Freezing a Moderately Puffed Lipo

[silvermansteve]

anybody here have any success with freezing a puffed lipo to deflate it? or bad results, for that matter? i heard about it somewhere but want to know more before actually throwing the battery in the freezer.... thank you. it's a 5000mah 2s 20-30c turnigy battery, by the way.

[JimClark]

Personally I wouldn't risk using a pack that was puffed just not worth the risk to me

[Make-a-Wake]

Lithium batts can handle extreme cold and dont freeze at 32*

[antslake]

I wouldnt think it possible to convert the already gasified lipo back to solid form just by freezing. You might shrink the gases for the moment but they would soon return. Take into account I am pretty ignorant on the subject. Not knowing what it is that exactly causes the lipo to "puff" doesn't help. But I would imagine it was some irreversible chemical process.

[LarrysDrifter]

Since its a very inexpensive Turnigy, Id dispose of it. Then, buy another or two that are 40-50c. Its a cheap loss, so I personally wouldnt risk messing with it.

[ice_spy]

are slightly 'puffed' LiPo's really that dangerous??? I dont mean cells that look like they are about to pop, only packs that i can slightly feel gas under the wrap.

[egneg]

Is it the cells or just air trapped by the shrink wrap?

[Make-a-Wake]

When a lipo puffs its gas trapped in the sealed "foil" sack on the very inside....................then you have the thick white wrap of plastic, then the shrinkwrap.

[ice_spy]

so are slightly gassed cells so dangerous that you should dispose of them? ...note the word slightly.

[silvermansteve]

thanks. but i think many of us are guilty of continuing to use slightly puffed cells.... i won't freeze them, though, unless i hear more info on this.

[lenny]

I tried what they did on you tube to some 4s 30c 3600mah pack.
Where you cut open the pack to get to the cells jacket that is puffed.
And than prod it to let it shrink down and than seal it back up.
It work for a little while, Now back to puffed after running 5 minutes runs 4s1p.
Did not try the freezing yet.

[silvermansteve]

ok lenny. thanks for the info.

[ice_spy]

I tried what they did on you tube to some 4s 30c 3600mah pack.
Where you cut open the pack to get to the cells jacket that is puffed.
And than prod it to let it shrink down and than seal it back up.
It work for a little while, Now back to puffed after running 5 minutes runs 4s1p.
Did not try the freezing yet.

i would not recommend punturing any cell jacket. they are sealed for a good reason. and if by chance you prod into a cell itself.... you will have a very volitile situation on your hands. very toxic and water doesnt put them out.

[silvermansteve]

freeze, maybe. puncture, not me....

[JimClark]

where did you hear about freezing?

[domwilson]

Google freezing laptop battery. You'll find some links on it. I did it. Believe it or not, it actually works, to some extent. Won't fully restore a battery, but it may get you a few extra mah's out of an old pack. Never tried it on hobby batteries tho'.

[silvermansteve]

good to know. and thanks for this information. now i'm going to look into this further and probably try it. did it un-puff your battery though?

[Hatetocrash]

I have puffed and had lipos almost catch on fire...this was due to not knowing what i was doing as a newbee 3-4 months ago...I suggest if u are running them in a nice setup that stays cool a slightly puffed battery should be safe..if u are running it in a setup that puffed them then either down prop or get higher c rated quality batteries...but no matter how good your new batteries are or seem to be test them on 1-2 min run then 3-4 mins then if everything is cool u should be good to go for 8-10 min runs...I always am careful when testing new setups in my boats now...had 3 esc's catch fire,and luckily only ruined two 4000mah 3s packs...Two of the escs where stock garbage,but one was a 120 amp seaking which i over proped because i did'nt know any better...

[silvermansteve]

thanks for the info crash. i'm pretty ok with using the battery the way it is; i've been doing so for a while without loss of life, limb or property. experience and the internet have taught me that a slightly puffed battery is not a certain death warrant.

but, my question was whether anybody here has had first hand experience -- good or bad -- with freezing puffed cells. and domwilson answered the call.

by the way, i've heard people say the best, most reliable way to puff a battery is to run it down too low.... but it was a 20/20 C battery that puffed on me, as opposed to a higher Crated battery.... so i guess when i order more i'll get the higher rated batteries.

[detox]

Running the lipos down too low (past 70% capacity) is the number one cause of puffing. I have two puffy Hyperion packs that I run in my brushless Emax, they are still working just as well as new.