Battery Safety

Lithium Polymer Battery Information and Safety

Lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries can be dangerous. They can produce smoke, heat, and

fire if they fail. Follow these rules to help prevent this:

• ***DON’T leave a LiPo battery unattended while charging or discharging.***
• DON’T charge the battery with anything other than an approved lithium polymer battery charger. (They will be available in lab and at the contest.)
• DON’T attempt to use or charge a battery that is:
  • Visibly damaged.
  • Bulging.
  • Warm.
  • Below 6.0V or above 8.4V.
  • Not yours.
• DON’T allow the battery to become short-circuited during use or storage. Protect the terminals at all times. Don’t mount your electronics on a metal surface.
• DON’T attempt to modify the battery connectors.
• DON’T connect that battery directly to radio receiver. They are not designed to run at 7.4V, and there is a risk of connecting them backwards. Use the Arduino Nano Carrier or the Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC) to supply 5V to the radio receiver.
• DON’T leave the battery connected to anything when not in use.
• If a battery appears visibly damaged or is bulging, hot, or outside of the specified voltage range, bring it to the course staff for safe disposal.
• If a battery is releasing white smoke, even a small amount, it is damaged and should be treated as an imminent fire hazard. If possible, place it outside on a concrete surface. Otherwise, place it in a bucket of sand and cover it with sand. (A bucket of sand will be available by the chargers.)

If a battery is on fire, don’t touch it or try to remove it from your robot.

2.007 LiPo Battery Specifications:

Configuration: 2S1P

Nominal Voltage: 7.4V

Usable Voltage Range: 6.0 – 8.4V

Capacity: 500mAh

Max Discharge: 15C (7.5A)

Internal Resistance: 0.14Ω

Things NOT to do to the LiPo Battery:

(Headers were plugged in to balance leads, exposing them to short circuit.)

(Battery short-circuited with mouse trap to demonstrate fire potential.)