VS1 with UL-1 FE...Looking to see what run times people are getting

[Brushless55]

Just my 2 cents but i have had a couple batteries puff so bad that smoke was pouring out of them. They where so hot and swollen i could not pull them out.I had to push the boat under water to put out the fire to be. They where real old and puffed a little on a few runs just like discribed and where pushed real hard in a SAW run. OOOPS !!!!

Old lipos pushed hard.... ya ooops!

[Meniscus]

Know the danger, know the precautions, don't take any unnecessary chances, and know what to do if something goes bad.

It's always worth letting them burn rather than injuring yourself. The batteries and the boat can be replaced, but I can't say the same for you.

My point is, have fun, but be aware of what "could" happen. The main reason why I posted some precautions is so that readers later on will be aware and heed warnings.

It is quite often that these packs last and long time and many have repeated success with them. I'm going to stop now, LOL

[cybercrxt]

Good news on my end. I ran both my boats tonight, 4 minute runs, came back, and recharged them, none used over 80%, and all of the packs were balanced either .009v or better, the closest balance being .003v. I think 4 minutes run time is not bad, and honestly, I still had all that punch just like when I first put the boat in the water, whereas running them down you could tell the voltage drop off so its kind of pointless to continue running. So I feel all my packs are ok, and safe. Thanks for everyone's help, Mike

Oh, and I tried my GP3700 nimh packs on the titan 29 with SV27 power..lol, what a joke, the boat looked like a slow moving turd on the water. I think I will stick with lipo power all the way!

[Gary]

Just my 2 cents but i have had a couple batteries puff so bad that smoke was pouring out of them. They where so hot and swollen i could not pull them out.I had to push the boat under water to put out the fire to be. They where real old and puffed a little on a few runs just like discribed and where pushed real hard in a SAW run. OOOPS !!!!

[Brushless55]

Hello, slight puff.. when I let them set for 15min they rest and are just like new, no puff..

I have over 50 runs on two packs that do this once and a while, and they run awesome!
To many people worry about this.
I have run Lipos for several years, and not one problem with any of my batteries..

[AlanN]

No need to worry about a slight puff on your packs..

If your packs are puffed BEFORE you run them you are asking for trouble. Plus the fact that when your cells puff you are hurting them. They won't live long after that or if they do their performance will fall off a cliff.

[Brushless55]

I have several packs that get a slight puff to them after running them. I let them set for 15min then recharge them, they run just fine..
No need to worry about a slight puff on your packs..

[Flying Scotsman]

My, Canadian 5 cents Quote... Also, every time I run, I run to the 3.0v cut on my ESC, and when I recharge, the packs are refilling with 5350mah. How can a pack that is rated at 5000mah charge more in than what its even rated? I charge at 5.0a using a Thunder Power 610c charger.


If you run to the 3.0v cutoff on your ESC every time, you will damage the batteries and you state you are putting in more capacity than the batteries are rated for. I think your cutoff voltage on the ESC is not stable.

Douggie

[Darin Jordan]

Thanks for the calming advise Darin. I will be doing that in ohhhh... 33 minutes! VS1 and Titan 29 time! I need to stay at the house to finish my boat builds I have underway! But, its summer time, the builds can wait! haha

Right on.... Just do as David suggested above and double check everything the first couple of times out... If the packs don't get worse or exhibit any bad signs... run with it... Just keep the runtimes reasonable.

[cybercrxt]

Thanks for the calming advise Darin. I will be doing that in ohhhh... 33 minutes! VS1 and Titan 29 time! I need to stay at the house to finish my boat builds I have underway! But, its summer time, the builds can wait! haha

[Darin Jordan]

Just kinda sucks that this technology is so unsafe, and it targeted towards people that have no knowledge of this type of battery. Its definately a big boys toy.

I think there is a lot of fear-hype out there...

Charge them, run them within the reasonable discharge limit, and go have fun...

I can guarantee you that you have been doing damage to your NiMH cells as well... they're just in hard cases and you can't visibly see it!

I'd run the packs you have and just watch them. If they get considerably worse or wont' take a charge, etc., then stop using them. Otherwise, have fun.

[cybercrxt]

I dont think they are the definition of puffy like you mean. I mean, they are not bulging 1" or something crazy, I mean the outside is maybe 1/32" or less bigger than usual at the end of a run. Once it sits while cooling it goes right back to its very rectangular flat shape. In fact, if you looked at it, you could not tell it was even slightly "bulged" It just has a different "feel" to it. I dunno, I am charging them on concrete away from everything, and lipo sacks will be here tommorow. Its hard to explain. I definately need to reduce the mah withdraw, but I think the cells are not ruined. I only have $75.00 in each pack, and only 2 packs have even been used, so I'm not gonna cry to bad if it only gets 30 charges out of it. Just kinda sucks that this technology is so unsafe, and it targeted towards people that have no knowledge of this type of battery. Its definately a big boys toy.

[Darin Jordan]

I'm not advocating this necessarily, but I have a couple of Lipo packs that are slightly swollen that continue to provide reliable service and good performance. Everything on them checks out fine, they just swell up a tad when they get warm.

I'm sure they are living on borrowed time, but then, all cells are... Unless there is a significant change in their appearance, I'll continue to run them.

[Flying Scotsman]

If, I were in your shoes. I would dispose of those battteries in the described method for Li-Po's. You may have a fire or worse, if you continue to use them

Douggie

[cybercrxt]

I'm Thinking about continuing using Nimh on my vee hull boats for fun running, and when I get the urge to really try some top speed, run my lipos. Sounds like this could get pricey very quick if I use my lipos everytime!