Yeah you're right about that. Thanks for the input, tossed it yesterday.

Contact A Main Hobbies they might be willing to help your situation somehow.

It's worth a shot, but you don't think it's too late?

If it is still under warranty they will replace it free, if not I believe they will sell you a replace for half off. I have never had a problem returning a puffed battery to AMain for replacement/discount price.

The worst they could say is no, but my guess is they will give you a small percentage off a new one, or something like that. A Main is the best in the business!

At least your packs didn't end up like this.

Hi,

I wanted to ask you some questions about the same brand presented on the first page : Protek !

Last year I placed few orders because I'm French, and there is a limit of 2 units/order because of the safety reasons with lipos shipped by air.
Because I wanted to have lipos for a long time, I decided to have lipos new only for races, with 4 units for qualifs runs, and 4 units for final runs.
I ordered 4 Lipos Protek 4S 6700mah 100C
and 4 Lipos Protek 4S 4700mah 100C

After only 15-20 runs each max, I have seen them puffed a little.
They continue to puff but I have to be honest, I always had many punch and all along the runs I made.
So, even if they were all ( the 8 Lipos) puffed, I decided to use them again, because of the right performances.
Few days ago, I had the surprise to find one of them completly opened, when opening my lipos box :



The other lipos are all puffed like this one :





The charger is an hyperion, every lipos are stocked in good conditions, with the right storage voltage... I just have to admit, maybe an overgearing at a race, but it was not with all the 8 lipos. I changed this ratio because I have seen it was too high... Losi 8ight-e 3.0/Tekin1900T8Gen2/RX8GEN2
I can post some picture of the soldering work on every wires...

I have seen a test on the website with few brands and cells...
We know we can found "good" cells and "bad" cells in the same brand range.

So, what are the right cells/brand you have tested, without (never) any puffing after at least 30-50 runs ?
I'm talking about 10min final run + 1 turn for ~6000mah packs and about 5/7min qualif run + 1 turn for ~4000mah packs.

Are all lipos (brands/cells) tend to puff one day, maybe after ~25 runs because of the races conditions ?

It seems that many SMC users here are happy with their lipos, so can you tell me if you have ever seen a shorty 4S puffed, and the same question with the new 6500 60C, because I remember of an other C value with this older pack model.
Thanks
Bye !

The first gen Protek lipos were great but tended to puff.
I hear the new ones are way better!
But SMC's have incredible bang for the buck!

If it's been longer than a year, they're gonna say sorry, it is out of warranty, but we will sell you a new one!
Mine did the same thing after a year and a half. But I forgot to discharge it after a race, left it fully charged for a week. My bad!

what about a too low lipo cutoff on the esc ? could it be a problem ?

I have personally not seen a single brand which did not puff. I had 5 identical bashing batteries (Tenergy), 2 puffed. Friend had 4 identical Protek soft case batteries, 1 puffed; and 4 identical SPC batteries, 3 puffed.

I have 8x racing SMC batteries of various values, 1x puffed beyond use. 3x are slightly puffed, but I had them for over a year, and still charge and discharge normally.

Now, having all four of your Protek batteries puff like that doesn't seem right. Either you have a bad batch, or your charging and/or discharging is stressing them beyond what they can handle.

Some things that can help extend the life of lithium based batteries and minimize puffing (gas production) risk include:

* Not leaving packs stored full. If they're going to sit for any decent length of time they should be around 3.8 volts per cell, or about halfway depleted. I try not to leave them full for more than 24 hours.

* Always use the balance leads with the balance charge mode on your charger. This prevents any one cell from being pushed into an over-voltage condition, which will cause puffing and is a fire hazard. These concerns are multiplied when charging at higher amp loads and when there are more cells in the pack.

* Don't run your batteries to lipo cutoff. Most ESCs will cut out at 3.2 volts per cell, which is pretty much dead flat. For the best performance over time, lithium batteries prefer a 50% duty cycle.

I haven't owned a ton of batteries yet, but I've had 2 Turnigy full sticks, 2 Turnigy shorties, and 2 Racer's Edge shorties all in 2S and so far none of them have the slightest indications of puffing. The RE packs are nearly 2 years old. Biggest load I've put on them is a 7.0 in 4wd mod and 2wd stadium truck. I've got a Turnigy 4S pack in my 8ight-E 3.0 with a 2100kv motor, also no signs of swelling after 9 months of moderate use.

I'm sure some packs are just bad, and some manufacturers have worse quality rates than others, but taking proper care of your gear goes a long way for sure.

The owner of SMC said a slight puff is not that bad as long as it is soft and not rock hard. Also said shorty packs are more prone to puffing due to so much material being stuffed into a small case. All of my packs which include SMC, Trinity, Reedy, Speed zone, Peak/Orion all have some puff but all work and balance fine. I throw them out when the case starts to open or they really bow.
As a side note my 5 Thunder power packs are perfect as the day I bought them charging at 20 amps on a thunder power charger. Also had really old Orion/Kokam packs plugged in to my starter box for 3 years in my garage that still worked and were balance and a 8.15 volts, which is pretty amazing. Really seems like every company is selling the same Chinese junk so don't over pay thinking any company is making a better product, very few are.