Lipo safety.. I lost it all. Please read.

[DirtyLikaRat]

Guys.. Girls.. I'm still in shock.. But I thought this a very important and often neglected issue. Lipo battery safety.. When storing... When chaeging... They are or can be evil little creatures. Two weeks ago I lost my home, my family photos, 10 or so built fpv quadcopter ws, a mavic mini 2, mavic zoom, and a parrot bebop 2 fly Korea on all the camera drones... To a lipo fire. One minute I'm charging two 4s lipi batteries in a dual charger... Balanced and proper voltage and what not.. Working on a build with my back to my charging area.. I smelt that lithium smell, whipped my chair around and it was awoke and popped... Anx erupted into flames. I grabbed my fire extinguisher that sits next to the work bench... And it failed. It just dribbled out a little bit of goop. I grabbed a towel haging on my chair to smother the flames out and the second battery just exploded pretty much in my face.. I fell backwards.. Face slightly toasted.. Eyebrows singed.. Amd when I sat back up the room was just.. Engulfed in flames.... Then the worst possible thin g happened. A. 50 caliber steel ammo can that sat next to my charger with no less than 69 plus batteilries. From 1s to 6s just popped off like freaking firecrackers... My face.. Hands.. Anywhere that wasn't clothed was black from sooot. I crashed down the hallway meeting my sister on law at the front door.. Shoved her out and stumbled just behind her face first, into the lawn. At this point our home just dl hopelessly engulfed in flames... I tried to get the water hose in action but the flames were so hot I just couldn't make it happen. By the time th fire department there it ws a skeleton of frame and twisted metals. I writes this to stress to my brothers and sisters that you can not take these batteries for granted. Charging.... Storing.. Just please please PLEASE be careful.. One minute I was on top of the world.. Finishing my Armattan rooster seven inch quad.. Geared up to test fly.
. And ten minutes later I was homeless, drone lass and utterly devastated. But I telll you this.. The fire destroyed my home.. All my possessions. But it didn't destroy my love of unmanned flight or my determination and spirit. I'm a US Army veteran and by God surrender is not in my vocabulary. I Will get back on my tired old feet again... And I Will get my hangar back.. Even if it months or years. I WILL fly again. As a matter of fact some family bought me a little cheap Amazon 30$ quadcopter. So I'm off and running lol.. Bless their hearts. They tried.. And I'll fly it with pride God bless yall and keep it safe.

---

 

[Cafguy]

SO Sorry for your loss and thank you for this info.
Many will hopefully learn from this. I am glad it didnt destroy your spirit and I hope you are back to flying soon.
Long ago a friend of mine lost his home to the same thing. All of us who knew him Moved our Battery operations out to the shed in the back. I use cinder Blocks and I place the batteries in the holes and plug them in. I also use a 50 Cal ammo can But I dont keep them near the charging Batteries. This one guy losing his home has most likely saved one of our homes.
Wish I could buy you a new drone BUT Sorry if you PM me sometime I may be able to help you out with a part or something I also build My own quads. I would only add for those new builders out there -Get A Smoke Stopper and USE it.

 

[justhangingaround]

Oh man worst fear ever,and been on my mind lately
Yip I bet many just have lipos all over ,myself included and just got these safe bags to at least give a chance to contain and move it if such mishap happens,

Good wake up call for all users of rc batterys regardless what they're in
times like this I hate bein broke or I buy you something, hope you're back on your feet soon ,
sorry for you loss too and best of luck for the future
Thanks for sharing this

 

[GFields]

So sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing this important warning

 

[Droning on and on...]

Oh my, I am so, so sorry.

 

[Dusty DJI]

Guys.. Girls.. I'm still in shock.. But I thought this a very important and often neglected issue. Lipo battery safety.. When storing... When chaeging... They are or can be evil little creatures. Two weeks ago I lost my home, my family photos, 10 or so built fpv quadcopter ws, a mavic mini 2, mavic zoom, and a parrot bebop 2 fly Korea on all the camera drones... To a lipo fire. One minute I'm charging two 4s lipi batteries in a dual charger... Balanced and proper voltage and what not.. Working on a build with my back to my chargingView attachment 174057 area.. I smelt that lithium smell, whipped my chair around and it was awoke and popped... Anx erupted into flames. I grabbed my fire extinguisher that sits next to the work bench... And it failed. It just dribbled out a little bit of goop. I grabbed a towel haging on my chair to smother the flames out and the second battery just exploded pretty much in my face.. I fell backwards.. Face slightly toasted.. Eyebrows singed.. Amd when I sat back up the room was just.. Engulfed in flames.... Then the worst possible thin g happened. A. 50 caliber steel ammo can that sat next to my charger with no less than 69 plus batteilries. From 1s to 6s just popped off like freaking firecrackers... My face.. Hands.. Anywhere that wasn't clothed was black from sooot. I crashed down the hallway meeting my sister on law at the front door.. Shoved her out and stumbled just behind her face first, into the lawn. At this point our home just dl hopelessly engulfed in flames... I tried to get the water hose in action but the flames were so hot I just couldn't make it happen. By the time th fire department there it ws a skeleton of frame and twisted metals. I writes this to stress to my brothers and sisters that you can not take these batteries for granted. Charging.... Storing.. Just please please PLEASE be careful.. One minute I was on top of the world.. Finishing my Armattan rooster seven inch quad.. Geared up to test fly.
. And ten minutes later I was homeless, drone lass and utterly devastated. But I telll you this.. The fire destroyed my home.. All my possessions. But it didn't destroy my love of unmanned flight or my determination and spirit. I'm a US Army veteran and by God surrender is not in my vocabulary. I Will get back on my tired old feet again... And I Will get my hangar back.. Even if it months or years. I WILL fly again. As a matter of fact some family bought me a little cheap Amazon 30$ quadcopter. So I'm off and running lol.. Bless their hearts. They tried.. And I'll fly it with pride God bless yall and keep it safe.

---

Sorry for your loss. One of the reasons I pay close attention to battery charging ( I am sure you did too ) and the main reason I won't ever own a EV vehicle. Too early to tell what they will do at a charging station.
I charge my lithium batteries in a concrete surrounded garage.

 

[icecoldgin]

Sorry for your loss

But thanks for sharing and giving us all a wake up call.

I hope that you recover quickly and blessings will come back a hundred fold.

 

[MavicRoolzOK]

sorry for your loss too. Had an old Hubsan batt do that to me too - >just< managed to get it outside in time. Glad to hear you're fighting back. Best of luck

 

[PakNheat380]

Wow! Devastating experience! Tough to comprehend! Very sorry

 

[zeker]

dont fret bud. you will be back up and running soon. I lost complete home and contents 20 yrs ago. less than 1 yr later i was back on my feet. with lotsa help from neighbours and folks I didnt even know. (manitoba has the best folks )
I slowly got outta my funk and started putting my life back together. I was a wreck for almost a month. take time to heal and be with family and brainstorm. you can do this.

I always am afraid of batterys. was gonna buy an electric bike, but saw all the kaos of folks charging in the apartments etc, and decided against

 

[Dale D]

Guys.. Girls.. I'm still in shock.. But I thought this a very important and often neglected issue. Lipo battery safety.. When storing... When chaeging... They are or can be evil little creatures. Two weeks ago I lost my home, my family photos, 10 or so built fpv quadcopter ws, a mavic mini 2, mavic zoom, and a parrot bebop 2 fly Korea on all the camera drones... To a lipo fire. One minute I'm charging two 4s lipi batteries in a dual charger... Balanced and proper voltage and what not.. Working on a build with my back to my chargingView attachment 174057 area.. I smelt that lithium smell, whipped my chair around and it was awoke and popped... Anx erupted into flames. I grabbed my fire extinguisher that sits next to the work bench... And it failed. It just dribbled out a little bit of goop. I grabbed a towel haging on my chair to smother the flames out and the second battery just exploded pretty much in my face.. I fell backwards.. Face slightly toasted.. Eyebrows singed.. Amd when I sat back up the room was just.. Engulfed in flames.... Then the worst possible thin g happened. A. 50 caliber steel ammo can that sat next to my charger with no less than 69 plus batteilries. From 1s to 6s just popped off like freaking firecrackers... My face.. Hands.. Anywhere that wasn't clothed was black from sooot. I crashed down the hallway meeting my sister on law at the front door.. Shoved her out and stumbled just behind her face first, into the lawn. At this point our home just dl hopelessly engulfed in flames... I tried to get the water hose in action but the flames were so hot I just couldn't make it happen. By the time th fire department there it ws a skeleton of frame and twisted metals. I writes this to stress to my brothers and sisters that you can not take these batteries for granted. Charging.... Storing.. Just please please PLEASE be careful.. One minute I was on top of the world.. Finishing my Armattan rooster seven inch quad.. Geared up to test fly.
. And ten minutes later I was homeless, drone lass and utterly devastated. But I telll you this.. The fire destroyed my home.. All my possessions. But it didn't destroy my love of unmanned flight or my determination and spirit. I'm a US Army veteran and by God surrender is not in my vocabulary. I Will get back on my tired old feet again... And I Will get my hangar back.. Even if it months or years. I WILL fly again. As a matter of fact some family bought me a little cheap Amazon 30$ quadcopter. So I'm off and running lol.. Bless their hearts. They tried.. And I'll fly it with pride God bless yall and keep it safe.

---

Of course everyone who reads this will come away with great sorrow for you, and wonder, how can I prevent that from happening to me? To make a big negative story like this into a positive, I would certainly like to have some forum input as to how to prevent this kind of disaster. Yes, I know not to use swollen batteries, but short of that fact, what else can we all do to protect ourselves from our batteries??

Dale
Miami

 

[Herongate]

I am so sorry for your loss! I can’t imagine what you are going through. This is a very scary story.
What are LIPO batteries? I have a DJI mini 4 pro. Do I have to worry about charging the batteries? And storing them?

 

[Droning on and on...]

@Dale D, the safest way is to get a lipo-safe box, charge them in the box, then store all your lipos in the box out of your house, like in a water-tight shed.

Emphasis on "safest".

Keep in mind these were naked lipo packs, not DJI Intelligent Batteries. Even though he did everything right, you are always mixing equipment (charger, balancer, battery) from different manufacturers that hasn't been rigorously tested together. Also, there's no BMS in the picture, designed and tested as part of the complete battery module.

Because of the destruction, we don't know what happened. The balancer might have failed. Not saying this happened, just that we don't know. So we don't then know that everything was working properly, and the pack just spontaneously blew up. It can happen, but obviously the least likely mode of failure.

Consequently, the risk charging naked packs is much greater. When I was flying electric RC helicopters, I always charged outside in my backyard in a lipo bag.

The track record of DJI Intelligent Batteries is excellent. Their history is very safe. This is my opinion only: If you feel safe charging your lithium battery powered phone unprotected in your house, then do the same with your DJI packs. True, either may fail catastrophically and maybe kill you, but then a gas furnace can too.

Risk can not be eliminated. It can only be managed to an acceptable level. You will still, regardless, be at risk.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I'd add that I always attend charging (i.e next to me on a table while I read or watch TV), and have a known good extinguisher within easy access just in case.

I do nothing special to store DJI Intelligent Batteries other than put them in the case with the drone.

 

[sarahb]

I am so sorry that happened to you. Thanks for helping me to be aware of the dangers.

 

[mavic3usa]

Sorry for your loss, really sad to see such a tragedy. For those of us who have really old drones from years ago and have used them or touched them in a decade, do we need to go back and dispose of those old batteries or do something with them? Right now they are in a box in a cool, dry place; can we just leave them be?

 

[Outback Artisan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always understood that LIPO and LIFE batteries generated their own oxygen when on fire, which makes them impossible to extinguish.
The only real safeguard is to contain them in a fireproof environment, or get them outside asap, and let them burn themselves out.

 

[DirtyLikaRat]

Hey everybody! Thank yiu for all your kind words and encouragement... Some good thinhs happening and some nit. So good things but quick update. I guess bad news, part first... I DIDN'T HAVE INSURANCE.. Someting about the age oft he place and thee want proper hurricane straps Yada Yada..(it was trailer. I'm a florida man. They're standard issue for all level 10 and above rednecks down here.. In a giant 50 yr old man child and dropoed the ball on this one. And what a big ball to drop...sos yea it's a totaloss... Like no compensation at all. Holy Helll..eveeyitine I say it the reality hits me... It's sobering.. Anyway I dotn know if I mentioned in the first post did you get some help from volunteers America through the VA and got an apartment hooked up for now that's pretty cool they took care of all the moving fees and all that good stuff so I had to worry about that this month I think in the next one either today that's good stuff. I do want to mention if anyone has any old gear or you know whether it be quads you know cinematic drones even flight controllers any spare equipment that you want to sell I don't want anything given to me I'm not this.. Im no charity case I'm grown man but you know old stuff you might want to sell on discount cheap price one way to do it. Drone scene in fpv in particular if you know for me it's just the most tight-knit resourceful awesome group of people I've ever met in my life and I figured I'd just put that bug out there dude maybe you know if you don't have something you want to sell maybe your friend has something or his friend has something and y'all let me know and it doesn't have to be a matrice or a freaking mavic 3. Maybe you just got the pneumatic Mini 4 and you got the first or second one collecting dust in the closet you know knock a few bucks off other than throw it my way you know cool. But I thought I'd throw that out there I don't know if maybe I should I'll leave my email and my contact information. I've been hitting your Marketplace and different drone used drone sites and stuff and it's just it's killing me dude going on the rabbit hole for hours and hours of clicking and clicking and emailing people and messaging people and not getting responses or getting responses it's just been a nightmare so I figured if I just drop this here see what happens. Again thanks for all the encouraging words and I'm glad that I was able to you know bring this topic to light a little bit for some folks to maybe weren't thinking about it. Keep it real keep it flying baby! Love, peace and chicken grease!!



DirtyLikaRat FPV

https://youtube.com/@dirtylikaratfpv6088?si=hKKzy1z80DO6aQjk

 

[Mrktn]

I am so sorry for your loss! I can’t imagine what you are going through. This is a very scary story.
What are LIPO batteries? I have a DJI mini 4 pro. Do I have to worry about charging the batteries? And storing them?

LIPO batteries are typically used on larger drones like Mavic, Mini 2, 3 and 4 use intelligent batteries and are safe stored in their charger / drone while not in use.

I think they do go into hibernation mode when not used for some time. I just find charging them up again wakes them up just fine.

 

[Droning on and on...]

LIPO batteries are typically used on larger drones like Mavic, Mini 2, 3 and 4 use intelligent batteries and are safe stored in their charger / drone while not in use.

A bit confusing... To be clear, all DJI drones use lithium-ion chemistry batteries, and all are DJI's Intelligent Battery design with their well-tested, reliable BMS.