lipo swelling

[SamRCRacing]

I recently bought 2 sets of vampire 4400 40c lipo saddles. First set is fine but then i went to use the second set and my speedo started beeping. I had noticed slight swelling on one of the cells. Went to balance the cells and it came up with "low voltage". Got these second hand and just wondering what to do. Can i still use them?

Thanks

Sam

[jim76]

were they swollen when you got them, or have only swollen recently?

If they were swollen when you got it then i would go back to the seller. If you have used them a few times and it has just suddenly swollen then there isn't much you can do. I wouldn't recommend still using them.

[SamRCRacing]

they were swollen when i got them. i have already spoken to the seller about it.

[jim76]

then he should agree to a refund. NOBODY should sell swollen lipos. Very bad form.

If he is claiming they are damaged in transit then he should make the claim for you, presuming he has proof of postage

[mark christopher]

Dont use them swelling is the 1st sign of failure

[SamRCRacing]

The seller is fine with it, he done me a great deal trying to help me out. the other pack has very little swelling and its only on one of the pair on both sets so could you make 1 good out of both pairs?

[mark christopher]

The seller is fine with it, he done me a great deal trying to help me out. the other pack has very little swelling and its only on one of the pair on both sets so could you make 1 good out of both pairs?

you could but make sure you balance them and keep an eye on them

[SamRCRacing]

Okay, thanks for your help.

Sam

[discostu]

and that is why you shouldn't buy vampire lipos sorry mate get your money back if you can.

[jim76]

and that is why you shouldn't buy vampire lipos sorry mate get your money back if you can.

lol! i thought the same Stu :woot:

sounds like the seller has sorted him out though

[SamRCRacing]

Why not vampire?

[Darren Boyle]

and that is why you shouldn't buy vampire lipos sorry mate get your money back if you can.

Care to give your opinion why?

We have been distributing these in the UK since 2008 they have proved to be one of the most reliable, consistent and best value packs on the market every year since. The fact that out of literally hundreds and hundreds of packs sold we have had less than a very small handful returned in 3+ years just goes to prove that too...

This pack being discussed here is second hand with no idea how they have been used, kept or treated prior to the new owner recieving them. Also worth baring in mind that they have not even been sold from new for over 12 months now too (the 4400 40c spec).

[Gonky]

Been using Vampire Lipo's for over 2 years now, never had a problem with them.

As with most items of this nature, if you don't look after them correctly then you can't expect them to last!

[SamRCRacing]

Think i might just go for smc 60c lipos after christmas.

Thanks for all you help

Sam

[Darren Boyle]

Think i might just go for smc 60c lipos after christmas.

Thanks for all you help

Sam

Which most likely judging by their appearance come from the self same supplier as Vampire do :lol:, but to be fair there are only 2 or 3 major suppliers making them for 90% of all the brands out there today. Just because one company puts one sticker on and another a different one, makes no odds, they are all still the same inside.....

[SamRCRacing]

What lipos do you recomend?

[discostu]

Care to give your opinion why?

We have been distributing these in the UK since 2008 they have proved to be one of the most reliable, consistent and best value packs on the market every year since. The fact that out of literally hundreds and hundreds of packs sold we have had less than a very small handful returned in 3+ years just goes to prove that too...

This pack being discussed here is second hand with no idea how they have been used, kept or treated prior to the new owner recieving them. Also worth baring in mind that they have not even been sold from new for over 12 months now too (the 4400 40c spec).

dont get me wrong darren vampire products in my view are very good except the lipos i can name at least 5 drivers who have bought these and within a month or so they are showing sign of swelling ive also had some in the past, no reason for it as they were charged corretly and all the rest of it.
i will never buy a vamprire lipo again sorry this is my opinon.

i have also used track power,ip,demon,turnigy and never had swelling issues and unfortuantly due to my experience with these lipos i would not recomend them to anybody

diff grease on the other hand and dms service second to none.

stu

[Darren Boyle]

To be honest, ALL of the TOP brand packs are as good as each other - LRP/Nosram, SMC, Vampire, Orion, Reedy, etc etc, there really is very little to choose between them all (as results always go to show). However as Liam (Gonky) rightly said it is all about how they are treated and looked after that really counts...

[discostu]

Which most likely judging by their appearance come from the self same supplier as Vampire do :lol:, but to be fair there are only 2 or 3 major suppliers making them for 90% of all the brands out there today. Just because one company puts one sticker on and another a different one, makes no odds, they are all still the same inside.....

totaly agree but if you bought a renault and the wheels fell off for no reason would you rush out and buy another i wouldn't.:thumbsup:

[TARTMAN]

what guidlines would you say, ie balance/fast/charge/storage etc as a guide for lipos............... In your opinion........... Curious.......:eh?:

To be honest, ALL of the TOP brand packs are as good as each other - LRP/Nosram, SMC, Vampire, Orion, Reedy, etc etc, there really is very little to choose between them all (as results always go to show). However as Liam (Gonky) rightly said it is all about how they are treated and looked after that really counts...

[Darren Boyle]

dont get me wrong darren vampire products in my view are very good except the lipos i can name at least 5 drivers who have bought these and within a month or so they are showing sign of swelling ive also had some in the past, no reason for it as they were charged corretly and all the rest of it.
i will never buy a vamprire lipo again sorry this is my opinon.

i have also used track power,ip,demon,turnigy and never had swelling issues and unfortuantly due to my experience with these lipos i would not recomend them to anybody

diff grease on the other hand and dms service second to none.

stu

Stu, thanks for the honest and constructive feedback. As the distributor of these we genuinely have had very few back, less than 10 in 3+ years, which is all we can ever go by. As a "retailer" we have had LIPOs returned from ALL brands at some stage with swolen or split cases, some through faulty product and others through misuse.

However one thing we have seen on ALL the more recent high "C" rated packs (ALL brands) is that there is far less room inside the case to start with, wheras on the earlier 25-40C packs there was spare space a plenty inside the casing (and the cases were thicker too). According to the factory (a VERY well known LIPO manufacturuer) nearly ALL LIPOs swell ever so slightly when first used (almost un-noticebale in some cases) and with the more recent 60C+ versions this is more noticeable as the case will move ever so slightly causing concern the pack is "swelling up". This has come direct from the factory and has proven to be solid information. It is also why when you look at many of the soft case LIPOs they are rarely flat, they take up a natural slight curved shape which is exactly what is going on inside our hard cases of today.

But please dont anyone misunderstand what I am saying here, there is a huge differance with a minor distortion on a case that causes it to "rock" on flat surface by tiny (almost zero) amounts to LIPOs that have been harmed or gone faulty that are "obviously" swollen badly or splitting the case apart, the two should never be confused

[F1END]

...According to the factory (a VERY well known LIPO manufacturuer) nearly ALL LIPOs swell ever so slightly when first used (almost un-noticebale in some cases) and with the more recent 60C+ versions this is more noticeable as the case will move ever so slightly causing concern the pack is "swelling up"....

Wasn't there a big problem with swelling at the world's this year, with many top team racers having their lipos 'failed' due to swelling up beyond legal size?

I have a year old Orion pack that I have looked after very well, always balanced and never let go flat, which has swollen up a bit but it seems to work just fine.

On the other hand, I have an old Core RC pack which I connected the wrong way round, and that has swollen up to the point that the case has split open by about 10mm!:woot:

[mattybucks]

Wasn't there a big problem with swelling at the world's this year, with many top team racers having their lipos 'failed' due to swelling up beyond legal size?

I have a year old Orion pack that I have looked after very well, always balanced and never let go flat, which has swollen up a bit but it seems to work just fine.

On the other hand, I have an old Core RC pack which I connected the wrong way round, and that has swollen up to the point that the case has split open by about 10mm!:woot:

I think the problem at the worlds was due to the case size and not Lipo's swelling. Alot of the guys at the worlds take brand new cells with them, in fact I heard that a couple of people used budget club packs with a low 'c' rating for 2wd.

A template was used, and if the lipo did not fit (therefore not meeting the size guidelines) the drivers were allowed of sand the case down until it fitted (madness is my opinion)!!

Regarding Lipo cells in general, like servo's, esc's and most probably motors there are only a few companies in the world who manufacture lipo's. The majority of the different cells come from only a few manufacturers.

[university_dave]

Darren is correct, with the latest high performance lipos there is no space in the cases for the cells to expand - and all lipo cells will expand slightly when first used to reach their optimum performance. Very minor swelling on these kind of packs shouldn't be a problem - providing it doesn't get any worse and performance doesn't drop off.

I'm not convinced there are only a handful of lipo manufacturers in the world - I think there are a lot more than people think. Based on the number of e-mails I receive every week from Chinese lipo manufacturers trying to sell me cheap packs there are quite a few in China alone - and there are also a number of Korean and Japanese manufacturers. I think there are only a handful of case manufactuers - hence the reason why packs look quite similar. To give an example, take a look at this (http://www.xfactoryrc.co.uk/xfact/info.asp?manufacturer=Vampire%20Racing&product=VR1016) pack and this (http://www.akularacing.co.uk/portfolio/smc-2s-6060cmi/) pack - apart from the lables they look exactly the same - but the Vampire is listed at 304g and the SMC at 322g according to the BRCA Homologation list. So despite them looking the same they do not have the same cell inside, so probably don't come from the same factory. Please note I've used these packs as an illustration of a point - this is in no way me bashing any pack in particular, the two packs shown are different even though they may look the same and have the same performance specs - this is all I am pointing out.

I still believe there is a big quality and performance difference between established r/c brands - who have high levels of experience of batteries in r/c applications and reputations to protect - and cheap lipo suppliers who are only interested in a race to the bottom on price. This is without even touching on the fact that there is no standard capacity or C rating calculation methodology, so all there is to go on when trying to judge the actual performance of packs is the brand reputation for stating true and accurate figures that relate to real world performance.

[Ed:-)Kerry]

and that is why you shouldn't buy vampire lipos sorry mate get your money back if you can.


i have been running the vampire cells for about 2 years they are very good.


stu you follow me most of the time, they are vampire cells

[mark christopher]

Darren is correct, with the latest high performance lipos there is no space in the cases for the cells to expand - and all lipo cells will expand slightly when first used to reach their optimum performance. Very minor swelling on these kind of packs shouldn't be a problem - providing it doesn't get any worse and performance doesn't drop off.

I'm not convinced there are only a handful of lipo manufacturers in the world - I think there are a lot more than people think. Based on the number of e-mails I receive every week from Chinese lipo manufacturers trying to sell me cheap packs there are quite a few in China alone - and there are also a number of Korean and Japanese manufacturers. I think there are only a handful of case manufactuers - hence the reason why packs look quite similar. To give an example, take a look at this (http://www.xfactoryrc.co.uk/xfact/info.asp?manufacturer=Vampire%20Racing&product=VR1016) pack and this (http://www.akularacing.co.uk/portfolio/smc-2s-6060cmi/) pack - apart from the lables they look exactly the same - but the Vampire is listed at 304g and the SMC at 322g according to the BRCA Homologation list. So despite them looking the same they do not have the same cell inside, so probably don't come from the same factory. Please note I've used these packs as an illustration of a point - this is in no way me bashing any pack in particular, the two packs shown are different even though they may look the same and have the same performance specs - this is all I am pointing out.

I still believe there is a big quality and performance difference between established r/c brands - who have high levels of experience of batteries in r/c applications and reputations to protect - and cheap lipo suppliers who are only interested in a race to the bottom on price. This is without even touching on the fact that there is no standard capacity or C rating calculation methodology, so all there is to go on when trying to judge the actual performance of packs is the brand reputation for stating true and accurate figures that relate to real world performance.

:woot:connectors are at different ends :thumbsup::lol::woot:

[MattW]

Have to say that I was going to point out that those cases are clearly different!!

That said, I have reasonable good insight that even if a case is different, the cells can still originate from the same place.

[TARTMAN]

what rules/advice would you guys say is the best way to charge/store/use etc lipos........:confused:

what guidlines would you say, ie balance/fast/charge/storage etc as a guide for lipos............... In your opinion........... Curious.......:eh?: