ekim1940

i have had a boat in storage for months i got it out to run it and the battery is swollen up can it still be used

crispyspa

I assume that it is a Lipo battery? Some batteries puff, there's no way around it. If you've maintained a store charge on it and the voltage hasn't got too low, it is usable and chargeable. If you stored it at a full charge and it went flat (low voltage), then it may be ruined. Lipo batteries are kind of like a gold digger wife....high maintenance. LOL

How many cells we talking about?

mfr02

If its swollen, consider it dead.

crispyspa

Not necessarily, I have 2 (3 cell 5000 mah) Sky lipos that are slightly puffed and have been for years. They are two of my best batteries, outlasting my 3 cell 6000 mah Max-amps batteries for run time.

mfr02

That is what I would call just being lucky.  Generally it is safe to assume that if a battery has mis-shapen itself there is something going on in there that shouldn't, and caution is advised.  If it is going to be returned to service, it would be best charged where it couldn't do any harm it it did decide to immolate itself, but that is fairly normal practice with LiPos anyway, or should be.

crispyspa

I guess I should clear up how much mine are puffed. They do not look like sausages or a clown balloon. LOL

If you compare them to a new battery by laying them on the table and measuring the difference, The puff amounts to about 1/32 of an inch...maybe a 1/16. Just barely noticeable. Both balance charge perfectly every time and still feel like a new battery, they aren't squishy or nothing. I can't say that for the Max Amps.

I do balance charge in a lipo safe bag every time and I store all my batteries in a metal tool box (just in case). You Tube is filled with videos of people making lipos explode so I don't believe they are the super volatile devil that people have made them out to be. Sure, they can be inherently dangerous and you should follow charging/running/storing rules.

I think my two batteries may be the rare exception to the rule, Both look the same even though they are used in a single battery application. Maybe they were both made on a Friday.

I find it odd that the OP hasn't chimed back in on such an important question.

mfr02

Fully agreed, but if the question has to be asked, a cautious reply is best,  Any LiPo needs due respect.  Ones used in commercial devices such as tablets are effectively in a closed environment where the user has to take serious steps to misuse them.  The ones we use are more open to misuse, so it does no harm to reiterate the procedures to prevent problems.  I just hope the OP is not the crispy bit at the bottom of a mushroom cloud......