Lipo fires- lipos are dangerous! Please read.

[Frank v B]

There were radio reports last week that home fires caused by Lithium Ion batteries have increased dramatically.
It brought up bad memories from my home fire about 10 years ago.

I have had a second fire about 5 years ago and have modified my charging discipline.
I only charge outside on my concrete front porch....ever.

Please read my presentation from 10 years ago.  If you outlive a lipo fire, your hobby will not.  Your wife will associate model airplanes with fires. 

My second fire was a 3S 1350 battery.  I heard the "pop" and found an 8" flame shooting out of one cell. I was there in 5 seconds and used a fire extinguisher- The 3rd photo (11) is the result of a 15 second fire.

The main difference between a regular fire and a lipo fire is simple.  Regular fires are 800-900 degrees.  A lipo burns at 2,000 degrees.

Please treat Lipos as if it were C4.  Carefully and gently.
If you take your hobby seriously, please extend the same courtesy to Lipo batteries.

Lastly- smoke alarms will save your life!  Make sure they work.  Test them regularly.  We now have 13 in our house.  Just enough of them. 

Frank

A copy of my presentation:

Fire Safety, Models and Lipo batteries.


My fire:

• • happened just before midnight. My son came in and said a smoke alarm went off.
  • Went to the basement and saw flickering lights and knew there was a fire. Flames 2' high
  • Asked my son to call 911 and I went to find a fire extinguisher
  • My wife and son were on the phone to 911. I pulled the trigger on a fire extinguisher.
  • The fire went out immediately (surprise).
  • I scrambled upstairs coughing, went out the side door
  • 4 fire trucks and 2 ambulances showed up in less than 5 minutes. Amazing service.
  • They verified the fire was out, pressurized the house and left (15 minutes).
  • 8 of the 13 smoke alarms in our house went off
  • total damage was $5,000 if it had been an insurance claim.
  • Fire extinguisher powder covered every square inch of the house (3 storeys, basement).

Anatomy of a fire
Fire needs 3 things:

Fuel paper, carpet, cardboard
Oxygen air, use a lipo bag to keep oxygen out
spark lipo's are flame throwers!

Fires grow exponentially
2 minutes - $1,000
5 minutes - $5,000
10 minutes - $50,000
therefore speed is your saviour


Human Behaviour

• • you will not be able to think straight
  • you will panic because you don't know what the future holds
  • you will not be able to find the fire extinguisher you walk by every day.
  • Smoke alarms save lives By the time you smell a fire it will be too late. You can never have enough of them, test them!

Lipo fires

• • most fires start slowly, smoulder and then ignite
  • lipo's are much different. Consider them mini flame throwers.

Where to place fire extinguishers

First one:behind the master bedroom door. If a smoke alarm goes off, take it with you.
Second one: outside (not in) the kitchen. If there is a fire, you must get out. Then decide your course of action
Third one: back staircase to the basement

• • At least 1 per floor
    

You must hang them up!!!! You will not be able to think straight. If you don't hang them up it is like trying to find a cordless phone.

In case of fire
call 911 first.... every time
get everyone out of the house. Do a head count.
Fight it if the fire is contained. Make sure your family know where you are at all times.
Crawl out- fire extinguisher powder and smoke will force you out of the house. Stay low.


Develop a Charging Discipline
mark charged batteries
store half discharged
store and charge in a lipo bag
charge on an inert surface
charge only when you are in the room. In the house doesn't count


Frank van Beurden

[msatin]

Excellent post Frank!
Just like a pre-flight check before getting airborne, LIPO safety should become a habit.
It's easy to become complacent, and that's when bad things tend to happen.