LIPO fire at the FE Nationals

[T.S.Davis]

Well, I'll be revisiting my safety measures. No sand? Panic scenario sounds like. No injuries. Thank goodness. Dry chemical wont stop a lipo fire. Lithium produces its own oxygen as it burns. So you're killing flames. If that makes any sense. The extinguisher should be able to knock down the items ignited by the lipo fire.

Knowing the guy with the fire I'm sure he was hoping to avoid the anal cavity search. Not to sweep it under the rug.

We need a collective gut check to see if we're handling our equipment correctly.

[TheShaughnessy]

Handling a LiPo Battery Pack
Don't let children handle LiPo batteries. When transporting your LiPo batteries, use a non-flammable container that does not contain sharp objects that could puncture the battery packaging. Don't carry LiPo batteries in your pockets or throw them into your tool box. Don't place batteries -- especially damaged ones -- on flammable or hot surfaces. Don't handle damaged batteries with bare hands. If a damaged battery leaks on your skin, wash immediately with soap and water. After flushing with cool water, seek medical help if it gets in your eyes. When charging and using LiPo battery packs, keep a fire extinguisher or a bucket of sand nearby in case of fire. Do not try to put out a LiPo fire with water.

you can find more info at http://rcvehicles.about.com/od/rcbat...ack_Safety.htm

If the real purpose was to raise awareness on the safe handling of lipo then this is what the OP should have posted, or something similar. Instead he is spreading false information stating the extinguishers did nothing. They were not 100% effective, but without them the trailer could have very well burnt to the ground. They subdued the flames enough to make removal possible.

It sucks that a dark cloud is being cast over what was other wise a FANTASTIC event.

If the event coordinators didn't have the extinguishers on hand we would have been reading about this in the news paper, instead it was contained to a small group of FE boaters and a few spectators that were walking by.

A google search provided me with much more substantial info then what is contained within this thread.

[DPeterson]

drwayne - thanks for posting the ampba rules. I will be using some of this information for a rewrite I will be doing and proposing for one of the racing associations I belong to that has been promoting some ill advised and dangerous procedures.

Doug

[maddmatt]

I think I'm going to overcharge my lipos so I can go faster. Do you think 5V per cell is doable. That would give me 30Vs for 6S setup. I bet I can hit 90mph for sure. Racers will be racers. My son raced mini snowmobiles. We placed top three in the Nationals and had to be teched. There was a fuel sample taken from the kid in front. After a bit, the tech guy came back yelling at the parent regarding the cheater additive. It was a extremely cancerous!!!!!! A thousand x's as bad as sniffing berillym dust. That guy and kid got tossed out for life!!!!!!!!!Poisoning people to go faster. I won't you tell what is because some will try it in their gassers. PS- I'm not calling anyone a cheat!!! Later, MM.

[Rumdog]

If you want to prevent rumors, quit pussyfooting around the cause of the fire. Why the big secret?

[carlcisneros]

just get it out in the open with ALL the details and folks will learn from the accident.
It is unfortunate, but things do happen and people learn from it.

[TINY]

We had a member here in qld australia that left his lipo's unattended at home on charge...(silly, and he knows..) lost the shed and all fe gear....HIS MAN SHED! Worth plenty as he was a racer,,

Yes he had insurance but does it cover time and passion,,,,,,,,,, lesson learned the hard way.

glad it wasn't me, wife got email and demanded i buy lipo bags.. Could of been me..

[drwayne]

We should all know what not to do with lipo. I see the thread as more gossip then raising awareness. If we want to gossip we should be talking about all the great racing action that happened at the Nats. I agree with it being "hushed" up if you will, better to focus on all the positive action then one negative event.

Okay, what did the lipo owner do, that should not be done ?
Positive action is to provide explanation, and educate others to prevent further incidents.
Sorry mate, with-holding details gives negative results re: lipo safety / usage awareness.

One assumes from this denial of detail, his actions were questionable.
Please correct me, if wrong.

regards
Wayne

[LuckyDuc]

Are there any cases where unused, stored lipo's ever caught fire? I thought this only happens when incorrect charging is done or when the lipo's are shorted out etc.

Yes. In fact, one of our close FE racing friends from MN had this very thing happen recently in his garage. The pack was sitting with a storage charge undisturbed for quite some time when it self ignited for reasons unknown.

[ozzie-crawl]

I did not see this thread as a witch hunt or that it put a shadow over a great event. When some thing like this happens at a big event people take notice.
The user more than likely was doing the correct thing and this was nothing more than a accident.If this is the case we can all learn from it and those that write the safety rules can have a closer look see if it can be prevented in the future.
There is some stupid rules at different clubs (rc car) that i have seen. One club allows charging soft pack lipos in the club house if its in a lipo sack,but if its a hard case lipo no sack is needed. Apparently the plastic hard case is fire proof in some peoples mind.

[don ferrette]

It makes sense if you are limited to a maximum cell count. I do not know this for a fact - but it was strongly suspected that racers at recent SAW events overcharged their packs to increase the starting voltage. This would not help much for an oval racer since the extra voltage will burn off during the mill. However if you launched a SAW boat pointed at the traps, that first pass would have a higher starting voltage and in theory be faster, rasing the average of two passes.

The solution to this dangerous practice is to require all SAW racers to actually launch from the pit area - like the rules state - so they have to make a U-turn before entering the traps. I'm just sayin'...
.

I meant to ask this earlier................. so this "launching at the traps" is actually occurring at a particular SAW event?

And I agree with you 100%, all launching regardless of how it's powered should be done from a designated pit/launch area.

[RCboatfan2010]

Yes. In fact, one of our close FE racing friends from MN had this very thing happen recently in his garage. The pack was sitting with a storage charge undisturbed for quite some time when it self ignited for reasons unknown.

This is scary. At least it was one in a million. But with the luck I'm having recently....

[Darin Jordan]

I meant to ask this earlier................. so this "launching at the traps" is actually occurring at a particular SAW event?

Don,

Yes... In the last couple of SAW events I've attended at Legg Lake, there have been launches occurring from down beyond the left-side time trap... giving the boat a straight initial shot through the lights.

In ROAR racing, they tech battery voltage going INTO the event, not after the pass was made. I think this would be a fairly simply way to prevent people from attempting to over-charge their cells. Measuring a 2S pack at 8.2V AFTER the run is a pretty clear indication, however, that something funny might have been going on... especially when my packs, for example, come back after pulling only 40A or so for two passes at 8.0-8.1V... Maybe my Thunder Power 65C 5000's are just inferior packs...

[Doby]

So would that be considered "cheating" or just working the rules?

[Fluid]

Yes... In the last couple of SAW events I've attended at Legg Lake, there have been launches occurring from down beyond the left-side time trap... giving the boat a straight initial shot through the lights.

The world's fastest FE boat launched from one end of the lake on its record runs. That was years ago, but I was there. That was done to help the driver see the boat's track through the traps rather than to preserve battery power.

Technically, as the SAW competition rules are written today: "Speed running time will commence when a boat is released from the pit..." This has not been enforced at the many NAMBA SAW events I have attended.

In ROAR racing, they tech battery voltage going INTO the event, not after the pass was made. I think this would be a fairly simply way to prevent people from attempting to over-charge their cells...

The extra voltage burns off very quickly so requiring the racer to leave from the pits and make a 180* turn will eliminate any advantage to over-volting. We don't need any more stinking rules - we just need to enforce those we already have.


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