First up, we are not experts in this area and simply offer these thoughts as part of the wider discussion on this important topic. We recognise we all need to make our own judgements and decisions on what works for us, and this is simply a summary of thoughts as they have evolved in discussions around first hand knowledge of recent incidents. Describing it as a wake-up call is an understatement.
Our premise is that LiPo battery fires cannot be ignored. As with broader lithium battery fires, they are all too close and can happen to anyone. Those involved in the two workshop fires that started this discussion thought they had a reasonable understanding of their batteries, chargers, and best practice procedures – yet they were wholly unprepared for how things evolved. Thankfully no one was hurt, and they are both willing to share their experience.
Both fires started with LiPo batteries being charged. We will never know the precise point of failure that caused these fires, but the typical causes are well documented. The new ‘news’ for us is the shared experience on how fast and violently these escalated to major threats to property and life. Those findings provide new and actionable lessons.
So hence this initiative to provide a combination of three things:
- First hand reviews of incidents, from the minor to the catastrophic, to help us all understand the potential consequences.
- A ‘What Can I Do’ action plan framework that builds on the well rehearsed ‘prevention’ messages with parallel emphasis on minimising the risk of escalation into a catastrophe if something does go wrong.
- Sharing of practical ideas on devices and actions we can take to support our action plan, particularly around the common theme of charging and storing batteries in home workshops
We are more focused initially on the charging aspects rather than storage and transport, but this will change over time – we have to start somewhere. We also do not want to be dismissive of the basic understanding and best practice messages around charging – they are covered in our Resources page and we don’t see a need to repeat all of those on this site. They are critical. But we are realists and recognise that there will be times we don’t pay 100% attention, and things will go wrong – and there is little written (that we have found) on the risks of rapid escalation and how we can minimise that.
If you have experiences that you can add to our knowledge base then please reach out to us.