Lipo guys, how do you store them?

[DumbstixLars]

Well, its finally happened. All my 14 year old Nicads are starting to die out on me, and since I'm faced with having to buy new batts I was looking at Lipos due to their low weight and cheaper prices then NiMH cells. I have a charger on the way that can balance charge them, and I know about cutoff, but how do you guys store them? I have a friend that keeps his in a fireproof safe, is this really necessary? I don't mind buying a cheap safe, but I don't have very much room in my house so I would prefer not to have to find a spot for one.

Thanks for any insight.

[Toasted Coastie]

I store them on my car, sometimes on the table in my garage just like my son's Rustler batteries. I see no reason not to. If you charge them correctly, you will have no issues. I really don't see any need with this generation LiPo battery.

I run Venom hard case saddle packs in my Yoke, and I love it. They never seem to get hot like the 7 or 8 cell shotgun packs, and never get warm at recharge either.

[Eau Rouge]

Store them on the shelf.

Fire safes are urban folklore. There is only risk of fire if you grossly overcharge or use a charger not intended for LiPo use. NiMh cells are more prone to fireworks than current technology LiPos.

[blown5.0]

I store mine in a metal Army ammo box, rather play it safe than be sorry.

[Lowgear]

If you're worried about it just store them in a Lipo sack. If I ever go Lipo thats what I will do.

http://www.liposack.com

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

I store mine just as I would with any nimh pack with no real worries. I wouldn't leave them in the back window of your car on a 100 degree day or anything, but I think most problems are in the past. You can never be too safe, but I'm just saying I have no particular worries with how I store mine. I would follow their advice on long term storage and voltage though. Store them at about 60%. I stored one of mine for about 8 months at 100% charge and it's a bit squishy to the touch. Performs great, but should feel hard and smooth(yes, that's what she said). There was 0 voltage drop over the 8 months which means I probably did cause some shortening of life. The higher the C rating the more damage it would do. Luckily these were older lipos so they were maybe 20C. I still race them though and can tell no big difference from newer ones. They'll probably just crap out earlier than they would have.

[DumbstixLars]

OK, good to know, I didn't think it would be a problem storing them like any other batt, but I wasn't sure. Whats the difference between 20C, and say 25C?

[purpletimbo]

C rating is current draw, as I understand it 5000mA at 10C = 50A
so a 5000mA at 20C would be able to supply 100A
they also give 2 values, normally a current draw, and a burst draw, so high burst gives accelaration punch, I am quite new to them, so I hope someone else will set it straight if wrong

[DumbstixLars]

C rating is current draw, as I understand it 5000mA at 10C = 50A
so a 5000mA at 20C would be able to supply 100A
they also give 2 values, normally a current draw, and a burst draw, so high burst gives accelaration punch, I am quite new to them, so I hope someone else will set it straight if wrong

Ah, OK that makes sense. Thanks for the info guys it was very helpful.

[Brandon G]

I just leave them in my car. If I do run it down pretty low, I will be sure and put about 500mah in it just to keep it from going low on voltage. Always unplug the batteries from the ESC when putting them away, there is a minute amount of draw even if the switch is turned off.

[jwscab]

I have an old ammo box I keep them in. I would at least invest in a lipo sack. Better to err on the side of caution, I have seen these things go up in flames, and it's not so much the battery that is the big deal, its all the stuff around it, like your car, or workbench, or whatever....lithium burns HOT.

I should also mention that this really pertains to the softpack cells, which could get damaged rather easily, the hard case lipos are pretty tough, and would only cause issues during overcharge or overdischarge.

[DumbstixLars]

I have an old ammo box I keep them in. I would at least invest in a lipo sack. Better to err on the side of caution, I have seen these things go up in flames, and it's not so much the battery that is the big deal, its all the stuff around it, like your car, or workbench, or whatever....lithium burns HOT.

I should also mention that this really pertains to the softpack cells, which could get damaged rather easily, the hard case lipos are pretty tough, and would only cause issues during overcharge or overdischarge.

Yeah I don't want any softpacks, I've been looking at the cheap zippy packs and packs like so:

http://www.hobbypartz.com/83p-3300mah-2s1p-74-20c-car.html

Mostly cheap packs since I don't race anymore.

[Group B]

If you are going to keep your Lipos in an "armoured" container, try to mod the container to make it vent.

IOW, if say a decent sized lipo were to burst/explode whilst inside an ammo can, I would think that without vent holes, it could create a good amount of fragmentation.

If there were a bunch of holes in the ammo can, and the lipo inside were to burst/explode, there would be some flames escaping through the holes, but no shrapnel caused by overpressure's effect on the sealed ammo can.

This is my theory at least.

I for one do not keep my lipos anywhere special, whether they are at rest or charging.

One of the best ideas I heard of for being absolutely safe, this one guy used bricks and made a tiny little "vented bunker" inside his garage, for his lipos.

+1000 to what Eau Rouge said about NiMh: I hate 'em, won't own 'em, don't like 'em one bit. I've seen those cells "spit" under normal charging so many times...

[jwscab]

yeah, i don't secure the lid, just flip it down, so it could in theory just flip up and vent as necessary.

[DumbstixLars]

If you are going to keep your Lipos in an "armoured" container, try to mod the container to make it vent.

My friend said he read a story that a guy had one blow the lid off an ammo can.