You may have come to the wrong impression. Improper charging, a hard crash, shorting the power leads, puncturing or maybe even dropping one can make a lipo go off. I don't remember ever reading that a stored lipo has just gone off of its own accord.

i sleep with a lipo on the pillow next to me.
also one taped to my junk inside my boxers.


lol
some of you guys are crazy overboard!!

inside a bag...inside sand.. and then inside a metal box?
thats nuts

That does make me feel much much better.

One last question, it would be ok if I went ahead a charger a Lipo and left it charged if I was planning on using it either tomorrow or Friday, possible Saturday right? Or should I charge it on the day I plan on using it?

Thanks
Disjaukifa

Latest opinion is that any time spent fully charged damages a lipo. This time is cumulative so a littel here and there along th way adds up over time. The one thing I've not seen addressed is how this damage manifests itself.

But to your question, either charge before you use them or charge to a slightly lower voltage like 4.1v. The lower voltage is not damaging and I doubt you'll notice the difference. Personally, I charge before I use them and storage charge them after I use them.

I just went and connected my Lipos to my Onyx 240 and it seems that they came charged :eek:?

Is that correct? Also I need to figure out how to storage charge them on my Onyx 230 as well. *UPDATE* Ok just looked at the manual and figured that out . . . . *UPDATE*

Thanks Duster for the info!
Disjaukifa

Lipos are delivered partially charged, at least all the new ones I've bought have been that way. Usually charged to 3.7-3.8v/cell. The HK 4S 30C 5000mah lipos I got last month were at 14.7v and 14.72v when I checked them out of the box.

Yeah my Venom Lipos were both at like 7.3ish volts which is basically charged. I'm just going to run them once I get my TRF201 built. I need to read up on the new ESC and figure out how the low voltage cut-off works.

I've been doing RCs for years but I have been hesitant to go Lipo, not really sure why though . . .

Can't wait to see the performance difference between Lipo and NiMH!

Thanks again Duster for all the great information!
-Disjaukifa

7.3ish as you, said is not actually charged that much, guessing maybe 2/3 full. I'm sure you know that 8.4v on a 2s lipo is actually full.

Sounds like you haven't quite caught that 4.2v/cell is fully charged, 7.3ish is only partially charged, make sure you charge them fully before you use them - you should see 8.4v off the charger!!

Yeah, I've been using NiCd/NiMH for years so I have my mind set on that setup, going to take me a week or two to get use to the Lipos :smile:

-Disjaukifa

Really? I have had two lipos for a little over a year now, and I run them on the weekends. ( One is a Zippy Flight Max 4000 mah and the other is a turnigy 5000 mah ).

I charge them when i get home after a race, and let them sit fully charged until raceday the next weekend. That's 6 days of fully charged and they still run perfect.....

Never out of balance and never swelled. Where did you get that info from?

Most lipo manufacturers specify leaving them at 50% (3.85v / cell) if you plan to store them for any length of time

Either leaving them fully charged or fully discharged has been known to cause issues

I too have left some fully charged for months at a time with no ill effects as yet

After reading a few forums and now owning a charger that has a storage setting I always leave them at 50%

Cheers

I've usually just charged mine at the end of the day and let them sit. Have been doing this for about 3 years now and have not had a problem with anything.

As far as storage goes, mine sit in the same foam lined battery case the NiMHs used to be in. Consider all the hobby shops and warehouses out there that have dozens if not hundreds of them on shelves. If they were that volatile wouldn't we be hearing about these places going up in flames all the time? Wouldn't we hear about postmen being hurt because they have to deliver all the cheap packs people keep ordering from Hong Kong?

I would stay away from metal boxes though. As has been stated earlier, the only problems that I know of occur are after a crash, improper charging, or an "uncontrolled" discharge (such as being shorted out because of some metal.)

Good day!

I just wanted to mention that if you leave the battey in you car (lots of peaple do) make shure you unplug it. Even with the switch in the off position, there can still be a small discharge and that could lower the battery to a dangerous level. I have seen it happen to the point that the battery case split open and the cell was 3 times the normal size but it did not ignite.

I'm good about not leaving batteries in my RCs, but thats good to know and good advice. I didn't think about that but I can see how that would still be using power somehow.

Thanks for the tips!

-Disjaukifa