Drone Battery Causes House Fire

[DanMan32]

I wish they would mention what drone it was.

All the more reason DJI should recall M2 batteries made 7-8/2018.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I wish they would mention what drone it was.

In the video at 0:55 it shows the melted drone, hard to say what it is, but it looks very like a Mavic model, or clone.

 

[Pontoon-pilot]

A large metal 50 cal. ammunition can would be safe to use. Cut a slit on the side where the wire goes in this also provides for gasses to escape in a case of fumes or fire. This way it does not pressurize the box. That is what I use in my hobby shop.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I notice that things like e-cig or drone battery fires get news coverage but laptop & phone fires don't.

I don't find that's the case at all as there's been widespread coverage of laptop and mobile phone fires particularly the faulty Sony cells and the now infamous Note 7's.

 

[theDRONEranger]

So what methods would one use to extinguish such a fire? Are the fumes emanating poisonous as well? What would one recommend for limited space storage? Presently, I use two old ammo cans (with holes drilled to prevent over pressure). Sand laid on the bottom, batteries are in lipo bags and all are further contained in larger lips bags. Overkill? Each ammo can holds 5 batteries each, 5 Spark and 5 Mavic Air. What about the remote controllers? DJI specs don’t say what type of battery, only list the power!

 

[AMann]

I am doing this- mount a smoke detector over your charging station as well as using a metal cart, box or cabinet for it too. Also keep an extinguisher next to it as well.

 

[zocalo]

So what methods would one use to extinguish such a fire? Are the fumes emanating poisonous as well? What would one recommend for limited space storage? Presently, I use two old ammo cans (with holes drilled to prevent over pressure). Sand laid on the bottom, batteries are in lipo bags and all are further contained in larger lips bags. Overkill? Each ammo can holds 5 batteries each, 5 Spark and 5 Mavic Air. What about the remote controllers? DJI specs don’t say what type of battery, only list the power!

The DJI RCs use Li-Ion cells, AFAICT.

The general recommendation for battery fires is a Class D extinguisher, but if one of those isn't available the next best thing is to smother it with sand. Foam and CO2 may also work, but they might react with the chemicals in some batteries, although both should be fine for DJI's batteries. As a last resort you can douse them in water, but that obviously needs to be done with care if the power is still live to the charger.

Note that battery fires can sometimes flare up again, so it's worth monitoring the area for a while until you are sure things have cooled down.

FWIW, a bucket of sand is generally a good thing to have in a hobby area/workshop anyway as it's quick and easily cleaned off most things, so that would be my go-to option for this. I also have an ABC class power extinguisher available.

 

[RickinWaST]

Thanks for posting the article. Good wake up call about leaving drone battery being charged unattended. I usually do not, except once. Not anymore!

 

[dronerdave]

I really need some way to keep my aircraft/racing drone batteries at a reasonable temperature during storage. Not so bad now but my garage gets really hot during summer so I keep them in the house on tile. I store in LiPo bags that fit inside the ammo cans. I don't do the same with my MP batteries and those are in a Pelican type case. I usually charge my batteries (even the MP types) in my vehicle on the way to where I plan to fly, then run them to about +/-35% in the field.

Surprised nobody has made a fire proof temp regulated vault.

 

[Unknown Pilot]

a friend had his workshop burn down this year due to a battery fire. he lost every tool/drone/plane/transmitter he owned.
insurance did not pay out due to "unattended battery on charge"
40 members of our club donated tools, transmitter, drones and planes to him.
he now (and other members) uses a metal safe outside for charging.
i now only charge any lipo outside with the exception of 1s that are never unattended.

Which could pretty much be anyone's laptop, cellphone, tablet...? Same principle, right?

 

[lordofshadows]

Lipo batteries are very hazardous, but I think DJI does a good job making them safe. I have Lipo bags, a nice charger, and am very careful with my race drone batteries though

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Insurance not wanting to pay out on lipo fire.

Which could pretty much be anyone's laptop, cellphone, tablet...? Same principle, right?

Yep, I think any decent lawyer in training could win such a case.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

So what methods would one use to extinguish such a fire?

Touched on that in post #16.
This is probably the BEST document I have found, recommended procedure for carrying lipos on planes, explains 'thermal runaway' very well, and dealing with lipo fires . . .

Lithium batteries: safe to fly? | Safety First

Today, Lithium batteries play a barely visible, yet essential role in both our daily life and aviation alike. Manufactured and handled correctly, Lithium batteries are safe. But production failures, mishandling, or not being aware of their specific characteristics can have serious repercussions.

safetyfirst.airbus.com

You can download a PDF of this information at the top of page and it can be saved to keep handy for further reading or to show others concerned about the problem when travelling.

Basically . . .

If battery has not flamed out (smoking, swelling badly, hot, never handle with bare hands, fire gloves / tongs are recommended.
Douse liberally with water or other non flammable / alcoholic liquid to cool the battery.
It may or may not flame out / spark violently as they do when they do go up, if not just keep it cooled until it's safe to handle / dispose of.

If it has gone too far and it's flaming / sparking etc, you use a halon / BCF extinguisher to subdue flames, the do the water dousing as above to cool the battery.

Are the fumes emanating poisonous as well?

I imagine they would be very toxic, like most plastic fires, lithium would probably not be nice either when burning.

 

[LivinLarge]

One method I have seen for protecting against a lipo fire is to place a cinder block on a concrete floor with the holes facing up and place the battery in one of the holes while charging. Cover the top opening with a plastic bag full of sand. In the event of a fire, the plastic bag will melt, dumping the sand on the battery.

 

[silverdragon]

It scares the heck out of me but I'm always close while charging. I do keep my MP batteries in a case along with all the accessories sitting in my equipment room. Probably not a good idea. My biggest fear is the numerous 3s, 4s and 6s batteries I use weekly. I also have one of those jump start batteries that has puffed. I keep them in LiPo bags in 50MM ammo cans. I do try to keep batteries at proper storage levels and w/i the temp specs suggested but...

Question and Scenario, your close by and one of your Lithium ion batteries explodes and sparks are flying in an 8 foot radius and curtains and and a crap load of other flammable items are in that 8 foot of raging flames and sparks. Question: what method are you going to use to distinguish this situation? Not putting you on the spot but when those batteries BLOW... it becomes a second hell. To be fair, I'm totally not prepared for this situation. I need idea's, there must be a proper plan of attack.

 

[Bob1956]

How stable are these batteries after charging? For a weekends flying I charge everything up the night before and pack up everything up very soon after all the batteries (drone, RC and power pack) are charged.
Are these batt's running away just during charging ?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Are these batt's running away just during charging ?

Not 100% sure Bob, but thermal runaway phenomenon seems to be when something is wrong with the battery, either damage from a bump from an impact, or maybe they are just old and had too many charges.
It's also possible some small % of batteries could be defected in some way from new that cause this too.

I know my iPhone 6 sometimes gets VERY hot in a pant pocket etc, so I take it out thinking I've left it on or something going, a map app open or similar, that it's using more energy than normal and being in a pocket building heat.
9/10 times it's screen is off, and nothing running, so it makes me think about where I keep it when on the move.

I have felt my M1P batteries during discharge (at 2 days setting) and they can get quite warm.
If they are inside my backpack it might be that the heat can build, and again they are in the 4 BP250 Droneguard pack lower compartments adjacent to each other, with just a little barrier of thin foam / material between them.
This could build up heat and perhaps create a perfect storm for the batteries to continue to rise in temp.

Old or damaged batteries could see an increasing number of issues with Lipo battery fires I guess, as those batteries like DJIs are probably getting quite large in numbers from 4, 5, 6 or so years ago (when the boom started) coming to perhaps a reasonable end of life.

So, I guess be careful during charging and maybe in the storage discharge time too.

 

[AnzacJack]

Good wake up call. I always used to charge in ammo boxes or a fireproof safe, but when the smart batteries came out I got a bit complacent and now I always just charge on the bench in my office.
This afternoon I’ll be setting up my charging safe again

 

[GadgetGuy]

In the video at 0:55 it shows the melted drone, hard to say what it is, but it looks very like a Mavic model, or clone.

In all fairness, it does not appear to be a DJI drone to me, as the shape in the upper right of what he is holding does not match any DJI drone I am familiar with. Cheap Chinese knockoff with cheap batteries of a superior Chinese product. Unclear where the battery would be attached on this drone, if this is the aircraft without a battery, which was presumably on a separate charger.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

In all fairness, it does not appear to be a DJI drone to me, . . . Cheap Chinese knockoff with cheap batteries of a superior Chinese product. . . . Unclear where the battery would be attached on this drone, if this is the aircraft without a battery, which was presumably on a separate charger.

True, why I described it was like a Mavic in shape / size.
A clone is probably more likely to have a lesser quality battery, though I imagine lipo batteries should have some sort of standard of manufacture.
Possibly something ignored in a lot of Chinese factories anyway.

hard to say what it is, but it looks very like a Mavic model, or clone.

If a battery in this was on top, and one was fitted to the burned drone, it's likely to have merely been close by and just melted in the general fire.