them back to 3.8-3.85 within a few hours of flying. A lot of my packs when charged up for whatever reason will show 4.2/4.2/4.2/4.18..

[@Vousie]

That last shot with the pack over 60 degC while it discharges just confirms my opinion that it's unsafe to discharge the pack like that. If the pack's getting that hot then you're probably pulling a lot more amps than you think. Or that pack is just so damaged that it's unsafe to discharge it at even 2 amps.

[@Commander_ZiN]

Yeah, I've tried to make it add up but I can't, I feel like I'm missing something. He said in the vid it was a half ohm 60 Watt resistor, he links to a 2 ohm resistor in his description and says it'll be 6amp on 4S, which is true if discharged already in RC but at full charge over 8amps. A half ohm would be over 32Amps at full charge. A new 1500mah 4S could probably handle 30Amps or more new depending on the C rating. 60 celcius is an ok temp for a battery in heavy use. However I'd go for a safer slower discharge myself. I hope my math is correct, some of the things he was saying wasn't adding up or maybe he changed how he did it or was talking about different things.

[@remkojerphanion4686]

To discharge my 6s 8000mAh batteries relatively quickly, I use 3 auto headlights (old style duplo) in series, but only to a safe level of around 3.7 - 3.8V per cell, before storage charging back to 3.85V. Before discarding a battery, I discharge using the headlights to cell charge of around 3.2V, and from that point on, I use my (dis)charger with a set current of 0.5A till the battery is completely at 0V. Yes, it takes a long time, but safety first.

[@rilosvideos877]

This is a good and important topic. About the lowest discharge voltage that is still safe i am not sure if 3.0V is a problem, esp. when loaded. At a high load a voltage of 3 V isn't a problem imho but with no load its the end. Most cells are fine until 2.5V (normal 18650 li-ion) but 3.0 V is safer. LiPos are much more dangerous esp. with high C ratings and energy density.

[@NukeFPV]

Thanks so much for this Joshua, especially for us Newbie's, we need to learn these things. And old pro's need a healthy reminder too :)

[@Ghosty-RC]

Hi Joshua, you've said that you are not used to the different voltage of 6s. I had the same problem until I switched to the average voltage per cell. So your OSD will show 4.20v fully charged and we all know what the voltage per cell should be! So I land at about 3,5 to 3,6v per cell. Makes it a lot easyer if you fly a lot of set ups with differend Lipos!

[@chiefshalot2986]

4.5 or 4.6 jk lmao

[@jrbaeronz9840]

I discharge dud LiPos in half a bucket of very salty water outside. I cut the plugs off (1 lead at a time) , and leave the battery in the bucket for a week or till the leads stop bubbling. I then check for any voltage, and if it's dead, drive a 6 inch nail through it just to make sure. Works every time.

[@FerociousSniper]

Thank you so much for the info! Also, I definitely understand what you mean about not taking any risks. I have a $350 crawler, with almost $450 in upgrades. I'll throw out a $40 battery before risking burning up $800 worth of rc car.

[@RudyNortz]

I put a 12 volt peanut bulb across the balance plug, put the battery and bulb in a tall metal can (not sealed tight) in a metal sink and let it discharge all day into the evening.

[@MrVasmikey]

My flying buddy bought me an old Army surplus ammo can. He put some wholes in the top. I keep my Lipos inside at all times.

[@jdmrustedricer6130]

i had a 2s pack with low resistance matching cells, 15 min after charging it blasted off, 3rd floor apartment had to throw it out the window

[@thehardwareguy]

Mine are always stored outside and charged outside, in dry conditions. Take zero chances because it only takes one bad battery to lose everything.

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

I bought an early LiPo car engine jump starter. It worked amazingly for about 3 times. Then I started my freshly painted car with it. While I was driving it on the yard to the shop, the battery exploded into flames and damaged a new very expensive paint job. Never again.

[@FerralVideo]

I had an inexpensive battery that just decided to go up while sitting there. It was a very minor failure and merely resulted in a burn mark on my table. I had two signs that I was having problems. The first was the ubiquitous "they're puffing up". The second was that my charger was indicating that one of the cells was a little weak, as the voltage seemed a little lower on that cell when I did a per-cell check. Not below 3.0, but where the others were at 3.8, that one was down at 3.2. I should check my charger's accuracy to make sure that it's not slightly overcharging my packs. I think that was just a poor quality battery, as the other one of that set has also demonstrated signs of a weak cell, while my higher quality batteries have shown no signs of developing any kind of imbalance like these ones do.

[@janinapalmer8368]

I charge my big $550 10Ah 56Volt lawnmower battery in the special dedicated fan cooled charger module .. it's all automatic and self controlled

[@michaeljohnson6473]

Most people have no idea how important a good battery is.. The first time I put a "MaxAmps" battery in my 1/10 scale 2WD monster truck, and it broke 60 mph!! I learned in that moment, just how important the battery is to RC performance...

[@Ubernator]

I was at a fly in last Sunday, there were some lipos being charged under the pavilion. Me and another guy heard several loud ticks (like a spark plug) so I went over to the charging station and had a look. Nothing out of the ordinary so I continued to watch the airplanes. About 30 seconds later a large hissing and a second later a deep woosh as I looked over there was a good foot of flames being shot out of a lipo, nearly scorching a guy who was trying to fetch some hush puppies from the tray. The intense flames lasted about 15-20 seconds, a member of the club used their fire extinguisher, but it was very small and let out a "poof" then quit. A second guy grabbed a larger one to prevent the building catching on fire. Lessons learned: 1) Use a lipo safe charging bag 2) Have a proper fire extinguisher around and know where it is stored. 3) Do not charge lipos near or in buildings 4) Lipos are dangerous, never think yours wont shoot mad flames (they might)

[@GosHawkFPV]

Ok I'm at work and freaking out now "gotta check those lipos"

[@adrianf5665]

naughty naughty watching videos at work.... tut tut tut

[@greglloyd3d]

For all of you who are not paying attention to his safety methods for discharging a LiPo in the closet, he is using a thermal imaging scope to see how hot the battery is getting. To me, that is pretty safe. As the battery gets discharged, the heat dissipates and the battery will just keep getting cooler until it has no energy left. He monitors the battery until the heat is low enough not to be dangerous with a thermal scope! Let's not over look that! I know I don't have one of those. Also, as the cells appear on the scope to be white hot, like super hot, if he displayed the actual temperature, the white areas are probably not super hot, just warm. I doubt it is above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F), which is safe, even in a closet. You also need to put it in perspective, he is way more knowledgeable than 99% out there, so I think trusting him to do the right thing for him is not the same as you trusting your situation will be equally as safe for you. If he found an issue which would make it dangerous to discharge that battery in this manner, it is a safe bet he would do it differently.

[@JoshWeaverRC]

I think very important in addition to going lower than 3 is a brand new battery having a single cell drop below 3 on the first run. If there ain't a good reason, it probably ain't a good battery and will only get worse. Cells that just don't want to charge, stop, check the resistance, probably retire it. Going to insulate my batteries this winter, even in flight.

[@KCLeung-gm8ql]

I see that you connect the battery with a resistor to discharge. Beware for the resistance Ohm will be lower while the temperature increase. Then the discharge current will increase also. So we should keep cooling the resistor by a fan.

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

A wirewound will have a higher resistance as temperature increases. What sort of resistor were you speaking of?

[@flyineyeaerialfpv5592]

Thanks. Nicked a section of a balance plug. I figured it was simple like you showed but I had to watch the man himself say " your going to learn something today" and show me the method before I was confident enough to change the little balance connector. Nice explanation as always. God Bless you and your family brother

[@danreynolds8028]

Great video and very informative as always, Joshua. I'm new to RC and I was waiting for you to tell us the best way to DISPOSE of a bad battery. I'd be a little apprehensive to just toss in it the trash and hope it doesn't catch the garbage can (or garbage truck!) on fire... Subscribed!

[@flipcrash8537]

I'm one who splits my batteries and removes the bad cells. Never had an issue doing that. I appreciate the fact you didn't discredit that practice. These are good practices, I use them on all my packs, especially my rebuilt ones. Though they tend to be the best batteries i have bc I match the cells

[@flipcrash8537]

Just to clarify, I do think you are being a bit more cautious than necessary. Nothing wrong with that. In an academic setting, it's very good.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It's beyond many people's capability to safely deal with bare lipo cells.

[@flipcrash8537]

@@JoshuaBardwell I would agree that it is beyond many individuals' current skill level.. Soldering at all was beyond my capability a year ago. With training and practice, I think anyone who can solder can learn to safely rebuild a battery.

[@MrHristoB]

Good points Joshua. Due to the Irish weather, my batteries are most of the time on storage charge :-) and in tin biscuit boxes lined with baking paper and stored in 50x50x50cm floor tiles box in my garage. When we're going away in the summer, I'd clean up the stove and shove them all there for a piece of mind

[@ZylonFPV]

This is a video about battery safety, which I agree with, but has the following fails 😛: 1. Stole a battery from the Rotor Riot president 2. Transported it home overcharged beyond 4.20v per cell with signs of damage 3. Plugged 6S battery into 12v lightbulb 4. Discharged overcharged battery in a closet directly below flammable materials. Good safety advice except for that 🙂

[@billybbob18]

In my opinion, safety is a thing that isn't black and white. If I have a high ability to respond to a particular risk, then I'll do my thing as long as nobody else is nearby. when UAV Futures does a speed run, Stu aims the drone right toward Calvin at full throttle; but Calvin has a riot shield to protect himself.

[@DuckyRC]

@@billybbob18 hoomans are inherently not safe ;)

[@chiefshalot2986]

If he is around it would make it safer as to see the fire happening then being able to put it out vs burning down your house when your not there

[@vincentrobinette1507]

I prefer discharging the cells individually, using a resistor on each cell, through the balancing leads. Otherwise, the strong cells can reverse charge the weak cells, inviting a conflagration.(fire) With a resistor on each cell, it will guarantee that all the cells fully discharge, without the risk of reverse charging weaker cells. I hope that resistor is higher than .5 ohms, or a 6S battery will discharge close to 22 amps! If a weak cell has internal resistance, it will heat up. NOT GOOD! A 2.2 Ohm resistor on each cell is clearly a safer way to discharge a battery for disposal.

[@bruin1980]

I have been charging lipos in parallel for years and there was a lot I learned from this video. Thank you.

[@hellhound-si5oz]

I've used a old 12 or 24 volt car charger and use the damage battery to basically charge a smartphone or charge a power bank

[@friendlyfire01]

I'm glad you spoke about taking calls out to make a smaller battery. Yes, it can be done, and pretty easily at that. I suggest using snips to disconnect the POS and neg of the bad cells instead of desoldering anything. Then solder the leads back properly and cut the balance lead to the new size.

[@aaaaaaaaaassssssssdf]

a friend left a 5s pack at the bottom of a river for a day (long story) and i recharged it just for kicks, what i learned is you can't tell when modern packs are starting to puff because of the aluminum/composite plate they put on them now, if you cut the heatshrink you can tell if they are puffed a lot easier. good points about checking to see if one starts self-discharging and testing internal resistance. also i can't think of who made the video but i'm considering making a portable battery charging box out of a small metal tool box just to contain things

[@nicolasmarmet4155]

Using a resistor like that to completely discharge a damage lipo is a bad idea. The defective cell will reach 0V before all the others. Then the remaining cell will charge the defective cell with reverse polarity. The reverse polarity upset the chemical balance and crystal that can puncture the lipo membrane separators will form offering the perfect ignition point. Once completely discharged the electrolyte is still quite flammable. I recommend to discharge from the balance cable with one resistor per cell. On the other hand the absolute minimum voltage on most of the lipo battery is 2.7V.

[@peterzingler6221]

No no this is not the case , the cells in a series arrangement dont charge each other

[@ilgeq9062]

I recently revived a 6s Lipo from 8V total. Works just fine

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Not worth the risk in my opinion. You can do it and you can get away with it, but if/when it burns your house down, I don't want you saying, JB said it was probably fine.

[@ilgeq9062]

@@JoshuaBardwell I usually charge my Lipos while they are in one of those Lipo bags. That way I can do whatever I want without risking much except for a smokey room

[@ViperFPV]

Nice tip on the parallel charging. I use your boards exclusively. I noticed it was having a hard time balancing at the end . Taking a lot longer than normal so I shut it off and yeah I had a bad cell

[@jeffrenman4146]

you have nice equipment and you seem intelligent you been around and done this before and it shows so I must say thank you very much I paid close attention to what you are saying. Thanks for being out here you're one heck of a nice guy.

[@bjornkullberg3793]

Nice video! One Way, i learned ,of disharge à battery permanently is to put it in a bucket of salt water for a week. After That it Will be totaly safe to recycle(not through it in the garbage).

[@jay26cee]

I have a couple of LiPo batteries that have puffed up a little over time. Cell voltages appear okay and are very similar. Is the 'ballooning' under the wrapping a bad sign? Thanks for the videos on batteries and charging. I had knowledge of this year's ago, but completely forgot I had these stashed away from a hobby that I have not done in years. The batteries have not seen a charge in probably the last 5 years. I hauled then out and checked them over, and not surprising, 2 batteries are completely dead and quite squishy. These are now outside and will be going to the recycling centre later today.

[@chesnutfpv5649]

Quick question. If you don't want to set up an executioner's station in your closet and your charger has a discharge function, and to be clear I'm not referring to the storage function, would it be okay to just use that?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It'll only get you down to 3.0, not fully dead dead.

[@flo-ridafpv5713]

If 4s or below just solder up 12v auto bulb to plug and set on concrete for day or so. Deadness

[@TRKelley]

Funny! I saw Vanover abusing batteries at WCT21 this weekend. :)

[@powersv2]

I think a post session battery inspection checklist.

[@lovefpv7786]

I recently blew up a few old LiPos (some even old enough to not have balance leads) on purpose in controlled circumstances (outdoors with the door shut, to keep out the incredible stink). What I found was that the only way of provoking a fire was to overcharge a cell very very heavily. One pack happily kept 6V per cell without even smoke coming out (but then turned into fireworks on further charging.) I didn't manage to burn anything by short-circuiting or by mechanical damage. Still, my packs are all stored and charged in non-combustible surroundings because a LiPo fire is really no fun at all.

[@KrotowX]

At today retired six 4S 1300 mAh batteries who sagged after first punch and had 230 to 560 mAh left in them. It was good summer :) Can't find anymore where JB said about someone who yelled that he won't retire his damaged battery because he paid 40$ for it - it was funny to hear.

[@FPVExchange]

Excellent lipo discharging product!! I picked the wirewound resister from the link below to get rid of about 5-6 batteries that I had set aside to discard. Worked like a champ, even for my RC 5000 mah battery. Cheap piece of mind while I keep my batteries inside for the winter!

[@ejonesss]

i think why that battery you recovered is working fine is because it was practically new at the time so it probably was safer. also there are more than 1 chemistry that charges to 4.2 and discharges to 3 volts linmc is one such chemistry used in the ev industry.

[@m4st4Xk1ll4h]

This was so helpful you can get lots of info on how to charge but there's not much for looking for signs of a bad cell or a pack. Great video thanks J.B

[@kidcreamola]

Thanks for the vids. I watch your channel loads. This was exactly the vid I was looking for. I'm new to the hobby and have started charging battery's outside because I wasn't so sure. Now I know. I have definatly learnt something today.

[@AJTitan1973]

Question if you where to physicaly damage the battery after discharge, would there be any thermal runaway event ?

[@WarChest]

I love your lipo / current / charging explanation series. I always get something out of it that I didn’t know before.

[@TheEviling]

Putting batteries in fireproof lipo bags helps sleep at night too. I even put them in bags while they are charging.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

Make sure to have adequate bag for you battery. Here's a scary video about a bag with single 6S battery getting fire: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZ-xepdmoqmheNE

[@TheEviling]

@@MikkoRantalainen i wish manufactors of the bags would put a rating on them as to how much mAh batteries could be put in them safely, but i think thats a tough one to do for them.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

@@TheEviling I guess that would require them the claim that those bags are good for any amount of batteries. When they say nothing, there's no liability when it cannot prevent fire.

[@1kuhny]

I prefer the nail method. Yeah it's dangerous, and the fumes may or may not be toxic, but at least you get a nice show before you get rid of it. It you want to be safe when you throw it in the trash, maybe discharging fully and then drive a nail in it. No flames will happen because it's a dead battery, though it may hiss a bit. Leave it over night and it will have no chance of lighting up a garbage truck.

[@fpvwing]

AH C'MON!! SERIOUSLY?! watched this before going to bed. Up in the middle of the night to check the 3s I had powering my goggle on a pololu where 2 cells had dropped to 1.7v. I'd brought it back to life but it's now in ammo box, 3 miles below the surface of the earth, somewhere very safe, being monitored by 'top men'. Top. Men.

[@5zero7RC]

Uh oh. Stealing batteries from the boss man eh? Is that like taking home office supplies for you guys? :)

[@HomeGrownCanadianFPV]

lol

[@RufftaMan]

... and then killing it none the less.

[@FlyMIfYouGotM]

I prefer to put them outside on the patio and connect them up to a car battery charger. It's really nice if you have several for a 4th of July party.

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

MY DJI Spark has a couple of Intelligent Flight Batteries stored with it. What sort of check should make with those? The charge check gave me two solid ON, one flashing and one solid OFF indicator. It has been some time since I charged those in order to fly the Spark.

[@VolodymyrKreschenko]

What do you think about safety bags for lipo batteries? (I know you recommended cases but still interesting for me) How to protect the battery in the quad from being damaged when it falls down? Can I protect the battery from low voltage in Betaflight? If yes, then how to do it?

[@ron2298]

just wanted to thank you for all your videos it has been a long time since I messed with lipos and this info is priceless Thanks again. Do you have any batts you recommend ?

[@miker3174]

Keep a couple of those cheap aerosol looking can fire extinguishers with your batteries. If there is a fire the plastic valve will melt and set off extinguisher. Also keep a good one next to them for just in case you are there as well! One of those battery analyzers is good for discharging too and you can keep the data from it to compare batts performance over its life.

[@GeorgeCooper_LoneWolf]

Great bit of info JB, lets just hope people listen. I cut the power cables of ( ONE AT A TIME ) Then leave them outside for 2 weeks in a bucket of Sault water ( Heavy on the Sault )

[@ADMIND3R]

well that answers my question.... went to store some semi new cnhl 6s batteries for the winter and discharged them but went to check them the other day and 3 of my batteries all have one bad cell... because one of them must of had a bad cell and i parallel discharged them or charged them now there all 5s batteries now..... fml. no more parallel charging

[@HighVoltageMadness]

your method of discharging the packs is far more likely to start a fire than the actual battery itself. You have the crazy hot resistor mounted under a shelf with flammable stuff above. Brilliant.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I know how hot the resistor gets. I have a FLIR camera. It won't start any fire :-)

[@elmattbo2540]

Glad you mentioned the parallel charge problem because that's the real risk with a bad cell!

[@konzeptzwei]

great video! thanks for that…at the end i am a bit confused though. so why shouldn't we discharge a damaged battery it with the charger?

[@N1NJAKIDD]

Thanks for this info, I ended up buying the same wirewound resistor which is 2ohm and 100w. Used it to kill my heavily damaged 4s Turnigy graphene lipo. Resistor gets crazy hot😂

[@lectorserelith]

It just occured to me that I have a 18650 battery (maybe 2?) in my Radiomaster pocket. Should I be checking them for damage periodically? Probably, I think I'll check today lol

[@Bill-NM]

I'd like to know the resistance number guidelines. What number is too high? How much difference in numbers is too much? Thanks.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The number depends on how big the battery is and what its C rating is. So it'll vary. Best thing to do is check the packs when you first get them. Make sure to test at full charge and a consistent temperature. If you get brand new packs and they are at 8 mOhm and then a while later they are at 20 mOhm, then that's a significant degradation.

[@Bill-NM]

@@JoshuaBardwell Thanks very much Joshua.

[@WilDungenvanden]

Thank you learning us to use lipo's more safely.

[@cannibalholiday]

Flite Test has a video where they test the BatCan with a burning battery, for anyone that wants to see the fire + the value in a can

[@BKD70]

I parallel charge almost exclusively. What I do to monitor the health of my batteries is to check the battery with my checker before it ever gets plugged/unplugged into/from anything... the aircraft, or the charger. I am almost obsessive with this. But I know exactly what the health of my batteries are at all times. If I notice anything, I'll make a note on the battery with a sharpie... "*Cell 4" If it turns out to be nothing, I can always take an alcohol pad and remove the note (but never have done that yet ;-). Can't be too careful with LiPo's.

[@checkeredflagfilms]

good clip/review. what about battery puffiness? Is that a significant enough warning sign? Further checks? thanks.

[@acrocheezefpv]

Yes definitely. If it puffs, get rid of it. i currently have a 4s thats a bit puffy. but it holds a charge. still.. very soon ill be replacing it

[@manuelpellizzari8540]

Thanks for the reminder, it's never too much. You mention spontaneous fire but I'm not sure there are too many of those. I believe most of the time it's during charge or discharge. The main source of fire is obviously crashes, and for me the close second is pulling hard on a tired lipo : you land and one of the cell is puffed and smelly. As mentioned in another post some chargers have temperature probes and I find a 5eur smoke detector next to the batteries reassuring also.

[@JamesMerle-qi3uz]

How does this apply to my DJI Air 2 S batteries? As to how many cells it consists of is completely unknown to me. Or should I have the same concerns that you are presenting with a different type of battery? Thanks for your input!!

[@photonthief]

Pro tip for 6s pilots looking to make a globe discharger. Go to your local auto shop and get a truck globe rated for 24V.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Can also do 2x 12v bulbs in series.

[@8alakai8]

wacht out with discharging we had with feeld charging from big lipo 1 cell was not so good and whent low the lipo burst in to flames

[@thecopterboy]

Hi have a ? Did get in if there puffy 🤔....so ..I have sum lipo ones that are all good with what you say ...but are puffy ...are the one that are puffy but still work bad as well...thanks ..

[@nivvis]

At any point do you toss a battery just because it _looks_ suspect? I have one that's a bit crunched in in the back (maybe looks worse than Le Drib's), but all the cells register as healthy when looking at internal resistance.

[@dirtrider88]

3:19 i have heard you say in multiple videos you dont let your cells get anywhere near 3.2 volts, which is what i know to be the safe cutoff voltage but i drive cars. is the reason for not letting it get near 3.2 volts just so you have enough battery to land?

[@dondupuis5524]

Can the battery be put into a fireproof bag. Do you believe in the battery bags.