Battery Explosion

[-MavicMiniPilot]

Not related to a dji drone but just something I want to share as it scared the life out of me. I had these little 1s batteries for a while. Not going into detail about what exactly happened but one started smoking so I threw them both outside onto concrete and they started pouring out smoke and acid everywhere. It was on fire for a very short period of time. I usually keep theses in a lipo safe but definitely not testing it again. I’m surprised how much damage a small little 1s battery could actually do. You can see in one of the photos how it ruptured down the center and on the side. Have a good one and stay safe.

 

[zeusfl]

Any punch a battery suffer in a crash is dangerous. I do not know the circumstances but Is just to let you know. This is why the RC-cars use hard case batteries.

 

[-MavicMiniPilot]

Any punch a battery suffer in a crash is dangerous. I do not know the circumstances but Is just to let you know. This is why the RC-cars use hard case batteries.

If I ever take a hard crash or see cuts, big dents, puffiness of any kind, or wear. I usually retire the battery.

 

[zeusfl]

If I ever take a hard crash or see cuts, big dents, puffiness of any kind, or wear. I usually retire the battery.

About 10 years ago I had a Mikado Logo 800XXtreme 14S battery packs made with 2 7S packs and in a crash one of them was punched and you have no idea how violent was the fire. Total lost. Yours was a 450ma battery. Imaginate 2 7S 5500mah batteries.

 

[Cafguy]

Good you caught that ! That TinyHawk is a Fun little drone. I have many 1S drones- I keep all my 1S in a little ammo can and I try not to store them inside near anything that could catch fire. Old Ammo cans from the surplus store are nice for this

 

[Droning on and on...]

Any punch a battery suffer in a crash is dangerous. I do not know the circumstances but Is just to let you know. This is why the RC-cars use hard case batteries.

Any DENT.

It may look okay, but you can not know what may have been compromised internally. Back in my helo days I had a pack blow right where it had a minor 1mm deep, 5mm dia dent from a hard landing.

It's so, so hard to toss a $100 lipo pack just because of a dent. Most of the time nothing ever happens.

Most of the time.

 

[Droning on and on...]

About 10 years ago I had a Mikado Logo 800XXtreme 14S battery packs made with 2 7S packs and in a crash one of them was punched and you have no idea how violent was the fire. Total lost. Yours was a 450ma battery. Imaginate 2 7S 5500mah batteries.

Hey, if fully charged 3.6V × 14 = 50V, × 5.5Ah = 275 Wh... That's a lot of energy! And times 2! So 550Wh, or about 1900 BTU. Most released in under a minute, probably.

Yeah, that would put on a show

Little know fact: While depleted li-ion batteries can still catch fire if damaged, they are MUCH safer than fully charged batteries, and usually don't spectacularly explode.

 

[zeusfl]

Hey, if fully charged 3.6V × 14 = 50V, × 5.5Ah = 275 Wh... That's a lot of energy! And times 2! So 550Wh, or about 1900 BTU. Most released in under a minute, probably.

Yeah, that would put on a show

Little know fact: While depleted li-ion batteries can still catch fire if damaged, they are MUCH safer than fully charged batteries, and usually don't spectacularly explode.

I have videos. Let me show you.

This was years ago. In that flight it peak 274 Amps. Id had a Kontronik Cool Kosmik 200A HV ESC.

 

[StevenBrodsky]

Not related to a dji drone but just something I want to share as it scared the life out of me. I had these little 1s batteries for a while. Not going into detail about what exactly happened but one started smoking so I threw them both outside onto concrete and they started pouring out smoke and acid everywhere. It was on fire for a very short period of time. I usually keep theses in a lipo safe but definitely not testing it again. I’m surprised how much damage a small little 1s battery could actually do. You can see in one of the photos how it ruptured down the center and on the side. Have a good one and stay safe.

I HAD A DJI BATTERY FOR A MAVIC 3 EXPLODE ! Here is the story. The drone crashed and I got it replaced, but I didn't send the battery in, thinking it might be OK. The plastic on the battery shifted and I stupidly thought I could pop it back in place. I let the battery sit in my house for a few weeks, but never flew with it. I was leery of it because I knew it suffered an impact during the drone crash.

One day, I thought, hey, i'm going to push the plastic back in place. I used a small wedge and popped the plastic back in place, SUDDENLY THE BATTERY SPARKED AND STARTED THROWING SPARKS OUT THE EDGE WHERE I POPPED THE PLASTIC BACK IN. I was in my house and the battery was getting worse, fire and smoke started spewing out the end of the battery. I grabbed the other end , ran to the front door and threw it into a canal nearby. It bubbled and smoked underwater THEN ALOUD BANG OCCURED. The battery smoked and bubbled for 2 more minutes until it stopped.

 

[zeusfl]

I HAD A DJI BATTERY FOR A MAVIC 3 EXPLODE ! Here is the story. The drone crashed and I got it replaced, but I didn't send the battery in, thinking it might be OK. The plastic on the battery shifted and I stupidly thought I could pop it back in place. I let the battery sit in my house for a few weeks, but never flew with it. I was leery of it because I knew it suffered an impact during the drone crash.

One day, I thought, hey, i'm going to push the plastic back in place. I used a small wedge and popped the plastic back in place, SUDDENLY THE BATTERY SPARKED AND STARTED THROWING SPARKS OUT THE EDGE WHERE I POPPED THE PLASTIC BACK IN. I was in my house and the battery was getting worse, fire and smoke started spewing out the end of the battery. I grabbed the other end , ran to the front door and threw it into a canal nearby. It bubbled and smoked underwater THEN ALOUD BANG OCCURED. The battery smoked and bubbled for 2 more minutes until it stopped.

Dammm..... That was a close one. I am trying to find a bag for this one that I am working right now. This one is a 24V 5.3kWh This one could make a nice fire !!! LOL

 

[StevenBrodsky]

Dammm..... That was a close one. I am trying to find a bag for this one that I am working right now. This one is a 24V 5.3kWh This one could make a nice fire !!! LOL

What on earth are you building? Looks like big battery arrays. I would hate to see those catch on fire. I doubt they will, but if....To bad you didn't have an outside shed to work in. Just make sure you're covered by fire insurance.

 

[Cafguy]

Dammm..... That was a close one. I am trying to find a bag for this one that I am working right now. This one is a 24V 5.3kWh This one could make a nice fire !!! LOL

Will you please take me step by step how I can do that to my golf cart! lol

 

[zeusfl]

What on earth are you building? Looks like big battery arrays. I would hate to see those catch on fire. I doubt they will, but if....To bad you didn't have an outside shed to work in. Just make sure you're covered by fire insurance.

This will be a 8S2P 24V battery. (8 batteries cells LiFePo4 3.2V 105 Amps Hour) in series and 2 in parallel. (total of 16 cells). This will be my power backup for the house at the moment. The small one is a 908 Watts Hour pack 7S7P to charging my drones on the field. When I am not at home I disconnect this packs and keep it inside a fire retardant case except the LiFePo4 cells that I just received and I am working on build a case for it to keep it safe. I got large LiPo safe backs but I want something bigger.

 

[zeusfl]

Will you please take me step by step how I can do that to my golf cart! lol

I love this topic. Your request is very simple to do and we can build a powerful battery.

We can make a different Off-topic thread since I feel I hijacked this thread and I feel bad about it. I will make a new one for this topic and I will post the link here.

 

[StevenBrodsky]

This will be a 8S2P 24V battery. (8 batteries cells LiFePo4 3.2V 105 Amps Hour) in series and 2 in parallel. (total of 16 cells). This will be my power backup for the house at the moment. The small one is a 908 Watts Hour pack 7S7P to charging my drones on the field. When I am not at home I disconnect this packs and keep it inside a fire retardant case except the LiFePo4 cells that I just received and I am working on build a case for it to keep it safe. I got large LiPo safe backs but I want something bigger.

For the house, you basically are making one of those electric backup generators I've seen online to buy. You must be saving a lot of money building your own.

 

[zeusfl]

For the house, you basically are making one of those electric backup generators I've seen online to buy. You must be saving a lot of money building your own.

To give you an Idea, check how much cost the Anker solix 7.8kWh $7,000 and Mine that is 5.4kWh is less than $900 in total. I can double mine to 11kWh with another's $600. I forget mentioned that mine pack is smart as well. I can setup everything by the app, Bluetooth and remotely.

https://www.anker.com/products/b1790117?variant=43011137667222&ref=a1790-pps

 

[PHZ]

Not related to a dji drone but just something I want to share as it scared the life out of me. I had these little 1s batteries for a while. Not going into detail about what exactly happened but one started smoking so I threw them both outside onto concrete and they started pouring out smoke and acid everywhere. It was on fire for a very short period of time. I usually keep theses in a lipo safe but definitely not testing it again. I’m surprised how much damage a small little 1s battery could actually do. You can see in one of the photos how it ruptured down the center and on the side. Have a good one and stay safe.

A fellow club member had a 2s, very small lipo from a company selling on Ali Express, go off like this and it pretty much totaled his house. Forensics experts analyzed it and could positively identify the battery as the source if the fire.

 

[zeusfl]

A fellow club member had a 2s, very small lipo from a company selling on Ali Express, go off like this and it pretty much totaled his house. Forensics experts analyzed it and could positively identify the battery as the source if the fire.

And this happens more often than people think. You need to see the fires on the solar panels forums. Most of the time is human error when people do bad combinations of wires, charging or passing the limits of chemistry.

Also the lack of protection circuit or fuses and just common sense. LiPo bags are your friend. The bags can slow down a fire but not stop it with large packs.

 

[StevenBrodsky]

And this happens more often than people think. You need to see the fires on the solar panels forums. Most of the time is human error when people do bad combinations of wires, charging or passing the limits of chemistry.

Also the lack of protection circuit or fuses and just common sense. LiPo bags are your friend. The bags can slow down a fire but not stop it with large packs.

I've got a bunch of RC batteries (some large capacity, some small capacity) in a drawer in one of my rooms, they are all unprotected. I guess I need to either put them outside in a safe area or get them to a recycling center ASAP.

 

[zeusfl]

I've got a bunch of RC batteries (some large capacity, some small capacity) in a drawer in one of my rooms, they are all unprotected. I guess I need to either put them outside in a safe area or get them to a recycling center ASAP.

When comparing the safety of different lithium-ion battery chemistries, it's important to note that safety depends on various factors, including the specific application, handling, and manufacturing standards. However, we can generally discuss some characteristics of each type:

1. LiPo (Lithium Polymer):
   • Advantages:
     • High energy density.
     • Flexible and lightweight packaging.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Prone to swelling and puffing.
     • Sensitive to overcharging and over-discharging.
     • Can be more prone to thermal runaway if not properly handled.
2. Li-ion (Lithium-Ion):
   • Advantages:
     • Moderate energy density.
     • Generally safer than LiPo.
     • Suitable for various applications.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Still susceptible to thermal runaway, especially if improperly used or damaged.
3. LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate):
   • Advantages:
     • Excellent thermal stability, less prone to thermal runaway.
     • Longer cycle life.
     • Better tolerance to overcharging and over-discharging.
   • Disadvantages:
     • Lower energy density compared to LiPo and standard Li-ion.
     • Heavier and less compact than some other lithium-ion types.

In terms of safety, LiFePO4 batteries are often considered the safest among the three. They are less prone to thermal runaway, have a longer cycle life, and are more forgiving of overcharging and over-discharging. However, the choice of battery chemistry also depends on other factors like energy density, weight, and size requirements for a specific application.

Regardless of the chemistry, it's crucial to follow proper charging and discharging procedures, use quality chargers, and avoid physically damaging the batteries. Additionally, industry standards and regulations play a role in ensuring the safety of lithium-ion batteries in various applications. Always follow the manufacturer's guidelines and best practices for the specific battery type and application you are working with.