Treat LiPos well. They power everything — and they bite.
LiPo packs store enormous energy in a thin foil pouch. Treat them well and they're safe. Treat them carelessly and they can vent flame — every year people lose garages to LiPo fires. None of these rules are optional.
The rules
Seven things you must do every time
Always supervise charging
Never leave a charging LiPo unattended — not for 5 minutes, not 'while you grab coffee'. Most LiPo fires happen during charging.
Use a LiPo-safe container
Charge inside an ammo can, fireproof bag, or steel toolbox. Store the same way. A puffed pack in a paper bag in a closet is a building fire waiting to happen.
Storage voltage matters
If you won't fly within 24 hours, storage-charge to 3.8 V/cell (~22.8 V on 6S, ~15.2 V on 4S). Long-term storage at 4.2 V/cell kills capacity fast.
Inspect before every flight
Check for puffing, soft spots, nicks, exposed foil, or hot smell. If anything is off, retire the pack.
Land at 3.7 V/cell under load
On 6S that's around 22.2 V on the OSD while flying. Below 3.5 V/cell you start permanent damage. Below 3.3 V/cell the pack may never recover.
Don't punch a hot pack
Right off the charger or right after a hard flight, packs are hot. Let them cool to ambient before charging or flying again.
Damaged pack? Discharge and dispose properly
Salt-water bath for 1–2 weeks fully discharges a damaged pack. Then take it to a hazardous waste / battery recycling drop-off. Never trash a LiPo.
If it goes wrong
If a LiPo catches fire
A vented LiPo is intense and fast. You may have under 30 seconds to act. Practice in your head before it happens.
- 1.Get back. LiPo fires are intense, fast, and produce toxic fumes.
- 2.Don't use water — water won't extinguish lithium and can spread the fire.
- 3.Smother with sand, kitty litter, or a Class D extinguisher (Class B if D unavailable).
- 4.Ventilate the area. The smoke is genuinely toxic.
- 5.If indoors and fire spreads — leave, close the door, call emergency services.
Charging
Tips for healthy charging
Charge at 1C as default — a 1300 mAh pack at 1.3 A. Higher rates work but reduce cycle life.
Balance-charge every cycle, not 'fast charge' on the main leads only.
Stop charging immediately if the charger reports cell imbalance over 0.05 V — investigate the pack.
Charge in pairs, not 6 at once. A failure escalates faster with more cells nearby.
One last thing
The voltage cheat sheet
Storage
3.80 V / cell
22.80 V on 6S, 15.20 V on 4S. Use the charger's storage mode.
Land at
3.70 V / cell
Under load on the OSD. Resting voltage will rebound to ~3.85 V.
Damage zone
below 3.50 V
Permanent capacity loss starts here. Below 3.30 V, retire the pack.