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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>All energy sources present a potential risk and
must be handled accordingly. The LiPo fire videos demonstrate the potential for
this source. Anyone have a video of a gallon of glow fuel or gasoline or Jet-A
being ignited - say by a 12v gel cell shorting against a can? I guarantee it
will be even more spectacular than the LiPo!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My point is that we tend to become complacent with
things we are familiar with. Gasoline is an extremely dangerous material - yet
most of us are comfortable in using it and often get by with potentially fatal
practice. Only the narrow flammability range of gasoline saves us. (And no - the
lubricant added for model engines doesn't make it more safe.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>How many have gallons of glow fuel stored in their
home or garage? Not a wise thing - but again we get complacent after a period of
good luck. (Then there were my trap shooting days when I bought gunpowder in
multiple 12# containers - guess where that was stored.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The LiPo simply presents a new set of risks and
failure modes. Overcharge the things or short them (dents can do this
internally) and things get nasty. Care in handling / charging / using these
things is mandatory - and yet we all make mistakes. Shorting them will get your
attention immediately (extreme care is required when attaching leads). Crash
damage has a high likelihood of shorting them internally / externally - so
extreme caution is need here also (think gasoline dripping on sparking battery
leads). The overcharge issue can be a matter of carelessness or of charger
failure. Containment during charging is a really good idea, as well as a charge
system that prevents overvoltage in individual cells (sets). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I suspect that most charging errors occur with
folks using a variety of size packs. The other (well discussed) issue is charger
mis-identification of cell count due to trying to charge a charged pack. A
little less risk if pattern equipment only is used. (I choose to use separate
chargers for the large power batteries and the radio power battery to limit the
error factor.) The inclusion of cell "taps" for monitoring cell (set) voltage
and balancing also go a long way toward ensuring that a pack is healthy and
behaving normally during charge. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bottom line - LiPo's present risk in the same range
as other "fuels" - the safety procedures are no more or less important - but
they are different!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Earl</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=tretas513@yahoo.com href="mailto:tretas513@yahoo.com">Tommy
Scarmardo</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, May 25, 2006 10:09
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Some more
lipo fire videos</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I saw some pictures on a Japanese web site of an electric Impact which
caught on</DIV>
<DIV>fire and was completely destroyed while in the air flying presumably from
too much</DIV>
<DIV>load on the batteries or maybe a short. I wish I could read Japanese to
find out exactly</DIV>
<DIV>what happened.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>tommy s<BR><BR><B><I>Larry <<A
href="mailto:ledunn@centurytel.net">ledunn@centurytel.net</A>></I></B>
wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Maybe this is a good time to share these videos
- if you haven't seen them they are well worth watching. Look on the left
side of the bottom of the main page.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lipos fires 1,2 & 3</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.utahflyers.org/">http://www.utahflyers.org/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have become a bit of a lipo safety nazi
lately - ever since I had my first lipo fire a couple of months
ago.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have been using lipos since the early days.
I'm a smart guy with a background in electronics and all things electrical.
I am known as "Electric Larry" at our field. I teach other people how to do
electrics and what NOT to do. I'm the go-to guy in our club. In spite of all
that - I had a major lipo fire a couple of months ago that destroyed almost
all my RC gear and planes and came very close to burning down my house. It
was 100% my fault. I was doing too many things at once and had become
casual/careless in my care of lipos. I had gone YEARS with no issues
at all and had gotten complacent.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My equipment and charging routines are now 100%
improved.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Be careful guys.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Larry</FONT></DIV></DIV>_______________________________________________<BR>NSRCA-discussion
mailing
list<BR>NSRCA-discussion@lists.nsrca.org<BR>http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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