Puffed LiPo
 

Hi, im gonna try to make this as short as possible!

So when I first got into soldering I got a new ESC for my Vaterra Halix. When doing my best job to solder traxxas connectors I didnt realize there was a good strand of wires exposed the the ESC plugin. So I was riding around and I jumped my car a good amount and when it landed it shut off. So obviously I short circuted my battery and I realized I need to a better job. I simply turned off than back on my car and it worked (kind of) about every 5 seconds it would stop than 5 seconds later it would work again, repeating itself. So I thought now that I should hook it up to the charger. I hooked it up to the charger and got low voltage warning.

I left it like that for about a month (stupid me) and did some research since I missed 3s and 2s was getting boring. My conclusion was that I should charge it in NiMh mode till its 3 quaters way to the voltage of the battery. So that actually worked! I then finished the process by balance charging the battery (like I always do) and I went to check on it 30 minutes later to see ripped casing, slightly puffed and hard battery. The charger also said err cell connect (something like that im sure you know what i mean). I buried the battery in a ziploc bag in my yard and now Im here asking what to do next. Is it usable? Pitch it? What? Obviously my warranty is shot now!

Thanks!

P.S. Battery is fairly new and unused and I can actually solder very good now! Asked the friendly owner of a HobbyTown nearby to tech me because we are good friends. ;)

The battery is toast. Don't attempt to reuse it.

Thanks! Any tips on disposal or do I keep it in my yard? :lol: ill be moving in like 6 months so theres a present for whoever moves in! :lol:

Little update! This probably doesnt change the fact that the battery is bad, but i tried charging a nimh battery and the same charger that puffed my lipo said connection break, this is a different warning than above but just an fyi.

I drop mine off at the local recycling center. I believe you can poke holes in the foil then soak it in saltwater for a couple days and it is supposed to be safe to dispose of in your trash can. But hopefully someone else can chime in with more specific details.

Bottom line.....stop charging lithium polymer in NiMH mode unless you want to burn you're house down. LOL.

It can explode in your face if you do that...

It's a good thing someone else chimed in on this.

DO NOT TRY TO FIX OR poke holes . The instructions and manual along with warnings posted on lipos is there to protect u

Bucket of salt water to attempt to discharge. It will take a while since you charged it (weeks). You can also try to use a 12v light bulb which will be faster but I would certainly do it outside and away from anything flammable. Once discharged to 0 volts you can recycle or trash it. The danger is over at that point.

WOW.

:rolleyes:

Yep bucket of saltwater after a couple days I will poke a hole in it while still submerged then after a day or so toss it.

Just do not touch it, take it to Home Depot / Lowes, they have battery recycling, or Batteries Plus, they do as well.

Let the pros worry about battery treatment and disposal, no sense in putting yourself or possessions in harms way!!!

this.

i always bring my batteries to home depot. they take it for free without any questions. some of them even have them in front so you dont have to talk to anyone, just plop it in the box and be on your way. why bother with salt water or anything else when this is free disposal. drop it and forget it

Hahaha. This is better than reading the funnies in the paper! Poke a hole in it, wow. Please do not do this. Aside from property loss the medical bills alone will break you. For an example of how crazy our little batteries are google it. YouTube it. Hell look up lithium thrown into a lake. It’s a bomb man! Some crazy scientists just figured out how to control it and make it usable. Ergo inside the airtight aluminum packaging of each cell. Expose this to oxygen or air rather and you basically just reverse engineered it just enough to make it flammable and or explosive again!!

Like many above posted there are multiple ways to dispose of all types of batteries safely. If you feel the need to DIY, salt water until it reads 0volts. Then toss it. Much simpler way is a disposal service mentioned above in previous posts. Use a lipo sack to transport it to Home Depot or wherever you choose to go and hand it off, keeping your lipo pouch.

Also please remember to always charge/store/discharge your lipo son an approved lipo safe pouch/sack or bat box.