Repairing Guides

how to repair swollen lipo battery

by Khalid Aufderhar IV Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The only way to fix a puffing or swelling LiPo battery is to properly dispose it and replace it with another new battery as soon as possible as it is quite dangerous to use puffed LiPo battery because sometimes it can cause fire or can be explode.

Full Answer

What to do when your LiPo batteries swell?

Tips to avoid swelling on your LiPo batteries

  1. Use quality chargers. If the official charger that comes with your battery or device originally costs $50, then don’t use a cheap $5 charger.
  2. Don’t over-charge or over-discharge. This advice applies to all kinds of rechargeable batteries, whether it’s for your drone, laptop, or mobile phone.
  3. Replace old batteries. ...
  4. Avoid mechanical damage. ...

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What is a good LiPo battery?

  • A LiPo battery can only be charged using a LiPo battery charger. ...
  • When you plug your LiPo battery into the Tamiya connector on the LiPo battery charger, make sure the polarity is correct: red to red, black to black.
  • When charging a LiPo battery, it must also be plugged into a balance board. ...

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Why do LiPo batteries swell up?

What Makes Lithium Batteries Swell?

  • Extreme Temperatures. Many experts suggest this is the most common reason for a swollen battery. ...
  • Poor Quality or Damaged Battery. A poorly made (low-quality or cheap) battery sometimes just doesn’t perform correctly. ...
  • Issues With Charging – Overcharging, Faulty Equipment, or Deep Discharging. ...

Are swollen LiPo batteries safe?

To sum up: As lipo’s age and if they are misused, gases start to form in the battery and cause it to swell. Once you have a puffy lipo, the safe thing to do is to discharge it completely and then recycle it. If you want to learn more about lipo’s, check out my in-depth lipo battery guide.

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Can a swollen LiPo battery Be Fixed?

The first thing you should know is that a swollen LiPo battery is a lost cause. You cannot fix it, and you should look for a replacement battery as soon as possible. Once you have decided to stop using your swollen LiPo battery, you should dispose of it properly.

What do I do if my LiPo battery is swollen?

To sum up: As lipo's age and if they are misused, gases start to form in the battery and cause it to swell. Once you have a puffy lipo, the safe thing to do is to discharge it completely and then recycle it.

Is it possible to Unswell a battery?

But, it is important to note that you cannot heal a swollen or defective battery; you can only remove it. These hints can only help prevent battery degradation. Batteries do best with slow, controlled charging and discharging, use in moderate temperatures, and protection from shocks or damage.

Can I use a puffed LiPo battery?

As long as it is very minor LiPo puffing & goes away after the pack cools down, it has been my experience that you can usually still safely use the pack and keep the swelling in check; likely not to its full discharge potential however.

Will swollen battery explode?

Yes. A swollen lithium-ion battery can be extremely dangerous if left in your device. It could become punctured, causing hazardous gases to escape. A swollen cell phone battery could even catch fire or explode while you're holding it, leading to serious injury.

What does a puffed lipo look like?

1:4111:33Lipo Battery Safety - Puffy batteries and other lipo dangers - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe most common way is you go to get below the minimum charging voltage or discharge voltage whichMoreThe most common way is you go to get below the minimum charging voltage or discharge voltage which is about three volts per cell. So once he gets there it's in a bad state we'll start puffing.

How much does it cost to fix a swollen battery?

You can contact your manufacturer, use a local repair shop, or replace the battery yourself. Expect to spend somewhere between $50 and $150, depending on how much shopping around you plan to do.

What causes a lithium battery to swell?

Bloating caused by lithium battery gas production The gas produced in the battery is another important cause of battery swelling. Dependent on whether the battery is in a normal temperature cycle, high-temperature cycle, or high-temperature shelving, it will produce different degrees of swelling and gas production.

What causes battery to bulge?

Batteries can swell for a number of different reasons - such as overheating. In extreme cases, they can even double in size, so that your device's cover may start to bulge. The phenomenon occurs mainly with lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries.

How do I know if my LiPo battery is bad?

LiPo batteries don't have an expiry date printed on them, but from my personal experience, new batteries almost always perform better than old batteries, even when they just sit there and not being used much. I generally find batteries that are 12 to 18 months old to start showing noticeable drop in performance.

Why do LiPo batteries explode?

LiPo Battery Failures LiPo cells are susceptible to the same troubles of other lithium-ion cells; overcharge, over-discharge, over-temperature, short circuit, crush and nail penetration can all result in thermal run away and catastrophic failure leading to explosion and fire.

When should you discontinue to use a LiPo battery?

LiPo batteries don't have expiration dates, but they can see a drop in performance after excessive use or passed time. to 18 months,” said Sarah Petrova, a hardware engineer at Intel. But that doesn't mean you can't use them.

What should I do with a swollen LiPo battery?

The first thing you should know is that a swollen LiPo battery is a lost cause. You cannot fix it, and you should look for a replacement battery as soon as possible. Once you have decided to stop using your swollen LiPo battery, your next order of business should be to dispose it properly.

Why does my LiPo battery swell?

LiPo batteries are especially prone to swelling because of their polymer laminate case that replaces the rigid metal cases of older lithium ion batteries.

What is a LiPo battery?

LiPo batteries are distinct from the old-fashioned lithium ion batteries due to their use of a solid polymer electrolyte. Through this solid electrolyte, lithium ions can move between the two terminals of a LiPo battery. A LiPo battery also has polymer separator that keeps the positive and negative terminals from coming into contact with each other.

What to do if LiPo battery gets drained?

If your LiPo batteries gets drained to its lowest level, it is a good idea to plug it in right away before it discharges even further. 3. Replace old batteries.

How to discharge a LiPo battery?

A safer method to discharge a LiPo battery is by hooking up its terminals to any device that can act as an electrical load, such as a lightbulb or a resistor with high resistivity rating. If you decide to use a lightbulb, a 20W halogen bulb should allow you to discharge the battery pretty quickly. You can even hook up several bulbs in parallel to speed up the discharging process. You will know when the battery has been completely discharged as soon as the bulb no longer lights up.

Why do batteries swell?

Batteries swell because of the phenomenon of electrolyte decomposition. As its name implies, this is the process where the electrolyte solution decomposes into its individual components. For most cases, these components include oxygen.

What are the components of a battery?

All batteries are made with three basic components: a negative end, a positive end, and an electrolyte solution. Batteries conduct electricity via the migration of ions from the positive end to the negative end and vice-versa. These ions can travel through the electrolyte solution.

What Causes Lipo Batteries to Puff Up?

Even if you don’t abuse your battery, the normal everyday use of your battery will generate gas through a process called electrolyte decomposition.

What to do with a puffy lipo?

Once you have a puffy lipo, the safe thing to do is to discharge it completely and then recycle it.

What happens when an electrolyte breaks down?

So in a lipo battery, as the electrolyte breaks down you end up with lithium and oxygen. This forms lithium oxide on the anode and cathode (depending whether you are charging or discharging). But what you also end up with is excess oxygen ...

What is the chemical inside a battery?

The electrolyte is a chemical inside the battery that allows charged ions to flow from the anode to the cathode during discharge (and the other way during charging).

How to discharge a battery completely?

The two main methods that people use to discharge a battery completely is to hook it up to a light bulb or to put it in a bucket of saltwater. There are debates about which method is better but I will avoid that debate here for now.

Can a puffed battery start on fire?

Seriously, there are so many examples of puffed batteries that start on fire that this shouldn’t even be a question.

Does heat kill batteries?

Heat kills batteries – Don’t use batteries or charge batteries when they are warm. After you’re done using them, give them a little time to cool off before you charge them. And after you are done charging them, give them a little time before you use them.

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