How do you all get rid of bad lipo's?

[grant1120]

Hey, I've never ran Lipo so i've been looking into it more and wanted to just know how do you all safely get rid of your bad lipo's? Ive seen the chargers discharge but I understand that doesn't completely remove all the "Juice". Also one that struck me as fairly safe was the 'salt water', but I don't want to dump the battery salt water into the lawn and take the same chance of it getting into a well. So what are all of your methods to get rid of these besides just tossing it on the garbage and hope nothing too bad happens?

 

[WoodiE]

@grant1120 I'll discharge on the charger (unless the battery is already swollen then I won't try to discharge it on my charger first), cut both leads at different lengths and place in a salt water bath for about a day or two. Finally I have a large steel stake (used for horse shoe game) and drive it into the battery ensuring it's completely dead. At that point I throw away the battery or take to the recycle.

 

[yonzariq]

I bring them to the chemical waste disposal here in the city and they take care of it

 

[Typhon]

Recently killed off 2 batteries one being a turnigy 3s and the other a onyx 3s. Though my destruction methods are not the proper way and i don't recommend my rookie ways its how i did it. The first battery was the turnigy and i got the bright idea of shooting it with a blow dart. 3 darts later and it caught fire. Bordome and curiosity got the best of me. I then through it in a bucket of water. 2nd battery the onyx was super swollen and had a bad cell not holding voltage and i didnt want to chance discharging it on my charger. Though after trying to balance it twice my charger died shortly after. Maybe i just had bad luck with my keenstone charger. I cut both leads and used a long wooden stick too touch both leads together till they welded themselves together. Kinda dangerous since the battery immediately started to swell. After about 20 seconds they burst into flames and admitted a large toxic plume of gas. Then after it burnt down i soaked it in a bucket of water for days. Im well aware it was bad for the environment and i fully intend to properly dispose of my batteries in the future. Hard to take a still shot in a video on my lg g5 so i apologize for the crappy picture but you can see 1 dart in the battery and nothing happened.

 

[Steve]

I bring them to the chemical waste disposal here in the city and they take care of it

Ditto!

 

[Steve]

@grant1120 I'll discharge on the charger (unless the battery is already swollen then I won't try to discharge it on my charger first), cut both leads at different lengths and place in a salt water bath for about a day or two. Finally I have a large steel stake (used for horse shoe game) and drive it into the battery ensuring it's completely dead. At that point I throw away the battery or take to the recycle.

Are we talking LiPos or Vampires here?

 

[kobalt78]

I read that you should fill a ziplock bag with water,add salt and drown it at least for a couple hours. Their reccommendation was to check for zero volts after but I'd rather not take a chance screwing up my 1 and only charger ( need to find a good charger that can charge 6s batteries.

 

[WoodiE]

Their reccommendation was to check for zero volts after but I'd rather not take a chance screwing up my 1 and only charger

Buy yourself a LiPo voltage checker. They cost under $5 and a great way to keep an eye on your batteries easily and quickly.

need to find a good charger that can charge 6s batteries.

Take a look at our Recommend me a battery charger thread for some really good suggestions.

 

[Steve]

Buy yourself a LiPo voltage checker. They cost under $5 and a great way to keep an eye on your batteries easily and quickly.



Take a look at our Recommend me a battery charger thread for some really good suggestions.

Another use: I had a balance plug fall off, long-story short, the LiPo checker/alarm was great insurance all the wires were connected in the proper sequence.

 

[grant1120]

I read that you should fill a ziplock bag with water,add salt and drown it at least for a couple hours. Their reccommendation was to check for zero volts after but I'd rather not take a chance screwing up my 1 and only charger ( need to find a good charger that can charge 6s batteries.

Hey kobalt, I was recommended this charger before, and my friend has it as well. Works great does any type of battery, 2 at once of any kind up to 6s.
https://www.amazon.com/Venom-RC-Battery-Balance-Charger/dp/B000QVK1B6

 

[72Z15SS]

I use a really good battery disposal system for most of mine!

 

[PPS-RC]

You should be able to just take it to a Best Buy and drop it off in the battery recycling bin in the front of the store.

 

[dpricenator]

I just received a puffy battery from a Vendor and these are their instructions on disposing of bad Lipo batteries.


Battery Bath

Final Procedure

We will need to see a picture of the battery fully submerged in a salt water solution, please wait until the battery has been fully submerged in the salt water solution for at least 2 hours before taking the picture. The salt water will slowly discharge the battery down to 0 volts over the course of 3-4 days. Please make sure to do this outside. Once we receive the battery bath picture, and mailing address confirmation we will be able to place you on order for a warranty replacement(s).



*****Please read and follow the instructions below. Failure to send the proper pictures will only delay your warranty process*****



Instructions:

• Fill a bucket or small container with enough water to fully submerge the battery.
• Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 8 ounces of water.
• Submerge the entire battery including wires with the label facing up in the salt water solution.
• Take a clear picture showing the battery in the solution. (Example below)
• Reply directly to this message with the battery bath photo and confirm your mailing address.
• Leave the battery in the solution for 3-4 days after which the battery can be safely disposed of with your household garbage

Example of Battery Fully Submerged in a Saltwater Solution

Battery Bath

Final Procedure

We will need to see a picture of the battery fully submerged in a salt water solution, please wait until the battery has been fully submerged in the salt water solution for at least 2 hours before taking the picture. The salt water will slowly discharge the battery down to 0 volts over the course of 3-4 days. Please make sure to do this outside. Once we receive the battery bath picture, and mailing address confirmation we will be able to place you on order for a warranty replacement(s).



*****Please read and follow the instructions below. Failure to send the proper pictures will only delay your warranty process*****



Instructions:

• 
  
  
  • Fill a bucket or small container with enough water to fully submerge the battery.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 8 ounces of water.
  • Submerge the entire battery including wires with the label facing up in the salt water solution.
  • Take a clear picture showing the battery in the solution. (Example below)
  • Reply directly to this message with the battery bath photo and confirm your mailing address.
  • Leave the battery in the solution for 3-4 days after which the battery can be safely disposed of with your household garbage

Example of Battery Fully Submerged in a Saltwater Solution

 

[72Z15SS]

I just received a puffy battery from a Vendor and these are their instructions on disposing of bad LiPo batteries.


Battery Bath

Final Procedure

We will need to see a picture of the battery fully submerged in a salt water solution, please wait until the battery has been fully submerged in the salt water solution for at least 2 hours before taking the picture. The salt water will slowly discharge the battery down to 0 volts over the course of 3-4 days. Please make sure to do this outside. Once we receive the battery bath picture, and mailing address confirmation we will be able to place you on order for a warranty replacement(s).



*****Please read and follow the instructions below. Failure to send the proper pictures will only delay your warranty process*****



Instructions:

• Fill a bucket or small container with enough water to fully submerge the battery.
• Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 8 ounces of water.
• Submerge the entire battery including wires with the label facing up in the salt water solution.
• Take a clear picture showing the battery in the solution. (Example below)
• Reply directly to this message with the battery bath photo and confirm your mailing address.
• Leave the battery in the solution for 3-4 days after which the battery can be safely disposed of with your household garbage

Example of Battery Fully Submerged in a Saltwater Solution

Battery Bath

Final Procedure

We will need to see a picture of the battery fully submerged in a salt water solution, please wait until the battery has been fully submerged in the salt water solution for at least 2 hours before taking the picture. The salt water will slowly discharge the battery down to 0 volts over the course of 3-4 days. Please make sure to do this outside. Once we receive the battery bath picture, and mailing address confirmation we will be able to place you on order for a warranty replacement(s).



*****Please read and follow the instructions below. Failure to send the proper pictures will only delay your warranty process*****



Instructions:

• 
  
  
  • Fill a bucket or small container with enough water to fully submerge the battery.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 8 ounces of water.
  • Submerge the entire battery including wires with the label facing up in the salt water solution.
  • Take a clear picture showing the battery in the solution. (Example below)
  • Reply directly to this message with the battery bath photo and confirm your mailing address.
  • Leave the battery in the solution for 3-4 days after which the battery can be safely disposed of with your household garbage

Example of Battery Fully Submerged in a Saltwater Solution

Hope it wasn't the Venom pack! I had a brand new Venom with a bad cell.

 

[dpricenator]

Sorry, Vendor, not Venom.

 

[SrC]

Discharge them if possible, using a charger or whatever. Then put a load on it (light bulb is fine till the light goes out) The lipo is then 100% safe. Optionally cut the leads, your call. But doesn't matter as the lipo is DEAD now. Then depending where you live, follow your Local recycling laws. Varies by State. Toss in the trash if that is locally expected of you.
I think using salt is overkill. And just a waste of time and salt with a discharged and Dead lipo at this point. If you feel uncomfortable about this and cannot safely discharge it, don't. Bring to any electronics store, like Best Buy or wherever LIpos can be collected free of charge. And they don't care of its condition or state of discharge at all. It is in their hands now. No worries. They do this all the time. This is not some weird science project. Lipo's exist in many devices in a majority of our life these days. Disposing of RC lipo's is no exception.
I been using $1k + of lipos in the past several years and currently have about 17-20 of them at any given time.

 

[Roadkill69]

You can bring them to a HomeDepot and put them in the battery recycle bin.

 

[arrmadillo]

All the methods have been outlined above , pick your poison.

 

[Adiabatic]

A faster way to discharge them is to follow the horseshoe theory of voltage: LiPo cells can reach 0V by either discharging from storage voltage or charging them up to 5V at which point they will spontaneously lose charge and go down to 0V. It sounds counter-intuitive, but once the voltage crosses 4.2V (full charge) it's actually getting lower despite what the charger will read out. Since a 3.8V storage voltage is closer to the 5V inversion than it is to 0V, you can save several hours by doing this instead a salt water bath.

 

[jkflow]

By all means the response above was to a 2016 post, might be a little behind the times.

A faster way to discharge them is to follow the horseshoe theory of voltage: LiPo cells can reach 0V by either discharging from storage voltage or charging them up to 5V at which point they will spontaneously lose charge and go down to 0V. It sounds counter-intuitive, but once the voltage crosses 4.2V (full charge) it's actually getting lower despite what the charger will read out. Since a 3.8V storage voltage is closer to the 5V inversion than it is to 0V, you can save several hours by doing this instead a salt water bath.

Wow, that is some bad advice. Lipos will literally explode beyond 4.4V (thereabouts). Yes, it is a sure fire way to get them to 0V but you better prepare for fireworks.