mism

It's not so much that 3.9v is a problem it's that the charger didn't stop and I'm concerned that it wouldn't have stopped. I contacted Modelsport this morning (and they got back to me straight away, on a bank holiday) and they said: That seems to make sense so I'll give it another go and monitor it until 4.20v.

Thanks Si. Very interesting and quite reassuring.

My Overlander RC6-VSP doesn't seem to be stopping at the correct storage voltage. I set it to storage charge my 2s 5000mAh LiPo earlier today. On the setup screen you can specify Amps (but only up to 1A which I think is to do with how much is can discharge) and specify voltage, 7.4V 2s. The balance lead was connected. Initially the cells were on 3.7v each as the battery hadn't been discharged to the limit. The charger is meant to charge or discharge to 3.85v for storage. It got to 3.9v at which point I turned it off. Am I missing something or do we reckon it's faulty? Edit: tried the discharge mode, it didn't stop at 3.85v. That said I can't find anywhere that it says that it will.

Definitely not planning on becoming complacent but also trying to find the balance between sensible and paranoid. There is, rightly, a lot written about the correct use of LiPos but I wonder how many people actually experience a fire? Are they really that common or do people err on the side of caution because you never know which idiot might be reading your advice? The comments about LiPo sacks make sense. I might start charging mine sticking out of the bag, I'll notice any smoke much sooner and hopefully have time to pull the plug, close the bag and take it outside. I live in a first floor flat, chucking it out the the window is the only quick option available, not sure that's such a good idea. I asked this in the LiPo thread: imagine I storage charge my LiPo then put it in it's bag and leave it in a cupboard and never use it again. Will anything dangerous happen or will it just degrade and puff up? On a more exciting note I found a nice bash spot in the woods about five minutes from my flat. Some nice dirt jumps (not proper bmx ones) and drop offs, plenty of tree roots to damage the car on! I managed to wrap it round a lamp post and it was fine. 45 minutes out of the battery as well, what the 13 year old me would have done for those run times.

Thanks again Tamiyacowboy. On a related note: imagine I storage charge my LiPo then put it in it's bag and leave it in a cupboard and never use it again. Will anything dangerous happen or will it just degrade and puff up.

I ran it yesterday down to 3.2v and I plan on taking it out again today. What is best practice, should I have fully charged it again yesterday ready for today or should I have done a storage charge and then topped it up today? I assume the storage charge is the ideal but will one night on full or 3.2v really do damage?

First run completed without incident. Charging was all very straight forward in the end. Setting up the receiver and ESC was a bit more of a faf and I had to update the firmware in the HPI Program Box. But it worked perfectly in the end and was much easier than relying on the beeps. I got around 25 minutes out of the battery with the cutoff set to 3.2V. That was running pretty much flat out on grass and loose dirt. Very happy with the car, fast but not stupidly fast. Way too easy to pull wheelies on tarmac, really stable on grass. Most of the times I rolled it were down to me putting the power on too quickly.

It's arrived I need to read the instructions before I plug anything in and bloody work is getting in the way of doing that. Not happy about the ESC having come loose in shipping, it looks fine at least.

Thanks Tamiyacowboy. Some people seem happy to rely on their ESC's low voltage cut off while others like the security of a LiPo alarm. They aren't expensive though, is this the right kind of thing: http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__62904__HobbyKing_8482_Cellmeter_6_Lipo_Life_Li_ion_Cell_Checker_Alarm_UK_Warehouse_.html It just plugs into the battery's balance lead I think?

Thanks guys.

It's the Fastrax one I got, I think the Dynamite metric set is on back order. Some but not all parts are waterproof, how wet do people let their Firestorms get? Is it a case of the odd puddle is okay but heavy rain is to be avoided?

I've read lots about LiPo batteries in preparation for using them for the first time, hopefully tomorrow. This thread as well as http://www.rctech.net/articles/tech/everything-you-need-to-know-about-electric-power-part-3-li-po-batteries/ and http://www.robotwars.00server.com/tutorials.html were all very useful. Am I correct in thinking that: Charging incorrectly (giving the charger the wrong information, trying to charge too quickly etc) is the main cause of LiPo fires? Drawing more power than the battery can supply can cause a fire. Everything else such as letting the battery voltage get too low or leaving it fully charged for weeks at a time will damage or ruin the battery but it won't start a fire? I don't plan on doing any of those things I'm just trying to establish when I should be most paranoid. I'll have a LiPo sack and was thinking of placing the battery in that (bear with me here!) on the glass plate in an unplugged microwave. That way if it went tits up I can pull the plug and shut the door. Am I mental?

Order placed. I'm worried now though, which accessories are there better options for? How long is a piece of string I suppose. I ordered a set of tools, nothing too fancy. I've got lots of bits already but some may not reach so nut drivers in particular will be useful. Does it use torx screws anywhere, Stretch's guide to the t-bone bumpers mentions them? Thanks again to everyone for your help. Look forward to round two of questions you've been asked 100 times before (I am working my way through THE E-Firestorm Thread, don't worry).

It's too late to start adding other scales into the mix now, I'm definitely sticking with 1/10th!

It was more the hobbyking prices that seem too good to be true compared to modelsport. If it wasn't for your recommendation I'd be suspicious, I'll definitely be using them in the future. I think I'm going to add the HPI Program Box to the list, I'm never going to be happy if I'm relying on beeps to set everything.