puffed my first lipo

[bobbybe]

wow... so i finally puffed my first lipo. surprisingly, it was the very first lipo that i ever purchased for my hurricane and easily has over 100 flights on it. it was one of the zippy 3300 6s.
i'm pretty sure i know the culprit (well... besides old age). i recently pumped up my pitch % in my swash mix by about 5%. i was totally amazed during the flight- i was actually doing tictocs with no bogging at all and could barely believe that it was my first zippy in there doing all that. well... it was probably going out with a bang.

here's a question- the pack is only slightly puffed (maybe by 2 mm), so is it safe to charge or fly? silly question i'm sure but i've never puffed a pack before. if not, i'm sure it's ok just to throw it in the local lake right?

[kahn10]

bro it should be fine...tho you won't get the same performance and shouldn't push it to the max.when it comes to disposal...heh heh...fun time.recipe as follows...

take 1 puffed lipo
1 old deans plug
1 ****ing long piece of 2 core wire
1 pair of unloved underpants

strip both sides of both ends of ****ing long piece of wire then carefully tape off both pieces at one end

gently solder deans plug to one end(not both ends as that would be incredibly stupid)of ****ing long piece of wire

wait till darkness,put on pair of unloved underpants,then place puffed lipo,****ing long piece of wire and yourself into your car and drive with mounting excitement somewhere that a.no-one knows you b.you won't get arrested and c. no-one will shoot at you

place lipo somewhere(and i recommend out of your car unless your combining this with an insurance job),plug in deans,go to end of ****ing long wire and short out.

commence enjoying fireworks while crapping yourself....

[Jerrymac]

I have a 2200mah lipo for my 450 that puffed a long time ago and I still use it.
It still balances perfect after charging and still gives about 90% of the flight time that it used to, but I am not sure how safe it might be to use. Has not caught fire yet.

Most Radio Shack stores will accept used lipos for recycling.

[mjdee14]

Bobby...I'm still using the zippy's I puffed a while ago....

The puff usually goes down when it cools off.....and after using it for several more flights it now does not take a full charge....only goes to about 93%.

When I bought them I thought.....for the price 1 season would be reasonable....and that's about what I got. I used them more than any of my other lipos....guess the pretty blue color always caught my eye.

Being only 20c they got worked the most.....and as my/your flying got better it ups the amps needed. Also, the loops/flips/hard turns/ etc...come faster and one after the other so the lipo is maxed out all the time.....

I'm not sure I would buy them again....20c that is ....would go aqt least 25c or higher.....preferably 30c

But I'll use them till they die.....

Another way to kill them is to "stab" them with a knife.....and stand back while they smoke and catch fire.....but you should stick them in salt water to neatralize them.

Just be careful....they still have lots of stored energy...

[fastflyer20]

My understanding from the LHS is slight puffing is normal as long as it subsides when cooled down.
After a crash, I put in on the charger in balance mode and make sure it charges/balances OK checking it often.
Unfortunately, I have had to do this way too many times lately!

[kahn10]

go the lhs brother...puffing is a sign your batteries have been overstressed and should be treated with caution afterwards.it doesn't necessarily mean their about to instantly expire but it does mean the next ones you get should be more capable.bet ya lhs didn't want to replace them....

[mysticmead]

I mildly puffed my Aplus 2200 3s packs... at first the puffing would go down after they cooled.. now they have a 1mm puff at all times... Soooooooo I retired them... and my other set of 2200 3s packs that had even more flights (82 on Aplus... 117 on Hextronik packs)

now I have no packs... BUT... I do have one on the way.... Hyperion.... 6s....3300VX 35C

[FlyawayClyde]

I just did the ol salt bath trick with my first Li-Po just yesterday. It was an Align 2200 pack, you know the one. it only had less than 30 cycles on it when it Puffed. And I have had it setting around in my LiPo Sack untill I got around to it.
I had not done this before and it made the water all nasty and foamy looking. Check it out

[fastflyer20]

Originally Posted by kahn10

go the lhs brother...puffing is a sign your batteries have been overstressed and should be treated with caution afterwards.it doesn't necessarily mean their about to instantly expire but it does mean the next ones you get should be more capable.bet ya lhs didn't want to replace them....

Well, it is not the LHS fault it hit the ground hard and puffed...
In fact I have never bought a pack from them. I prefer Zippy or Turnigy, then it does not hurt as bad when they expire...

[mjdee14]

Originally Posted by fastflyer20

Well, it is not the LHS fault it hit the ground hard and puffed...
In fact I have never bought a pack from them. I prefer Zippy or Turnigy, then it does not hurt as bad when they expire...

No your right...but what marco was trying to say is that puffing "is not normal" and your lhs is smokin something...

I have at least 14 lipos for my helis.....and maybe 25 other sizes for my planks....and NONE of them puff under normal use......until they have been over-stressed and ready to fail....I have even run them to zero percentage left (not zero volts) and they do not puff.

But when they taco into the ground.....all bets are off !!

[bobbybe]

yeah i just assume its my wicked sweet Tareq Alsaadi-like 3d flying... i guess those zippys just can't hang with my crack skills hahaha