how do lipos go up in smoke/ flames?
 

do they catch fire?
do they explode?
do they just smoke?

do they do both??

curious about this!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCWdnjLqVWw">Click Here</a>

That can happen with any kind of battery and just no lipos. I never had a lipo catch fire. If I did it was probably me that caused it trying to put on a good show like all the videos made. When it comes to electronics, a little common sense will do wonders.

no, I know, i just wanted to know what happens b/c I do want to put them in some type of container while charging for safety. I think it would be wise to do this, and surely couldn't hurt! :yes:

So, I think i'm gonna put them in a big, heavy ceramic jar, with a top, and stuff it w/ fiberglass while charging. Charger is a super slow poke hyperion acdc unit (forgot the model number) w/ balancer.

Yes, a ceramic jar a vase will do, but not really necessary. A lipo will swell before anything happens and you should not charge them unattended.

I stuck a stick in one and punctured the wrapper/skin. No real fire, never saw flames, but tons of smoke and it got hot enough that it would have melted chassis if I hadn't managed to get it out. I protect mine in the car better now and I don't drive in piles of woody trash that can have sharp sticks in them anymore!

I charge mine on a thick porcelain dinner plate.

they puff, then vent and the fumes sometimes light. i personally exploded mine.... some 300mah at 6a.

They only explode if your stupid like people on those videos, and hook the terminals directly into a power socket or a car battery or stab them with a screwdriver or something stupid. I've never in my life seen a lipo explode, or even vent, under normal use, but I have seen many nicds and nimh's do this. with the pressure build up in a steel can they can have a big bang.

Had one over on the E-savage forum recently where someone was charging some intellect NIMH cells in the bed of a pickup truck and they went off like a bomb, one cell punched through the side of the pickup and buried itself in the wall. Then again the 4200 cells are notorious for blowing due to inferior gas venting whilst charging.

Lipos are surrounded by a huge amount of safety and warnings, and generally people who buy them tend to be in the higher echelons of RC and so usually aren't too stupid, though accidents will always happen and no one is immune. It's when they start fitting them in RTR toys that it gets dodgy.

usually when lipos let go they just swell like a little balloon, or if you run them down too far, refuse to charge.