Best way to store 35 lipos?

[Addict Rc]

So I have a crap ton of lipos and a few are Li-ions, but same thing, what’s the best way to store them? 35 in a ammo can doesn’t sound like a great idea, my buddy said that closing it, if one sets fire it will create a bomb from the gasses, so I left it open slightly, is there any cheaper/better way to store them?

 

[TRAT]

Man you need to sell me some

 

[cbaker65]

I only have two receiver Lipo packs ,I have them in a metal box in a metal storage cabinet
outside on my patio!..

 

[Addict Rc]

Man you need to sell me some

I would but shipping

I only have two receiver Lipo packs ,I have them in a metal box in a metal storage cabinet
outside on my patio!..

I should probably put these outside, but is an ammo box water proof? I would amagine so enless it was a flood

 

[cbaker65]

I would but shipping

I should probably put these outside, but is an ammo box water proof? I would amagine so enless it was a flood

They are suppose to have a seal on the ammo box ,but people remove those to store Lipo's
in ,an drill a couple breather holes in the box to relieve any built up pressure that might
build up when or if a Lipo flames up!..

 

[bill_delong]

...my buddy said that closing it, if one sets fire it will create a bomb...

Yeah the chain reaction would be a disaster, I used to store my LiPo's in an ammo can many years ago until a local racer by the name of Tyler Hooks, some may be familiar of him as an announcer on LiveRC and 13.5 National Champion. Anyway, back when he was still in high school, he used to store all his LiPo's in a plastic tool box. It wasn't clear how many packs he had, but there were multiples which created a chain reaction and completely burned down his garage. Everything in the garage was a total loss.

Since then I've only maintained 1 pack per car leaving the pack installed in each car and would keep no more than 1 spare battery per class size in the factory sealed box. Everything stored inside my hobby room so if a fire would take place then it would be isolated to just 1 battery in 1 car.

I visually inspect every battery at the end of each race day for signs of excessive swelling and I check the IR every charge cycle. I've learned to discard batteries long before necessary as a preventative where most of my packs are replaced every 6 months and rarely do I have a pack longer than a year.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3496127-Which-charger-is-the-best

• Internal Resistance (IR) Meter - this is probably the single most important feature to me, this gives you the ability to check the overall health of your packs. For example, a brand new pack might measure both cells below 1 mΩ, and then as the pack ages/degrades you will slowly see the IR increase over time... anything below 3 mΩ is still considered "low IR" but I start to notice pack swelling and degradation of performance (fade, etc) as soon as any individual cell goes past 7 mΩ... it's a very subtle difference and is hard to tell if you use the same pack and that's where having an IR Meter helps you decide when to retire a pack. I might still keep an aged pack for practice up until any cell hits 15mΩ but at that point I typically toss them out or give them away. I have also found that when any cell is farther than 1-2 mΩ apart, then the pack tends to take longer to balance and that's when I may consider selling the pack provided the cells are still below 7mΩ... I make sure to post IR readings of any packs that I sell and I would refuse to buy any used pack without IR readings so you understand the current condition of the pack!

 

[cbaker65]

They are suppose to have a seal on the ammo box ,but people remove those to store Lipo's
in ,an drill a couple breather holes in the box to relieve any built up pressure that might
build up when or if a Lipo flames up!..

I dont care if one flares up ,I just dont want them sitting in my RC's ,in my shed or
in my house if they do!

 

[bill_delong]

I dont care if one flares up ,I just dont want them sitting in my RC's ,in my shed or
in my house if they do!

It's a catch 22... batteries need to be stored in a cool dry place, which is essentially inside a home, and if you vent an ammo box then there's no difference storing the battery in a car... I've seen enough LiPo fires in cars that most have caused minimal damage to the car, arguably less damage than the cost for a modified ammo box, shrug.

There is no absolute correct (or best) method, we just have to prioritize our losses.

 

[DavidB1126]

Not sure about all those lipos but I got 9 lipos between 4 of my cars. I use my fireproof charging pouches and storage bags for storing. I keep my lipos in the basement at my workbench so it really doesn't get hot or cold and its dry. I watch this RC youtuber: Trax RC and he has rocks/blocks for storing lipos. Pretty interesting on how he does it.

@Addict Rc Liked how you mounted your charger to the wall. Looks nice. My uncle has a 3D printed piece that he can put his charger above his power supply.

I never experienced a lipo fire my self but seen lots of videos on them. Especially 1 that just happened at PNB a few weeks ago. That one was scary. -

 

[Jamr]

A BBQ would be big enough to hold all of those. The tricky part is getting the BBQ full of batteries to a cool dry place that isn't close to any structure you wouldn't want to burn down. Maybe an open patio?

 

[Chubaka]

A BBQ would be big enough to hold all of those. The tricky part is getting the BBQ full of batteries to a cool dry place that isn't close to any structure you wouldn't want to burn down. Maybe an open patio?

What's your seasoning recipe and ratio?

 

[Addict Rc]

What's your seasoning recipe and ratio?

I do a 3 gallons of gasoline and 5 gallons of kerosene.

 

[tudordewolf]

I think the odds of non-puffed lipos with intact wrappers at storage charge spontaneously combusting is extremely low; every fire you hear about has a precipitating cause like incorrect charging settings, overheated in use, or exposed contacts shorting out during transport, not to mention good old "ripped apart in a crash..."

A sealed container is a hazard, a vented container is no different than open air unless it has some heavy-duty filtration to capture that smoke, and it increases the chance of other batteries joining the reaction. I keep mine on a wire rack loosely sorted and slightly apart from each other and haven't had any incidents with batteries at rest.

 

[bill_delong]

I think the odds of non-puffed lipos with intact wrappers at storage charge spontaneously combusting is extremely low; every fire you hear about has a precipitating cause like incorrect charging settings, overheated in use, or exposed contacts shorting out during transport, not to mention good old "ripped apart in a crash..."

A sealed container is a hazard, a vented container is no different than open air unless it has some heavy-duty filtration to capture that smoke, and it increases the chance of other batteries joining the reaction. I keep mine on a wire rack loosely sorted and slightly apart from each other and haven't had any incidents with batteries at rest.

In Tyler Hooks case I mentioned above, there were no physical anomalies on any of his packs before he stored them, he did place them into storage mode, but they did spontaneously combust later in the evening of the same day he raced. This event happened before IR checking was a thing and it wasn't clear how old his packs were either.

Key takeaways:

• store each battery far enough away so that they can't create a chain reaction if one spontaneously combusts
• packs at risk tend to be ones that are older and have been recently used
• packs subjected to 1/8 tracks and/or large jumps tend to be more volatile
• monitoring IR of batteries is highly encouraged to check health regularly

 

[Addict Rc]

In Tyler Hooks case I mentioned above, there were no physical anomalies on any of his packs before he stored them, he did place them into storage mode, but they did spontaneously combust later in the evening of the same day he raced. This event happened before IR checking was a thing and it wasn't clear how old his packs were either.

Key takeaways:

• store each battery far enough away so that they can't create a chain reaction if one spontaneously combusts
• packs at risk tend to be ones that are older and have been recently used
• packs subjected to 1/8 tracks and/or large jumps tend to be more volatile
• monitoring IR of batteries is highly encouraged to check health regularly

So shoving all them in here is a bad idea, I knew that, but I also don’t have $200 sitting around to buy a ton of ammo cans

 

[tudordewolf]

In Tyler Hooks case I mentioned above, there were no physical anomalies on any of his packs before he stored them, he did place them into storage mode, but they did spontaneously combust later in the evening of the same day he raced. This event happened before IR checking was a thing and it wasn't clear how old his packs were either.

Key takeaways:

• store each battery far enough away so that they can't create a chain reaction if one spontaneously combusts
• packs at risk tend to be ones that are older and have been recently used
• packs subjected to 1/8 tracks and/or large jumps tend to be more volatile
• monitoring IR of batteries is highly encouraged to check health regularly

Interesting, that is basically a worst case "act of god" scenario. I would have to guess that an internal short developed during the day, and only accumulated enough heat to runaway after a few hours. It definitely highlights the importance of risk-mitigating storage.

 

[bill_delong]

So shoving all them in here is a bad idea, I knew that, but I also don’t have $200 sitting around to buy a ton of ammo cans

while you've done an excellent job of insulating your connectors, there's always a risk that 2 connectors (or possibly a frayed wire) can short out and create a chain reaction... packs could be brand new and 2 balance connectors touch at just the right angle and then you've got a delayed fuse that has been detonated. Maybe a sheet of bubble wrap between any exposed connectors could be a happy medium?

Not saying that an ammo box is wrong, I personally have lost confidence in that method because it's the equivalent of "putting all my eggs in one basket"

 

[Addict Rc]

while you've done an excellent job of insulating your connectors, there's always a risk that 2 connectors (or possibly a frayed wire) can short out and create a chain reaction... packs could be brand new and 2 balance connectors touch at just the right angle and then you've got a delayed fuse that has been detonated. Maybe a sheet of bubble wrap between any exposed connectors could be a happy medium?

Not saying that an ammo box is wrong, I personally have lost confidence in that method because it's the equivalent of "putting all my eggs in one basket"

Ok

 

[Jamr]

Some ideas on both charging and storage.

If it were me and I had loads of time and cash I would build something out of steel, concrete and block in my garage wall that would vent outside for storage and charging.

Found this too on what could happen with different storage we all use.

After seeing this, it seems the best storage is something that can vent outside because the flames and smoke will get out eventually no matter what kind of storage device you are using.

 

[WickedFog]

If I had a garage, I would stack up a wall of cinder blocks on their sides and use the pockets to store each battery. Covering the back with a welders blanket would be easy to do. That ir stack more blocks up behind them. To me, that would be the safest storage you can get.