Lipos gone wrong

[Nick]

I just lost my car (a '99 Lexus LX 470, two planes, and lots of personal stuff) to a LiPo problem.

I flew my S&B 152 with Lipos for the first time today. The LiPo vendor shall be unnamed for now. The plane augered in, I picked up the pieces and placed them on the back seat of my car, AFTER disconnecting the batteries.

I go to fly my 3D (with NiMH). 3 minutes into the flight I hear "your car is on fire". I turn around and my car is in flames, a total loss within 5 minutes by the time the fire truck came.

The only thought I have is when the plane augered in, the LiPos shorted internally. Note I carried it a hundred yards or so with no signs of a short, no heat, no problems. Once they shorted, they ignited and the car was toast.

Luckily the dog in the back jumped out when the fire started.

Gone are my car, my S&B 152, my charger (a new Schulze 636+), and my Firecat along with 4 8x1100 NiMH packs, two 3S2P LiPo packs, two 8xFAUP packs. And lots of personal stuff like a pilot's license, medical, credit cards, ... . This sucks big time.

No one was hurt. Thank the powers that be.

LiPo technology is DANGEROUS. Use at your own risk.

Ken

Pictures:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...postid=1199486

Orgional post:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...hreadid=139208

No it wasn't me by the way. This is the 2nd case I've seen of a Lipo fire, in which I bet a million odd people use them. So it isn't as bad as people keep thinking it is (well for this guy it was, but still the majority of people have no problems at all). :eek:

[BrianG]

Wow, that really sucks!

Yeah, you tend to hear the horror stories more than the success stories, or no one talks about the success stories. It's the one catastrophic event that sticks in your mind! Kinda like plane crashes; every days hundreds of planes take off and land without incident, but you don't hear the news say "No planes crashed today...". But one crash and everyone thinks it is unsafe to fly. Although, like airplanes, lipos really go out with a bang!

I guess car wrecks are like NiMH, and plane wrecks are like Lipos. Tons of car wrecks happen everyday, but at most a few people get seriously wounded or die.

[coolhandcountry]

Yeah that really sucks.
I have read that you supposed to store you lipos in a safe place after a bad crash. I guess he didn't. It sucks what happened. I wonder if it may have contributed to the material it was on.

[squeeforever]

Damn....Thats horrible. I think your right Leroy. That never woulda happened if he had stored them in a ceramic pot or a LiPo bag.

[MetalMan]

Usually it is recommended to watch a battery for 1/2 hour after something happens to it (like a crash). If he had done that then this mess would never have occurred. This Lipo fire was completely avoidable. I hope he has better luck next time, and that all of his losses are sorted out.

Just a side note, the idea where Lipos explode and people think of them like that is called the "availability heuristic". In other words, it's how people judge the likelihood of an event based on how present it is in memory.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by MetalMan

Just a side note, the idea where Lipos explode and people think of them like that is called the "availability heuristic". In other words, it's how people judge the likelihood of an event based on how present it is in memory.

Yay, I learned something today: availability heuristic. Now to find a way to work it into a conversation to impress my friends and family! :005:

that sucks dose insurance cover the lipo fire

[MetalMan]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Yay, I learned something today: availability heuristic. Now to find a way to work it into a conversation to impress my friends and family! :005:

Yeah, we just had a test on that on Weds.

I'll bet that guy's insurance will go through the roof!

[squeeforever]

Originally Posted by MetalMan

Yeah, we just had a test on that on Weds.

Am I missing something here....What ever happened to summer...

[MetalMan]

Ask my mom...

But back on topic.

[skellyo]

Am I the only one that thinks it's odd that the thread on rcgroups is almost 3 years old?

[coolhandcountry]

Originally Posted by skellyo

Am I the only one that thinks it's odd that the thread on rcgroups is almost 3 years old?

I never noticed the date. Lipos have imporved since then. Nimhs have even imporved since then. :027:
I think it can still happen but the cell technology has improved.
The knowledge of the cells has to.

[MetalMan]

Originally Posted by skellyo

Am I the only one that thinks it's odd that the thread on rcgroups is almost 3 years old?

Wow, didn't even notice that...

CHC has it right, battery technology has improved immensly over the last 3 years, including durability and energy/power density, as well as cost.

[Mike.L]

for all the peole with lipo problems, it had to be your with the burnt out car!
Are your ever going to run li-po ever again?

[squeeforever]

Originally Posted by Mike.L

for all the peole with lipo problems, it had to be your with the burnt out car!
Are your ever going to run li-po ever again?

Kinda hard to understand what your saying, but from what I gathered....You asked Nick if he's ever gonna run LiPo's again....If you read, you'll see that it wasn't him...