Lipo ballooning
 

I took a Lipo out today and before charging I noticed it was ballooned. Is it still safe to charge or should I get rid of it?

To be 100% safe it's time for another, but that depends on how ballooned it is a little too. Just a slight puff usually isn't a prob, but if its puffed like a football, its time for a new one.

If it's just slightly puffed and doesn't balloon anymore when you charge it, its prob ok to use. You need to watch it closely. Any idea why it puffed?

No idea why it puffed. It's not footballed yet but I'll probably just toss it

Discharge it with a 1157 auto tail light bulb until it goes out - it'll prob puff, so do it outside, then harvest the connectors if you want them, twist the wires together and its ready for the trash.

Lipo's will puff a little if not stored right. They will also puff if left under volted.

If you're not using them for more than a week, you need to take them down to half voltage and store cool, like in a fridge. A lot of new chargers do have a storage function on them to balance them down to the right voltage.

Also if you're running them to where the speed controller shuts down you're probably under volting them even though you may have a cut off on the speedo. Stay away from draining them down to full capacity!

Give it a couple of charge cycles and then store it cool as sometimes the puffiness will go. Charge outside and somewhere safe just encase it is on its way out.

Ps If you do store them in a fridge, make sure they do not freeze.

^^ Yeah, and wrap them in a ziploc otherwise you'll have condensation pron with them when you pull them out of the refrig unless you live in a dry environment. I store the lipos I'm not using in my veg crisper in the refrig at ~40F inside ziploc bags.

I give them a full 24hrs when I pull them out to come back to room temp before I remove them from the ziploc. That way any condensation is on the outside of the ziploc, not on the lipos.

Yes, forgot to mention to take them out a day before using them so they are at normal room/use temperate.

I normally find that my packs are a bit sluggish and not as punchy the first charge. I've also been told that this is a good thing because it means the internal chemical reaction has slowed right down and so has the decay of the pack.

After a full 24hrs to come back to room temp, mine are not sluggish.Sounds like you're not letting them recover long enough - sluggish is exactly what a cold lipo acts like....

I live in wet an cold UK here. If i waited as until it was as hot as Texas i would be waiting six months :)

Yeah, it's really hot here in my air conditioned house....all of 76F where my lipos are 'thawing'.

Is that cold there? It 25f here at the moment.