Battery Fire!

[AMann]

My brother in law was a videographer and made his own Mh battery packs back in pre-9/11 days. They were belts with multiple packs sewn onto them. He was wearing one at an airport once and it started to short out and smoke. In a panic, he ran past security and they just watched him pass by on his way outside with a smoking belt and did nothing about it.

Things have certainly changed but batteries still get shorts!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Th

My brother in law was a videographer and made his own Mh battery packs back in pre-9/11 days. They were belts with multiple packs sewn onto them. He was wearing one at an airport once and it started to short out and smoke. In a panic, he ran past security and they just watched him pass by on his way outside with a smoking belt and did nothing about it.

Things have certainly changed but batteries still get shorts!

That would not end well now :/

 

[teccer]

so... Its the CHARGER that ignites? I thought it was the batteries that caught fire. Why the bag, again?

why the bag,, because the batteries have to be in the charger to charge them, put the charger and batteries in the bag, simple

 

[AnzacJack]

The batteries generally are not “in” the charger, but connected via cables to charger
The bags can give a false sense of security. The charging process needs to be monitored at all times. (You don’t need to stand by them, but be in the vicinity)
Google lipo bag testing. The majority of those bags will contain the fire for a few seconds.
Safest option is to charge somewhere that won’t allow a fire to spread if a lipo fails. I use a fire cupboard but there are some pretty good options other than those bags.
Definitely research this. We should all be aware of the dangers

 

[Jet skier]

A friend's son-in-law purchased a drone on eBay. I am told not too long after receiving the drone he proceeded to charge the batteries.
I am not sure what the knowledge level (if any) this almost-new drone pilot is but I thought for discussion sake I would post the pic here.
View attachment 165196

That almost looks like an FPV parallel, balancing board type charger

 

[Ralph thompson]

the fire comes from the batterie the charger will overcharge the battery unless you set it to charge correctly this overcharged batterie will swell and tear its outer lining causing the chemicals inside the batterie to instantly catch fire( if you have ever taken a lipo battery and poked a hole in it with an icepick ( NOT RECOMMENDED!!!) you will see that it will burst into flames the chems inside lipos don't play well with air .
HEY @Rip is that charger on the floor there a B6AC pro charger ( I have a few ) if so I don't see a wire going from the board to the balance ports on the side of the charger ( as Needed )

In the Inspire days, Transport CANADA required us to have a Class D fire extinguisher (expensive) but they later relaxed that to a bag of sand. I still carry a bag of sand in the car and fire proof blanked. Fortunately never had to use these.

 

[GregS]

Lucky there, the runaway lipo fires can be hard to put out, and the gases emitted can be very toxic.
Be interesting to know what sort of drone, but looking at the charger wiring, probably not DJI or other high end consumer drone.
Lipo fires are very rare in well made, hard cased batteries, and the DJI (and likely other brand) BMS's really do their jobs well.
Certainly there are cases of Phantom battery fire incidents, those might be just that much older, and possibly not as good a tech, but in years to come maybe older Mavic Pro, Spark, and other early drones will see batteries becoming more unstable in the battery chemistry, which can result in fires.

This is why I keep my P4P and Mavic Batteries in LiPo bags and in the middle of the floor on concrete.

 

[Cafguy]

why the bag,, because the batteries have to be in the charger to charge them, put the charger and batteries in the bag, simple

Because these batterys will explode and spread burning chemicals all over a room. The bag only helps contains these flames from going everywhere. They are a must for charging lipos. DJI and other "intellegent" batteries have A LOT more failsafes built into them these days BUT you should still never charge ANY LiPo unattended. the first time you think you can get away with it --you won't.

 

[JimSteadman]

Our cell phones, tablets and laptops are powered by the same sort of batteries. As a technical matter, what happened here is not a fire, but a runaway chemical reaction which can continue until the chemicals are exhausted. The reaction can be stopped if the temperature can be brought below 260 degrees F, but once it starts, there is almost no time to 'stop it. The gasses produced can cause severe eye and respiratory damage. Fortunately these batteries are small. But if the charging is taking place on or near a flammable surface it can ignite a fire.

 

[Flying Shroppie]

I always charge my Lipo batteries in fire proof pockets and although my mains charger can be connected to 4 batteries at a time it always charges them in sequence so that no 2 are being charged at the same time.
During the charging cycle I always check 4 or 5 times to see if there is any heating.
I never charge from the charging output in the car. Better to lose a £80 battery than a £20,000 car!

 

[Droning on and on...]

So, the usual lipo thread.

All sorts of technically correct advice, all utterly impractical in the world of human beings. In the drone world, this is much like BVLOS flight... Everyone wags their finger and publicly present themselves as utterly compliant, while in reality most of us fly BVLOS regularly.

Same with charging. Don't charge unattended.

Right.

I'd venture that north of 99% of drone battery charge cycles happens unattended. Doesn't matter what good advice is dispensed, people are people.

Now, that wet blanket thrown, IMO the risk of catastrophic failure is tiny. Failure statistics prove it. Especially with DJI Intelligent Batteries. The concern articulated here every time this subject comes up is way overblown. WAY.

Risk is not solely the severity of a failure. The likelihood of a failure is a part of the assessment as well. The result of a total brake failure in your car is pretty catastrophic, but we take no mitigating measures and don't worry about it when we get in the car because it just doesn't happen to any significant degree.

As with DJI batteries. They don't blow up. Catch fire. spew toxic gasses. They are very, very well engineered, for safety, from many years of refinement.

Rest easy folks, and just charge your DJI batteries as specified. Don't get all nervous they're going to explode. There are other risks of failure that burns your house down, like your water heater. Treat your DJI batteries like you do your lipo powered cell phone, and you'll be fine.

 

[maelstrom]

For those who think they're safe with a LiPo bag, it's worth watching these videos:

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[MAvic_South_Oz]

So, the usual lipo thread. technically correct advice, all utterly impractical in the world of human beings.

IMO the risk of catastrophic failure is tiny. Failure statistics prove it. Especially with DJI Intelligent Batteries. The concern articulated here every time this subject comes up is way overblown. WAY.

True to a certain point.

Absolutely, the equal safest lipo you will find in a drone, up there with other brand hard case type lipo cell battery format.
Takes terminal shortage, or from mechanical damage . . . case penetration, cell penetration to have any real immediate risk of a lipo runaway event.

The other worrying times to be always on the alert for are, batteries swelling noticeably in flight, especially under duress like sports mode, or swelling that doesn't subside when cool, and do batteries get excessively hot to touch while charging / flying.

Get used to touching your batteries during charging and on landing to know what normal temperature feel is.

The result of a total brake failure in your car is pretty catastrophic, but we take no mitigating measures and don't worry about it when we get in the car because it just doesn't happen to any significant degree.

Like scheduled brake pad / fluid changes, especially in cold / wet climates, rectifying soft brake pedals and replacing worn brake cylinders, pistons etc . . . drone batteries can be monitored as above to hopefully catch any problem chemical breakdown early, then one just has to ask themselves do I feel safe still flying this swollen (or excessively hot) battery ?

Many more videos on youtube showing phone and laptop fires on aircraft, in terminals etc, so yeah, it happens, but very very rare, and I'd hazard a guess that with the very few real incidents (not tests) of lipo fires online, it really is a lot less risk with our drone batteries than lithium batteries in other apparatus having this issue.

 

[hiflyer201]

If you’re going to hell fire you should have some details

 

[Cafguy]

RC lipos are much more dangerous because it is left to the end user to configure and charge their batterys safely for each battery. Too many beginners rush in and do not understand what must be done in order to charge their new batteries safely its not that the battery is dangerous at all its the user who does not educate themselves on the safe handling and charging of these batteries. DJI batterys are much different than these batterys, because the charger and the battery do all the work setting things up for you (intelligent). Phone batteries too have these preset charging parameters RC and FPV drone chargers do not because of the many types of batterys you may charge from the ports on the charger, you will need to set all these yourself.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

RC lipos are much more dangerous because it is left to the end user to configure and charge their batterys safely for each battery. Too many beginners rush in and do not understand what must be done in order to charge their new batteries safely its not that the battery is dangerous at all its the user who does not educate themselves on the safe handling and charging of these batteries.

Indeed proper FPV and other such aircraft / models using regular RC lipos need very careful charging based on their various parameters.

Also being soft pack, no casing, they are more prone to impact damage.
Many have bottom mount batteries, though if a crash happens (a lot more for proper FPV drones, model aircraft etc) they can get impacted top mount too.

 

[AnzacJack]

So, the usual lipo thread.

All sorts of technically correct advice, all utterly impractical in the world of human beings. In the drone world, this is much like BVLOS flight... Everyone wags their finger and publicly present themselves as utterly compliant, while in reality most of us fly BVLOS regularly.

Same with charging. Don't charge unattended.

Right.

I'd venture that north of 99% of drone battery charge cycles happens unattended. Doesn't matter what good advice is dispensed, people are people.

Now, that wet blanket thrown, IMO the risk of catastrophic failure is tiny. Failure statistics prove it. Especially with DJI Intelligent Batteries. The concern articulated here every time this subject comes up is way overblown. WAY.

Risk is not solely the severity of a failure. The likelihood of a failure is a part of the assessment as well. The result of a total brake failure in your car is pretty catastrophic, but we take no mitigating measures and don't worry about it when we get in the car because it just doesn't happen to any significant degree.

As with DJI batteries. They don't blow up. Catch fire. spew toxic gasses. They are very, very well engineered, for safety, from many years of refinement.

Rest easy folks, and just charge your DJI batteries as specified. Don't get all nervous they're going to explode. There are other risks of failure that burns your house down, like your water heater. Treat your DJI batteries like you do your lipo powered cell phone, and you'll be fine.

Maybe if you ate just talking about so called “smart batteries”
But……. Anyone charging conventional batteries with chargers that require the correct settings but also allow for incorrect settings changes the story. These ARE dangerous and charging should always be monitored. Unless you like rolling a dice on the cost of your home (maybe a little exaggerated, but only as much as you are underplaying the safety issue)

 

[Droning on and on...]

Maybe if you ate just talking about so called “smart batteries”

Well of course that's what I'm talking about!

What forum are we on? Homebuilt drone pilots don't come to mavicpilots.com for battery charging advice

Start the timer... there will be another "new" thread like this with the same hysteria again.

Then, DJI drone owners will nearly all charge their batteries without anything more careful or special than plugging in their mobile phone to charge while they're asleep.

The "lipos are gonna burn your house down" and "I never fly BVLOS" are regular features here, and are the most dishonest threads posted

 

[Droning on and on...]

Where this gets really funny (for me) is when people post rather involved and complex charging monitoring processes, based on charging naked lipos where you have access and control over individual cells, balancing, current regulation, etc.

Things you have no access to with a DJI battery module.

Here is my heretical advice: Throw your batteries on the charger after you've flown with them, then go out and have a few beers and wings with friends at Chili's. Then put them away when charged. They'll take care of themselves. There is little you can control via charging to maximize cycle life or any other performance factor.

The one thing you can do to affect performance and life is avoiding over-discharging. Come back and land with 20%+. Other than that, trust that high IQ battery... it really is pretty smart

 

[Cafguy]

The LiPo advice that you call needless are posted by me now and probably in the future on any forum because in the Remote Control Hobby the BIGGEST cause of injury and or property loss is LIPO FIRE.! So why not talk about it when the conversation arrises. You say you have no problems leaving your DJI batteries alone while they charge, and thats fine for you I suppose, BUT the subject picture clearly shows a couple of 4s -RC- batteries laying in ashes in a kitchen. These batteries look to have NO balance lead connected, NOR where these batteries charged well away from flammable materials such as all producers of these batterys clearly print on their labels. Charge your battery as you will folks but unattended is just asking for a fire (wouldn't you rather be there the instant something happened rather than get told by the fireman.) I build drones and I come to this forum to get great advise mostly on my DJI equipment but for drone advice in general so I would think there are many Drone Builders on this forum.
ALSO I DO NOT wish to give bad or wrong advise on this subject so if you feel I am wrong giving this advise please feel free to correct me below. I am here to learn just like everyone else.
ALSO Hope you have comprehensive homeowners
ALSO Chilis really ?