Disposing of a bad lipo

[Guest]

put them down the bottem of the garden and shoot them with a rifle

LOL. 1 garden for 10 flats - there will be complaints and much calling of the emergency services

[Si_B]

Make sure you only pierce the cells once they are immersed in the salt water, I used a scalpal blade on the end of a broom stick just to be safe.

Cheers
Simon

[mattydred]

drive a screwdriver though it with a hammer lol

[phockzie]

Aparently - The lipo cell is safe and environmentally friendly to throw in the bin once it is completely flat, 0 volts, no energy whatsoever.

But to get it completely flat is the hard part. If you put the cell in salt water it will disolve the aluminium tabs before it has completely flattened the cells.

So you need to pierce the cell casing for the salt water to enter the cell If you pierce the cell before you have flattened it, you risk shorting it out and it could burst into flames.

[daren]

Put it in the neighbours bin!

Problem solved

[ivor-bigen]

As i have allready said,, i have seen FlightTech distribution with there pacs in a large vat of water mixed with salt they didnt cut the pacs open or nothing like that.
just chuck it in the salt and leave it for a few weeks.
No need for all this peirceing the pac ect, it is dangerous and not needed.

[Si Goodchild]

Add a cup full of powdered magnesium to the saltwater mix...

...then run...

...like bl***y f**k!

Personally I discharged my 2 dying cells with a low wattage fillament lamp (a Christmas tree light) over a couple of days. When the bulb stopped glowing I left it conencted for another couple of days and then binned it. Not saying anyone else is wrong, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't any volts left in it when the bin men took it.

Si

[Guest]

Thanks again guys, all points noted. I will leave it in the water. Just had a thought, the neighbours cat better not drink the water!

The temptation to shoot at it with a nail gun is there though - if its going to go it should go with a bang!

[Guest]

I did not slit the lipo in the end and I can clearly see the chemicals coming out of the lipo now.

[phockzie]

I did not slit the lipo in the end and I can clearly see the chemicals coming out of the lipo now.

That will be the aluminium oxidising on the tabs, not the chemicals from inside the cell. The chemicals are fairly solid polymers, and cannot leak.

[jasthom]

They balanced up perfectly on the Cellpro and it was stored like that for a few weeks. May have been a dodgy cell then.
I bought them with the heli, all second and and they were treated well before - perhaps I did give it a knock at some point.

Hi my new T3DS Lipo died after 2 charges on the charger/balancer that comes with the heli. After the 1st charge the cells were around 3.2v before the 2nd charger, after the 2nd charge only had it connected to the Heli to check the swash level after I'd upgraded the cyclic servo's to Hitec HS-65MG, motor was disconnected and battery disconnected while any adjustments were made. Left the battery disconnected, next day thought I'd by safe and check the cell voltage so it didn't drop below 3v each cell. Total voltage was 5.52v and 1 cell read 0.06v no bubbling or anything.

While speaking to a reputable dealer they need mentioned that the generic batteries that come with Heli's often are lower grade cells and have higher risk of failure.

One thing I can say is you should never leave a LiPo fully charged for more than a week.

Below from Thunderpower and other manufactures recommend the same


Storage & Transportation
1) Store batteries at room temperature between 4 and 20 degrees C for best results.
2) If storing longer than one week; batteries must be stored at 3.8V/cell to 3.9V/cell (approximately 50% charged) .
3) Do not expose battery packs to direct sunlight (heat) for extended periods.
4) When transporting or temporarily storing in a vehicle, temperature range s should be greater than -7 degrees C but no more than
66 degrees C.
5) Storing Lipo batteries at temperatures greater than 77 degrees C for extended periods of time (more than 2 hours) may cause
damage to battery and possible fire.

Caring for Battery
1) Only charge a LiPo battery with a good quality Lithium Polymer charger. A poor quality charger
Power chargers & Balancers are of the highest quality available .
2) Set voltage and current correctly (failure to do so can cause fire).
3) Please check pack voltage after the first charge.
For example; a 2 Cell battery should measure 8.4V (8.30 to 8.44), a 3 cell battery should measure
4) Do not discharge a battery to a level below 3V per cell under load. Discharging below 3V
performance. Be sure to set your ESC for the proper cut off voltage (6.0V cut off for 2S packs, 9.0V for 3S packs)
5) Use caution to avoid puncture of the battery. Puncturing a LiPo battery may cause a fire.

LiPo disposal PDF

Hope to help not condescend

Jas

[Guest]

Cheers mate, all good advice

Actually, its time I took it out of the water. Not looked at it in a while.

[moyesboy]

My method has been:
Run it down, but not flat or it might balloon and burst.
Put it in salty water for a few days
Check it has no volts on the terminals and then pierce it (I drilled it right through in a few places)
Put it back in the salty water for another few days.
Bin it.

[jamiem]

I still maintain it's more fun to pierce or burn them we have a sacraficial bin for the plank flyers so that's where mine are disposed of. It also works well to strip all the insulation off the wires and wrap them together

[Angelos]

If you use the bucket/salt method put an airtight lid to collect the Hydrogen and Oxygen that are released from the electrolysis. Add a spark and it gets even more exciting that the "put a nail through it" method.

-Angelos