A buddy of mine who owns an Inspire 1 was charging his battery in the garage. He woke up at 1:30am to the garage on fire. They determined it was the battery. He had the inspire and the remote upstairs in the kitchen. Woudl DJI be help responsible for this? What should he do? This happaned yesterday so he hasn't been able to ask around here. That's why I am doing it for him.
Thanks!

I believe it says in the manual to place the battery "fire proof" and to keep an eye on it during charging ... So NO ... They can not be held responsible for this.

Wait a minute ... Was this Bob trying out his new 800W charger (sorry, power supply) ?

Seriously ... Thanks for the heads up on this ...
I need to be more careful with theese babies !!!

Do you know if the battery was connected to the driver or just beeing stored ?

Hahahaha! That's funny! But kinda cruel. I hope this fellows insurance is good and will cover the damage. That's most unfortunate. It is normally stated that these high energy batteries should be charged in metal containers on a concrete floor if possible. I am guilty of not doing this too.

You NEVER leave one of these batteries unattended while charging!!! NEVER!!!!! What was your friend thinking!!!!!!

It was being charged and not connected/

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-6 14:12
It was being charged and not connected/

Fully charged ... Not connected to the power supply ?

I allways thought this happened mostly while the battery was beeing charged ...

That's an excellent warning to us all.   I admit I've been a bit lax when charging but will take it much more seriously now.

I hope the guys who are considering going down Bobs route read this post!!!

Dave E Posted at 2015-4-6 18:50
I hope the guys who are considering going down Bobs route read this post!!!

Hi Dave, Bobs route is not bad. Only issue in Bobs route is the warranty in case ...
I know about the dangers on LIPO.
Maybe i should look back to my 6pack charger and maybe cover the inside of the
box with 1mm steel plate. ( I think aluminium is not a good choise).
The box will get more heavy to transport too.

dundee Posted at 2015-4-6 19:06
Hi Dave, Bobs route is not bad. Only issue in Bobs route is the warranty in case ...
I know about  ...

There must be other more light weight, fire proof, materials to use ...

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-6 14:12
It was being charged and not connected/

How could it be charging if it was not connected?

InspiredOne Posted at 2015-4-6 19:14
How could it be charging if it was not connected?

He means, it was already fully charged and stored

dundee Posted at 2015-4-6 19:25
He means, it was already fully charged and stored

LOL -- Great translation skills! What language was he speaking?

Seems a bit suspect to me, but what do I know.

InspiredOne Posted at 2015-4-6 19:30
LOL -- Great translation skills! What language was he speaking?

Seems a bit suspect to me, but ...

I suspect a faulty battery cell causing the fire.
During or after charge, not matter.

dundee Posted at 2015-4-6 19:36
I suspect a faulty battery cell causing the fire.
During or after charge, not matter.

Exactly! The end result was the same.

InspiredOne Posted at 2015-4-6 19:45
Exactly! The end result was the same.

Old school. Case closed. Lets look for other Inspired subjects.

w1der Posted at 2015-4-6 13:45
I believe it says in the manual to place the battery "fire proof" and to keep an eye on it during ch ...

You beat me to it, good old Bob.  Hope he is careful.  Anyway This thread should be a reminder to follow the manual on how to charge these batteries.  They are nasty if they catch fire and the best way to put them out is sand or dry powder.

Yeah as these batteries go through more cycles the odds go up...Litium has a real bad habit of exploding or catching fire when exposed to air...One of our design teams biggest problems were power supplies and batteries back in the Nortel days...I am sure DJI will be no different...They have layered in a lot of safety but it seems to always come back and bite you...It is well worth taking the extra precautions to charge them safely and store them safely...

HMMM..... {:2_33:}

I bought lipo bags a while back and usually put them on (with only the cable sticking out for charging) while charging.  I'm assuming the material in the bag will melt and extinguish any fire if one started.

Can anyone confirm that I need more stringent methods? Perhaps an ammo case?

Yikes.  Any pictures of the fire?   Did the entire garage burn down?  I'm wondering how big of radius the batteries should have on the cement floor?  In other words is 3feet from any object or wall good enough?  

InspiredOne Posted at 2015-4-6 19:30
LOL -- Great translation skills! What language was he speaking?

Seems a bit suspect to me, but ...

Suspect to you? Really?  Here let me spell it out real slow for you. lol
My friend flew his inspire Saturday afternoon. His charger for it is (was) in the garage. Before he went to bed, he plugged it into the charger. I have no clue how what % of it was used. Obviously if it didn't need charging he wouldn't have plugged it in. lol So, he went to bed and woke up to the fire alarms going off and his garage on fire. Is that more clear for you? Geez. I love how people judge you for every thing you post like they are above everyone else.  
This was a simple question. Would like you to see pictures? I'll get ya some since it's this is suspect to you. lol wow!

dundee Posted at 2015-4-6 19:06
Hi Dave, Bobs route is not bad. Only issue in Bobs route is the warranty in case ...
I know about  ...

Dundee, a few of the rc modellers in our area have done a similar thing to what you have there. The charger and power supplies are kept outside of a metal ammo box, you know the kind Im talking about that the army uses with flip up lid, a hole is bored through on both ends with computer fan at one end pulling out hot air. It's safe and it works.

InspiredOne Posted at 2015-4-6 19:30
LOL -- Great translation skills! What language was he speaking?

Seems a bit suspect to me, but ...

I believe he means the battery was being charged overnight, thus connected to the power supply the whole time, however it was not connected and sitting idle in the inspire 1.... a reference to the inspire 1 battery fire on the airlines a couple weeks ago. It was determined that having the batteries connected to the inspire mid flight rather than stored was a no no.

In his friend's case, it tells me, as an extra precaution, don't leave your batteries charging and connected to the power supply unattended, even if fully charged.

That doesn't sound so suspect to me.

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-7 02:33
Suspect to you? Really?  Here let me spell it out real slow for you. lol
My friend flew his inspi ...

Hey Skysight, thanks for informing us about this situation, sorry to hear about your friend's fire. Hopefully the damage wont be out of hand and it won't deter him or his family from flying the inspire in the future. I would be interested if you could ask friend if he recalls having any other issues with this particular battery....Nothing he could do now but did he ever look at the battery health in the pilot app and see if there were any charging errors reported previously?

I just had a battery drop charge from 15% to 7% instantly during a return flight. I'm now going to mark and keep a better record of what is going on with this particular battery.

Also have you heard of Skysight RC motion cinema? It's another aerial videography company.

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-7 02:33
Suspect to you? Really?  Here let me spell it out real slow for you. lol
My friend flew his inspi ...

I am new on here and I noticed that from time to time on this forum, seems odd that you see that type of response especially on a UAV forum but oh well I still think 90% of the people on here are very helpful so I will judge the good and not the bad.  Its unfortunate what happened to your friends garage, it will be his insurance company that will be the deciding factor on who they will go after, if anyone in this case.  However if it shows that the battery did cause it from being faulty from the manufacture I am sure the insurance company will go after who ever manufactures the battery.  Manufactures can boiler plate all they want but these batteries (Unless are faulty, abused, charged wrong etc) should not be exploding and starting sh#t on fire and we shouldnt be having to build bomb shelters to store inspire one batteries.  Either way safety and precaution first

w1der Posted at 2015-4-6 19:13
There must be other more light weight, fire proof, materials to use ...

micarta sheet

DJK Posted at 2015-4-7 08:51
micarta sheet

Thanks DJK for reminding me about the micarta.
I sure will have a look into that now.

It is expensive retail, I found an electronics salvage store with a large inexpensive selection.

I like the idea of a single larger supply, but we need to be cautious to not exceed the batteries internal charger capacity that we do not have specs on.

The amp rate and the voltage are two related but distinctly different charging factors.
I dont tend to "experiment" with this much potential energy.

I will be building my multi charger in an ammo can with vent holes to prevent pressurization, and to be able to contain the heat. I Think I will stay with three max...Too many batteries in the  box at the same time and the cost of a failed  cell is too much for my wallet .
I bought the heater boxes to hold the batteries on a micarta sheet, and will start with the DJI chargers until I know a little more about the limits of the smaller battery, and if the charging circiut limits the voltage and current rate. There are a few folks out there experimenting and they will discover the boundaries, just hope they are doing it in a concrete barrier.

I need to come up with a charging station that will protect my house from any sort of fire due to battery failure. It's very scary the thought of something like that happening. Racially when you have kids at home. Dundee if you come up with some ideas please do feel to share with us. i saw the micarta sheet but it's so expensive... Plus there's several option when it comes to that material.


NEMA
TYPE
APPLICATIONS
X
Paper based phenolic
Typical applications include insulating washers, sleeves, switch bases and panelboards.
C, CE
Canvas based phenolic
It machines readily, and is excellent for a variety of mechanical applications such as gears, pulleys, sheaves, insulators, bushings, washers, and rollers.
L, LE
Linen based phenolic
Applications for Grade LE include intricate machined parts, radio components, fine gears and pinions, spacers, bushings and rollers.
G-7
Silicone based phenolic
Grade G-7 is unequalled for high heat and arc resistance applications, and where good mechanical and electrical properties must be exhibited in humid conditions in excess of 400°F.
G-9
Melamine based phenolic
Grade G-9 is used for switchboard panels, arc barriers, structural electrical parts, specialty terminal blocks and circuit breaker components.
G-10
Epoxy fiberglass laminate [does not contain bromine]
Grade G-10 is used for terminal boards, washers, sleeves, structural components, and parts where the strength to size ratio is critical. Fire retardant ver.: FR4. We carry G10 FR4 grade.
FR4
Epoxy fiberglass laminate [contains bromine]
This product is suitable for a variety of structural, high humidity, and electrical insulation applications, which include terminal boards, lapping carriers, and disc and microelectronics polishing. We carry FR4 grade.
G-10 CRYOGENIC
Epoxy fiberglass laminate [cryogenic temperatures]
Designed to withstand absolute zero temperatures, the product is manufactured to the NIST G-10CR process specification for materials used in deep space and cryogenic applications.
G-11
Epoxy fiberglass laminate [high temperatures]

And yet nobody even mentioned the importance of surge protection systems when using any electronics in our homes!
Don't blame DJI batteries / changers / power supplies before having them connected to a good surge protection system. If you can't afford a good ones (they are horribly expensive when you think of covering all electronics in your home), the least you can do is to get the less expensive ones (like the AC / freezers surge protection) rated above the consumption required by your devices. They will not be a guarantee that your electronics will not burn or catch fire, but the chances that will cut the power or even burn themselves before your electronics are pretty high, thus having a safer and less expensive experience.
Please don't take this post as an off-topic, but I wonder how many of us are able to bring in court our electricity provider, even if we could prove that was their poor service causing the damage.
Best of luck to all (never to hear such stories again).
Regards,
Bogdan

I store my batteries in a Fire Safe ($80) in Lippo Bags ($30) just as an added precaution.

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-7 02:33
Suspect to you? Really?  Here let me spell it out real slow for you. lol
My friend flew his inspi ...

Dude, no need to get snippy. You say don't judge, then you judge me. There's a word for that.

What I found suspect was that the unconnected batteries would catch fire. But you confirmed my suspicion--the battery and power supply were connected. That was his first mistake. DJI has made it clear that the batteries are not to be left unattended while charging. Once they are finished charging, we are to disconnect them from the power supply. It all makes sense now.

Thanks for the clarification!

SkySight Posted at 2015-4-7 02:33
Suspect to you? Really?  Here let me spell it out real slow for you. lol
My friend flew his inspi ...

whether he has insurance or not..... if insurance company discover he left charging battery unattended overnight they won't be paying out anyway.

Leaving a battery charging overnight is totally irresponsible could of cost lives.