MavikMatt
 lvl.3
Flight distance : 660092 ft
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This post reminded me that I put this on Fb earlier. Its a good example of why we all need to watch any lithium cell carefully:
Hi Folks - Long post but important. I'm not sure if the higher temperatures we have at the moment have been an additional factor here (and I don’t know the brand or type of batteries) but this just happened to some friends of ours.
I'm assuming they are lithium ion batteries and thought this might be a timely reminder for us all!
My friend is an engineer and normally quite safety conscious. It might be that he over-discharged the cells in this case (I’ll leave that to the battery experts on this forum to tell us what went wrong) but I think it fair to say that we can all hold our hands up to slapping a torch or batteries into the charger and forgetting to keep an eye on them.
They are happy for me to share their story in the hope that others won't make the same errors. This is what happened in their words: "Basically, my bike battery wasn’t working so D ran it right down, then started to recharge it yesterday in his new office at the back of our garage.
Four hours later, just as we were about to turn the lights out after staying up reading too late (thank God), the power failed and our bedroom fan went off. At the same time, we heard some awful banging and popping noises from outside, so we went to investigate - we thought someone was breaking in!
D ran into the workshop to check the fuse box and decided to shut down the power. I then looked over at the brand new office doors and realised the building was on fire! Dialled 999 while D switched on the garden hose to try and cool it down.
Opening the doors ignited a fireball. 2 massive fire engines called out, much hullabaloo! From the look of it the battery unit has completely exploded and it looks like there were loads of little cylinders that went off like rockets - incredibly dangerous!!
D’s new office is ruined - it was only finished five days ago. Our builder is going to be horrified…
We’re all absolutely fine. All covered by insurance. Just a lot of hassle and hard work. Chemical smells are awful.
Very happy that D didn’t leave the battery charging in the hall where it normally charges or things could have been a LOT worse!"
So, these batteries are nothing to do with DJI drones or LED torches (I'm a sucker for both) but it did make me think about the instructions I have in the bottom of a drawer:
1. DO NOT attach the batteries to wall outlets or car charger sockets directly, and always use a DJI approved adapter. DJI takes no responsibility if the battery is charged using a non-DJI charger.
2. Never leave the battery unattended during charging. DO NOT charge the battery near flammable materials or on flammable surfaces such
as carpet or wood.
3. DO NOT charge battery immediately after flight, because the battery temperature may be too high. DO NOT charge the battery until it cools down to near room temperature. Charging the battery outside of the temperature range of 5°C-40°C may lead to leakage, overheating, or battery damage.
4. Disconnect the charger when not in use. Examine the charger regularly for damage to the cord, plug, enclosure, or other parts. DO NOT clean the charger with denatured alcohol or other flammable solvents. Never use a damaged charger.
In sum - I'm sticking with the original chargers or ones from selected (leading) companies. DJI and other good manufacturers spend some effort on making their battery packs as safe as possible, but we operators need to remember to keep our side of things safe at all times: charge on a plain surface, follow the instructions and always keep the batts in sight! |
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lvl.2
DJI team
