Help! Urgent...lipo battery hissing

agupt108

Member
My 2s lipo just hissed and then heated up a bit. I unplugged it and threw it outside in the cold grass. How should I proceed? I was connecting it to a homemade hot wire cutter that I had designed. Maybe the wire I was using was too conductive and it short circuted?
 

agupt108

Member
Edit: definetly short circuit; i just checked the resistance of the wire was only 2.5 ohms! I should have checked that. As of now it is still outside. What should I do?
 

Foamforce

Well-known member
Yup, that battery is toast. There’s a section in this article about disposing of lipo batteries.

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/lipo-safety

One time I was changing the connector on a battery and made the mistake of cutting off and stripping both wires at once. Of course I accidentally touched the wires. The battery was hot to the touch in seconds. Toasted it.
 

agupt108

Member
Yup, that battery is toast. There’s a section in this article about disposing of lipo batteries.

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/lipo-safety

One time I was changing the connector on a battery and made the mistake of cutting off and stripping both wires at once. Of course I accidentally touched the wires. The battery was hot to the touch in seconds. Toasted it.
So can I bring it back in my house; or is it safer to leave it for 12 hrs overnight and then take it in tommorow morning- I do not have a lipo bag/bunker yet
 

Bricks

Master member
Yup, that battery is toast. There’s a section in this article about disposing of lipo batteries.

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/lipo-safety

One time I was changing the connector on a battery and made the mistake of cutting off and stripping both wires at once. Of course I accidentally touched the wires. The battery was hot to the touch in seconds. Toasted it.

Not paying attention took my good pair of side cutters not thinking cut both wires at the same time got my attention immediately. Battery was fine can`t say the same about my side cutters.
 

luvmy40

Elite member
Not paying attention took my good pair of side cutters not thinking cut both wires at the same time got my attention immediately. Battery was fine can`t say the same about my side cutters.
HAH! That reminds of how we used to make strippers for WD1 coms wire.
 

agupt108

Member
So the battery still has full voltage and no signs of swelling or any abnormalities. Is it ok to use them or...?
 

Foamforce

Well-known member
So the battery still has full voltage and no signs of swelling or any abnormalities. Is it ok to use them or...?

If it was just hot, that would probably be ok, but I think hissing is a fatality. It might not swell until you recharge.
 

agupt108

Member
If it was just hot, that would probably be ok, but I think hissing is a fatality. It might not swell until you recharge.
Ok, basically what happened was that I plugged it in, heard it hiss for like 1/2 a second, and then immediatly removed it. Currently at 7.5 V (2cell). Can I use it for my maiden flight of a plane and then dispose of it? Thank you!
 

Foamforce

Well-known member
Ok, basically what happened was that I plugged it in, heard it hiss for like 1/2 a second, and then immediatly removed it. Currently at 7.5 V (2cell). Can I use it for my maiden flight of a plane and then dispose of it? Thank you!

My understanding is that most of the risk of lipo fires comes during charging and discharging. If you decide to try charging it, do it somewhere fire safe with ventilation, like on a stovetop or in the middle of a garage floor, and in the fire proof lipo bag. I saw one person who said that they charged potentially damaged lipos at a low C rate, like .5c, to reduce the risk.

For full disclosure, I’ve never actually had one catch fire, so I’m just going off of what I’ve read on the internet (where everything is true). I hope someone with more experience chimes in. 🙂
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
So the battery still has full voltage and no signs of swelling or any abnormalities. Is it ok to use them or...?
If it were mine, I'd give it a try. But be prepared for it to catch fire. If it does, water is useless, sand is a much better option. Don't charge it near anything that clould catch fire. I don't trust any lipo, I especially wouldn't trust that one.