A few weeks ago, I was flying my RC heli and having a good time. But, while trying to do some trick shit, I ran it into my inverted vee; full, tilt, boogie. After replacing the obvious FU parts, I just could not get enough power to get any lift. I replaced the stripped gears, rotor blades, and even took a chance on the motors, but no joy. By trying different spare batteries, I was able to eliminate that as a problem. So, I decided to walk away from it for a few days, and left everything on the table where I was working. The table, by the way, happens to be in front of one of the windows that gets the afternoon sun for several hours.
Yesterday, I noticed one of the LiPo batteries had a bulge. Now, these are flat packs that appear to be in sealed silver packs. So, I figured it was just an air expansion from being in the sunlight and heating up a bit. It hadn't looked like that earlier in the day. A normal person would take it out of the sunlight, and leave it the fuck alone. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I decide to vent it. I just happen to have a sewing needle nearby, and figured a tiny hole would do the trick. So, I put a very little puncture hole in the bag, being careful to not go very deep, for obvious reasons. So after putting this itty bitty hole in the bag, I give it a squeeze, and sure enough, the air escapes, and the battery returns to normal size. End of story? Fuck no.
I see a little wisp of smoke exit the pin hole, and see a microscopic orange glow, and then it goes out. About like an ash falling from a cigarette. I think to myself, huh, that's interesting. I give the pack a little "squeeze" from the sides figuring that would cause the bag to pull away from the spot where I put the hole. Excellent idea, NOT.
The next thing I know, it's like there is a solar flare going on in my hand, and I’m looking directly at the sun through high powered binoculars. Fortunately, I was by the front door and chucked this flaming mass out the door, looking much like a falling star, a very large falling star. It fell onto the driveway, where it reduced the granite pebbles to a state rivaled only by Mauna Loa. At that point the smoke detectors are wailing like the horns in Arkansas during a multi F5 tornado alert, and I am frantically phoning the monitoring service to cancel the slurry bombers that I know have been dispatched to the area.
When it finally burned itself out, the smoke cleared, and the temp had dropped below 4000 degrees C, I was amazed at what was left. It looked like the silver wrapper off a stick of Juicy Fruit gum with a couple of wires attached to it, or perhaps a mini Jiffy Pop container (after having fallen in the campfire for a week or two). It weighed practically nothing compared to a battery in its native condition. I've posted some photos, and can only offer the advice that comes with every battery, is seen on you tube, and is warned by others with a similar experience, and what common sense would dictate:
DON'T FUCK WITH LiPo BATTERIES. This could have been a real disaster, and honestly, I knew better than to mess with it, but........
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