You've gotta be kidding me. Why don't you show a video of some baby being buried alive in a pile of lithium polymer batteries while you're at it and talk about the dangers of piling up batteries.

If I pump too much juice into anything, it'll likely melt or catch on fire. Every NiCad battery I've ever used had some warning on it about not misuse it.

I think I understand the point of the post, but this video is not very helpful in any discussion.

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Don't leave Li-Po unattended during charging?

So sit there for 4 hours to make sure it doesn't blow up?

Basically, this video is saying, if you're REALLY stupid, the battery will explode.

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Gee, I've managed to charge my cell phone every night without burning down my house.

Useless propaganda.

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This is Stupid, Lipo are dangerous if you are an idiot, but they are far from the most dangerous.. Lithium Ions are much greater threat as they have more chance of exploding if you say use them in a car or bike and then crash..Lipo tend to expand but not explode in that type of event.

Also almost all Lithium Batteries come with BMS Boards that balance and protect the cells so these events don't happen...(such as overcharging or over use(letting the cells drop below a certain voltage where the cells reverse and short circuit and possibly explode)

All this guy has done is connect a lipo directly to a charger, and let it cook. Under normal conditions with the right gear...proper lipo charger and good lipo batts with BMS boards this would not happen.

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First, I think someone needs to learn the difference between lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries and lithium-polymer (li-po) batteries.

Second, these videos were made for the RC community. I happen to have a couple li-po batteries for my RC truck, and yes, they are this dangerous. The card that comes with them has a big disclaimer on it that warns you to store and charge them in fireproof containers, and to do so away from anything that might burn. It also specifies temperature ranges at which they should be kept, etc.

In the RC community, you can use a few different kinds of batteries for one application... and the chargers that you use to charge those batteries aren't necessarily made specifically for those types/brands of batteries. For example, I can pick up a battery charger at a hobby shop that's not designed to charge li-po batteries, and since RC hobbyists solder tehir own kinds of connectors on all of their equipment, that doesn't stop me from physically plugging a li-po battery into a li-ion only charger. Doing so WILL result in what you see in those videos.

This isn't the same as a li-po battery in a cell phone, where circuitry is in place to prevent over-charging the battery. Said circuitry might not be in place in RC applications, as each manufacturer is different and there aren't a lot of rules regarding what they can and can't do. Plus, as I said, batteries and chargers are constantly mis-matched and people don't know enough to always pick the right charger for the type of battery they're using.

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Thanks to Jason from the RC Airplane community. I use Lipo's in my RC airplanes all the time. Going from NiCds and NiMHs to lithium was the greatest move I made. They are much lighter weight for their power output and are higher capacity as well. I will never go back. All that said, I am always paying attention to them during charging, and double check charge rates to make sure they don't cook and explode as shown in the video. I even charge them in a metal trashcan just to be on the safe side.

If you do things right, they are awesome. But all it takes is a short while soldering a connector on to ruin your day(garage, workshop, car, etc)

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A safe lithium battery video.

http://www.valence.com/technology/safety_video.html

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