Just got my mavic!!!!

buzzlightyr · Apr 25, 2017

Is it ok to leave my battery and controller charging while I'm at work? Will be at work for about 4hrs?

Dragonfly1 · Apr 25, 2017

buzzlightyr said:
Is it ok to leave my battery and controller charging while I'm at work? Will be at work for about 4hrs?

Not recommended. Problems are rare, but a lipo fire while you are out of the house could be catastrophic. How much of a risk are you willing to take for convenience?

Cyberpower678 · Apr 25, 2017

Honestly. These things have switches when charging. If it's full the power is cut off. So if you're going to have a LiPo fire, it's going to happen irrespective if it's connected to the charger or not.

Former Member · Apr 25, 2017

Your controller and flight batteries will automatically stop charging when they get to 100%, so dont worry about overcharging.

If youre worried about a fire, you can charge the flight battery in a fireproof bag like this one:

Amazon.com: "LIPOSACK" FIRE RETARDANT BAG: Toys & Games

Ive been charging Lipo batteries since they replaced NIMH and have never had a fire in charging over 1000 times (planes, helis, cars, trucks, boats, drones), but that doesnt mean it cant happen.

regdawg · Apr 25, 2017

buzzlightyr said:
Is it ok to leave my battery and controller charging while I'm at work? Will be at work for about 4hrs?

Call in sick....you just got your Mavic!

Big Fil · Apr 25, 2017

buzzlightyr said:
Is it ok to leave my battery and controller charging while I'm at work? Will be at work for about 4hrs?

Never ever leave lipos charging unattended! They can and have burnt places to the ground. I actually had a lipo go up in flames about two months ago just after it had finished charging. I was sitting right next to it when it puffed and burst it's housing. Because I was right there I was able to get the battery outside in a safe space before it spit out a 3-4 ft flame for 10 seconds. Had I not been in the room and been alert the whole place could've burnt down.

Straight out of DJI's battery safety guide if you don't believe me.

"Never leave the battery unattended during charging. DO NOT charge the battery near flammable materials or on flammable surfaces such as carpet or wood."

Big Fil · Apr 25, 2017

Thunder-drones said:
Ive been charging Lipo batteries since they replaced NIMH and have never had a fire in charging over 1000 times (planes, helis, cars, trucks, boats, drones), but that doesnt mean it cant happen.

Same here. Been using lipos since 2006 and have easily charged in the many 1000's of cycles as yourself. My number came up 2 months ago and one finally went rogue and caught fire. One thing I never let myself do over all those years was charge a battery and go to sleep or be any farther than the next room while charging. Being around the hobby i've also know of at least two people who have lost or partially lost their houses.

Former Member · Apr 25, 2017

Big Fil said:
Same here. Been using lipos since 2006 and have easily charged in the many 1000's of cycles as yourself. My number came up 2 months ago and one finally went rogue and caught fire. One thing I never let myself do over all those years was charge a battery and go to sleep or be any farther than the next room while charging. Being around the hobby i've also know of at least two people who have lost or partially lost their houses.

Do you charge using a fire retardant bag? I think that helps.

Big Fil · Apr 25, 2017

I charge on a metal workbench when if i'm tinkering in the same room. If I know i'm going to be charging but maybe watching a movie or doing other things I charge in an ammo can on top of that metal workbench. I have a few lipo bags lying around which may be OK for smaller batteries but have a number larger 14s batteries where the common lipo bag is nowhere near large enough. I've seen a number of lipo bags on the market that are barely larger than the size of the battery. I severely doubt those would contain a full power fire from the batteries they are meant to house. I think lipo bags are better than nothing. I just don't think they are marketed correctly to show what size battery they are capable of handling.

TrayBoz · Apr 25, 2017

Read this post from last Friday (April 21 2017)

Charging Drone Battery causes house fire on ABC News this AM

newnan3 · Apr 25, 2017

Not convinced a lipo bag is gonna do much to suppress a fire....Ive got one of those bat-safe boxes but I still wouldnt leave lipos charging unattended. The cost of error is too high

BAT-SAFE » Safe lithium battery handling