Where Do You Charge Your Lipos At Home?

[wesjanik]

With a few recent threads highlighting the need for lipo safety, I was wondering where exactly folks are charging their lipos when at home (several people have noted where in posts, but I didn't see a poll after a quick search).

I personally make use of a Liposack, and charge in the basement where the temperature is relatively regulated and I have a concrete floor. I got to wondering, though - while the Liposack may help protect the house from fire, I could end up with a basement full of toxic smoke... So I'm curious what everyone else does.

[RCMike15]

Hmm well i dont charge any of my batt's in those places but i do charge them in my room(i only have one lipo right now)

[Larry227]

In my workroom in the basement in a lipo bag on a charging table I made from a discarded kitchen cart my wife got tired of. I added 1/8" steel plate on top and a couple of female banana plugs to plug my chargers in.
I was never fond of the cart when it was in the kitchen as a microwave stand but I really like it now.

[Stpeteflyer]

I charge in my workshop which is also in my basement. I use a lipo sack also just incase something would happen and I was not in the shop at that time.

[rxwarrior@att.net]

I chage mine in a lipo bag in the kitchen sink.

[TCipolla]

I charge in the middle of the garage floor away from everything and put a paint can over them.

[Stump3r]

I charge mine on my heli bench, the biggest thing when charging is I don't leave them unattended, I never leave them alone when on the charger and I always monitor for heat or puffing.

[bkc77]

I charge in the house, I do put the lipos in a ceramic coated pot. If you watch them like your supposed to while charging , there is no need to goto extremes.

[motor12]

Outside on concrete pad with a cover for shade.If it's raining i charge in my garage with the door open. I was charging indoors but since i have been made aware of all the mishaps i don't do that anymore.

[fenderstrat]

I charge where my computer and heli stuff is,that way i can keep an eye on them while charging.I usually jump on line to see whats going on,then go back out for some flights.Most of the time I fly at a field 5 min from the house so I dont bother with field charging,just come home for recharge.I only do field charging at funflys and events

[Lynbird]

We charge them in a metal box with an attached cover on the wood floor in the family room. During the charging one of us is always in the room monitoring the charge. (feeling for swelling or heat, checking charging stats). For storage they are in the covered metal box in the basement (unfinished) or in the wood burner box insert in the fireplace.They are always respectfully treated as sticks of dynamite.

[heli-cuzz]

I charge my li-po batts everywhere and anywhere.

[Roundwords]

Having lived through a home fire where I lost everything, I'm quite cautious. I've been charging outside in barrel type BBQ grill. It's moved into the garage when I'm done and it is where I store my batteries when they are not being charged. Call me paranoid if you want.

[Justin Pucci]

I charge in the man-cave under constant supervision on a metal surface that isolates the system from flammables in the immediate vicinity. There's a fire extinguisher that sits only 5 feet away from the setup at all times.

[Mr.Andersen]

I charge my packs on the kitchen bench in a lipo sack.

[halley]

That's some serious paranoia. The worst case is a large flame that lasts a couple minutes, it's not like some massive blast explosion where you need to put perimeter fences throughout the neighborhood every time you recharge.

I charge my 6S lipos in the kitchen, on a cookie sheet sitting on a hefty stool that is pulled out a bit from the wall. Even a 24-inch gout of flame in a horizontal direction isn't going to catch any of the steel appliances on fire, the ceiling is already made from fire-retardant materials, and the alarm will go off to let me know something's wrong. Other batteries are below the charger where they can't possibly catch. When the balance charger beeps "I'm done" then I walk in from the next room and unplug it. I just don't leave the house or go to sleep for the duration.

There are plenty of ways of getting more protection, but my favorite that I've seen is to put the battery in one of the voids in a cinderblock, and cap the void with a plastic bag of vermiculite. Any flame will pop the bag and dump the non-flammable pellets all around the battery instantly, baffling the flames until it runs out of fuel.

[bkc77]

+1 halley
You need to respect them, not fear them. Keep them away from combustables and monitor them while charging.

[chuckk]

i charge mine in a full bathtub next to the toaster and radio.

[airjawed]

Originally Posted by chuckk

i charge mine in a full bathtub next to the toaster and radio.

Only thing is how do you keep the toast from getting soggy? I hate soggy bread!!

By the way I charge with general precautions. I know the batteries don't explode but could potentially ignite and treat them with that respect. So I charge them at home and keep them in or on a non flamable surface. I also have a charged my batts while driving(smaller batts)...with my batts in a non flamable container off of a cigarette lighter power line(never while unattended though).

So respect the batteries...and the helis too.

[FlyawayClyde]

I charge mine in a old Crock Pot with glass cover, on my desk right next to me in the media room. And I never leave them unattended