I had my fire FPV drone battery fire! Thankfully, there was no damage to life or property, and the drone is recoverable. You can see the battery tray completely melted and burned away. Yes, this is one of my trusty EMax Tinyhawk III+ drones. And this one is only on its fourth or fifth battery, which is brand new. Why? We'll talk about that soon.
In the second photo, I have an intact drone that you can see what it should look like. The burned battery tray exposed the VTX (video transmitter), which is analog on this drone. I carry spare parts, so replacing the battery tray is relatively easy, and surprisingly, the electronics all fared well. Thanks in no small part to the actions of Miko, the labrador.
You might notice a third dog in the third photo who is black. That is Seven, aka Fatman, Batman, and SportMode. He is staying with us while his owner is travelling. It turns out that Seven also loves to chase my drones, but he needs to copy some of Miko's etiquette - such as leaving grounded drones and allowing the drone to take off before he strikes. At first, Seven was timid and hid from the drones until he realised what fun it could be. However, piloting a drone with two dogs chasing while trying to capture useful chase footage is extremely difficult, and accidents will occur.
Mr Seven hit the drone mid-air, and his teeth punctured the battery so that it caught fire - yes, LiPo can be very unstable.
Miko then picked up the burning drone and ran it outside, where he dropped it upside-down so most of the heat went away from the electronics.
After ensuring the fire was completely out, I then picked up the drone and ejected the battery into the garden using a toothpick. I made sure to keep the battery away from any flammable materials and monitored it closely to prevent any reignition.
Neither Seven, Miko, nor myself seem to have sustained injury. Well, I have a minor burn on my thumb. And the house is undamaged.
So, here's a stark reminder that LiPo batteries, such as the ones in your mobile phone or airpods, can be perilous if not handled with utmost care. If your device 'balloons', store it in a waterproof bag and place it away from your home. Dispose of the device or replace the battery and dispose of the old one correctly.
Lithium fires are self-sustaining. They generate sufficient heat, oxygen and fuel to keep burning in low-oxygen situations, including underwater. Instability is why you cannot have Lithium (LiPo included) batteries in your checked-in luggage. The theory is that if a Lithium battery starts to burn and it's in the cabin, then someone will notice, and somebody will extinguish it before it endangers the aircraft. Other things to avoid:
Don't run the battery too low - doing so increases the heat output of the battery due to resistance.
Don't charge and do high-drain activities on the battery simultaneously because it can produce a lot of heat.
Try not to keep the battery at 100% for long.
Don't trust any battery that has physical damage, balloons, gets hot or doesn't hold a charge.
Signs your lithium battery is about to go may include:
excess heat
a fruity smell
crackling and popping sounds
smoke and flame (too late!)
The fourth image is a picture of Mr. Seven resting that evening, giving exactly zero Fs that he nearly burned down my house. He and Miko like sleeping in corners, so they sleep in different parts of the bedroom.
Until next time.
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