puffed lipos

[tc3_racer_001]

hey there guys again :)


just wanting some info on puffed lipos. i just got 2 lipos for $35 each which was a good price but one of them is a little puffed. see http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii18/esavageforme/ for images. (couldnt be bothered linking them into the page tonight)

just wondering how bad is it to use them like this, and what causes it exactly (current i know, but heat or over discharging??) these packs were used in onroad TC for 4x5minute races recharged each time in between, so they are not overdischarged...

specs: 20C, popular in the club they were used in, 4700mah, 268g. Premium Power, never really heard of them before though.

if you were me, what would you do? use them or get a refund? (ive met him personally, seems pretty nice.

also, post pics of other puffed lipos youve got/seen. thanks

[bl-is-future]

If you can get a refund, do it. No reason to risk it if you can avoid it all together. i just had a puffed lipo last night and i immediately separated the puffed cell and disposed of it properly. (just went to a auto parts store and they put it with there bad batteries) Yours is not badly puffed but still, why risk it? i would post a pic but as soon as i get a puffed cell to the disposal it goes.

The puffed ones I've had look like the Michelin man - they were puffed to the point they looked like they were ready to blow. The puffed cell had pushed off the unpuffed cell quite noticeably. When I got new ones, one new in the pkg was starting to puff. I had that one replaced by the seller.

Is the cell continuing to puff - if its growing any at all, I'd def ask to have it replaced. If they don't want help you out, see what advice they will offer. These may be old and have sat too long somewhere. I've had cells puff just sitting.

[bl-is-future]

With price comes quality cells. Never had any issues with FP, TP lipos.

[kyosho501x]

just wonderin how do you remove a puffed cell? what are the procedures

Never seen one - just start by taking the shrink off to see what you've got under there. Some of mine had cells that were glued together - seemed like epoxy and I couldn't get them apart. Wouldn't risk trying to cut them apart for fear of puncturing cell - that leads to a very rapid oxidation and tons of white smoke!!!.

I've had others where cells came apart ok, but wiring was encapsulated in some kind of hard white stuff. I was concerned about trying to dig around in that an short everything out. Bigger lipos are easier to "repair" than the smaller ones.

[tc3_racer_001]

well hes offered a $20 refund, and if there are issues with it (i will try charge and use it under CLOSE supervision, he didnt know about it but it may have been there for a while and he not noticed it, which is ok. i definately wont be using them in my offroad buggy now though. paid $50 for 2, and they are like $160 new each, so $50 for one good one used only a handful of times in a stock car is still a reasonable deal.. i read somewhere they have enderland cells in them...

[bl-is-future]

i would get full refund. If he said they were not puffed than that should be the case. Puffed lipos are not to be messed with. They can get very dangerous at that point. I would not try and charge it at all. Either take the loss of the cell or get a full refund. My .02. (i have had cheap Maxamps puff repeatedly and no refund so i just pitched the cells took a $500 loss and bought better cells and not had a problem since.)

they dont even look bad to me, just could be wraped a little different, is it squishy at all?

[tc3_racer_001]

solid. its definately puffed a little, so ive asked to return it. o well, i got them for a perfect fit in my tc3, up on their side, for 14.8v on a stock esavage esc paired with a silver can motor for a challenge we set our selves (dont see how we could fry anything but the cheap motor and possibly the gears, which ive got almost $800 worth of spares off ebay for like $200 :)

It doesn't look puffed to me either. I would cycle it a few times. For $30 you don't have much to lose, and taking a $10 loss for nothing, well I just don't have it in me to do so. If it's really puffed the puffed up cell should feel a bit squishy, or at least a good bit softer than the good cells.

J.

[tc3_racer_001]

ok i will charge it out of the lipo sack on concrete away from everything. this should make it easier to watch. inside a lipo sack WOULD be safer usually, but it could get puffed up and become even worse. i will try it now :) hopefully it doesnt explode!
i can discharge @ 300mah, thats pretty slow... but o well.
il let u guys know what happens. the cell is solid.

[MTBikerTim]

If the cell isn't squishy it ain't puffed. That's my opinion anyway. I had a pack puff up slowly (over many many uses), It started off hard and became squishy. Most of my lipos look a bit bloated but that is just how lipos look one heat shrinked. I have been a bit scared my big 6s neu pack is going to puff waiting for the monster as it has been sitting for a long time now.

[tc3_racer_001]

cool! thanks for this. im new to lipos and personally i think they are like TNT or something!

acually nihms blow more then lipos really, and i dont even have a lipo sack, i just sit them on my bech, not the safest i guess but o well