Should we use Lipo charge bags???

[HPI Paul]

What are people's thoughts on using Lipo charge bags - should we make it mandatory that you have to use a charge bag when charging at the club or do we consider it to be negligible risk?

[bedsrcmcc]

Interesting one this...

There are two ways of looking at it. Firstly you could say that we need to ensure the safety of everyone at the club and the facilities that we use with every effort to put safety first above all else. Therefore LiPo bags should be mandatory.

The other view is that the issue of LiPo's going bang are over-hyped and that there is nothing wrong with the sensible approach we take now - educating those new to LiPo's and model shops ensuring that customers who buy LiPo's are getting the correct chargers and use them correctly.

I've had my fingers burnt more times from drivers spinning wheels as you marshall their car, or from touching a hot soldering iron!

There is an element of risk in everything we do in life and if we were to protect ourselves from dangers then we would never leave home - then again that is dangerous in itself as most accidents happen in the home

I've had a LiPo strapped to my car for 2 years and never had a problem. If something was to happen there is plenty of time to get the car out of the hall and away from everyone a they do not go bang, it's more of a slow fizz and smoking to begin with.

Forget what you may have seen on YouTube - that's just using LiPo's incorrectly on purpose to get that effect.

Some useful tips:

General precautions:

• The minimum safe discharge voltage is 2.5V per cell when under load, or 3.0V per cell when not on load.
• When more than 2 cells in series are used, a controller with an adjustable cutout should be used and it should be set at or above 2.5V/cell.
• Only charge LiPo batteries on a charger specifically design for LiPo batteries.
• Always ensure you use the correct charging voltage for the cell count.
• The maximum charge rate should be 1C, eg. 0.7A for a 700 mAh cell. For best charging, low charge rates should be used where possible.
• Check the charge voltage (or cell count) and current a second time.
• Never leave charging LiPo cells unattended (at any charge rate).
• It is best to charge LiPo cells in an open space on a non-flammable surface (such as a brick or quarry tile) and away from flammable materials.
• For long term storage it is recommended that cells are fully charged and then discharged to between 50% and 60% of their capacity.
• Use connectors that can not be short circuited, or use silicon fuel tube to protect exposed connections.
• Have a dry powder fire extinguisher or a bucket of dry sand within reach.

[Jon R]

This is a tricky decision, as there as positives for both sides. In my personal view I am going to try (as I do forget sometimes ) and use a lipo bag from now on. And I do think having another level of safety in the pits can't hurt. Maybe if they aren't going to be made mandatory the club could instead simply "highly recommend" using them or something?

I think this subject was really highlighted by the recent lipo fire at the world championships. From what I have heard the lipo was charged using the wrong charge profile, but it does show even the best can make mistakes My dad was also telling me about one of the top RC jet pilots in the UK who lost one of his jets due to a lipo fire. RC plane flyers don't tend to remove batteries from their planes while charging, atleast the ones Ive seen don't

[hashiriya]

For the sake of £10 or there abouts its not a huge outlay to feel considerably safer. I know its a pain as many dont remove the lipo from their chassis when charging but what value do you put on safety?

[HPI Paul]

I guess Lipo fires are few and far between but can have disastrous consequences, peoples' houses getting burnt down etc. The cost of damaged equipment is bad enough, but if someone got hurt, there would be some big regrets if we didn't do what was reasonably practicable to encourage safe use of Lipo's. Obviously it is not just in the club, it's also raising people's attention when charging at home.

I think Jon's suggestion is a sensible approach; short of a mandate, we should actively encourage use of lipo bags as much as possible.

Paul

[mark christopher]

If the proposal goes through the brca's exec are wanting to then you will all have to under brca general rules

[dworth]

Originally Posted by mark christopher

If the proposal goes through the brca's exec are wanting to then you will all have to under brca general rules

Mark, you beat me to it. Being at the exec meeting when this was brought up I can confirm that the BRCA's exec has asked the electric board to investigate and report back prior to this years AGM with a recommendation but at the moment the BRCA recommendations to its sections is the use of them plus remove batteries whilst charging from you car\radio into a designated area. Its up to the sections to make the judgement call on passing this information on until the AGM.

As you say from the AGM it may be a different story.

Ps stories were told not old of the pit fire but of other racers and exec attendees who have had to pull over there 1:1 cars on the way home to remove a lipo which has gone off in its storage container ( not even fitted or used in the days meeting!)

Watch this space is all I can say from a BRCA perspective but I for one use a LIPO sack and have an extinguisher ready having seen 3 1/8th cars\controllers go up in smoke !