It Can Happen...and It can Happen FAST

[Xpress]

Lithium reacts very violently to the oxygen in the air. It basically creates its own oxygen when it burns, and that is why a standard Class ABC extinguisher is completely and totally useless. This will only put the fire out from the surrounding materials, not the battery itself.



The ONLY way to put out the lithium fire is with a Copper Based Class D extinguisher. The copper inside will actually melt to the exposed metal and cut off the oxygen, thus smothering out the fire. The other methods are to use sand or dirt to help smother the flames. Copper based Class D extinguishers were developed by the Navy back in the 70's and are the only thing that will completely extinguish the flame. Keep in mind these are not cheap either, so it's best to use sand or dirt to smother it out.

 

[Mikeq]

Xpress;16985 wrote: Lithium reacts very violently to the oxygen in the air. It basically creates its own oxygen when it burns, and that is why a standard Class ABC extinguisher is completely and totally useless. This will only put the fire out from the surrounding materials, not the battery itself.



The ONLY way to put out the lithium fire is with a Copper Based Class D extinguisher. The copper inside will actually melt to the exposed metal and cut off the oxygen, thus smothering out the fire. The other methods are to use sand or dirt to help smother the flames. Copper based Class D extinguishers were developed by the Navy back in the 70's and are the only thing that will completely extinguish the flame. Keep in mind these are not cheap either, so it's best to use sand or dirt to smother it out.

[MENTION=344]Xpress[/MENTION] ....excellent post...I will keep this in mind in the event I ever have to deal with a Lipo fire...thanks for posting.

 

[stangflyer]

Mikeq;16996 wrote: [MENTION=344]Xpress[/MENTION] ....excellent post...I will keep this in mind in the event I ever have to deal with a Lipo fire...thanks for posting.

+1

 

[Do-rag]

Xpress;16985 wrote: Lithium reacts very violently to the oxygen in the air. It basically creates its own oxygen when it burns, and that is why a standard Class ABC extinguisher is completely and totally useless. This will only put the fire out from the surrounding materials, not the battery itself.



The ONLY way to put out the lithium fire is with a Copper Based Class D extinguisher. The copper inside will actually melt to the exposed metal and cut off the oxygen, thus smothering out the fire. The other methods are to use sand or dirt to help smother the flames. Copper based Class D extinguishers were developed by the Navy back in the 70's and are the only thing that will completely extinguish the flame. Keep in mind these are not cheap either, so it's best to use sand or dirt to smother it out.

Great information [MENTION=344]Xpress[/MENTION]; was not aware of the class D extinguisher.

 

[BikeRacer]

You can't forget that any battery or setup can catch on fire. I buddy of mine lost his entire house to a car battery being charged in his garage overnight, which he had done hundreds of times. I think good common sense when charging ANY type of battery goes a long ways. Glad you caught it in time though!

 

[Terryscustom]

I'd like to hear what were the circumstances of people that had problems and what size packs / amps etc. I always charger on the low side but don't trust LiPo's so I will won't own any over 2xxx mah.



Just too much power in those bigger packs and I don't trust them at all. I even store my foamy to 1000 mah packs in a metal bucket.

 

[Xpress]

Terryscustom;17059 wrote: I'd like to hear what were the circumstances of people that had problems and what size packs / amps etc. I always charger on the low side but don't trust LiPo's so I will won't own any over 2xxx mah.



Just too much power in those bigger packs and I don't trust them at all. I even store my foamy to 1000 mah packs in a metal bucket.

When you have to spend a decent chunk of change on bigger batteries, you tend to not cheap out on your charging equipment, and you tend to keep a good eye on them. My local club has an avid heli pilot who flies 700 and 800 size electric helicopters with 10s+ packs. He is using an iCharger 4010 DUO to charge them and always stores them balanced- never lets them drop below 3.85v per cell. Smaller packs are whatever since you can get them for 20 bucks on average, but the larger packs you don't want to get careless with, either with your charging equipment or your storage practices.

 

[stangflyer]

Terryscustom;17059 wrote: I'd like to hear what were the circumstances of people that had problems and what size packs / amps etc. I always charger on the low side but don't trust LiPo's so I will won't own any over 2xxx mah.



Just too much power in those bigger packs and I don't trust them at all. I even store my foamy to 1000 mah packs in a metal bucket.

Have to agree with you on this one. Nearly every story I've heard or read regarding battery fires was due to owner mishandling/charging. Note: I mentioned "nearly". I am sure there are some isolated cases where the batteries have burst unexpectedly. I watch the guys that have electrics and every time they forget what they are doing; i.e., plugging in backwards, shorting the lead across something, charging too quickly, too much...etc, those are the guys that are having problems. And like Xpress, there is a guy at our field that is flying some pretty hard core and expensive helis and "BIG" EDF jets. He tells me his battery packs run him in the hundreds..."EACH". Yet he uses the top of the line chargers, safety equipment and caution. He seems to do really well.

 

[Whidbey1]

I was charging a lipo in my trailer (like a fool)and it exploded, I lost a 88 ef edge, it was in my driveway, was lucky it was away from the house. My home owners would not pay out due to high deductible buy AMA came thru and paid $1000.00.

 

[mndless]

Xpress;16985 wrote: so it's best to use sand or dirt to smother it out.

Absolutely correct, containment is realistically what you are going to get. Extinguishing a raging lipo fire is beyond what most are prepared to do. But, containment is not simple either. With the sand approach, you have to have a container that will contain the sand and a quick and simple way to get the sand over the battery.



I dont use a charging bag... I should. But, I do charge in a shallow metal pan... a bread pan of sorts with a lip of an inch or so. I have several zip lock bags of sand at the charging station... the plan, should I ever need it, is just drop the bags in the pan, the pan will help retain the sand... hope I never have to test it...