4 ms·

I love your comment, but do you mean 50 ft. or do you really mean yards? Not many people have a yard the size of half a football field, and even if they did, i

I love your comment, but do you mean 50 ft. or do you really mean yards? Not many people have a yard the size of half a football field, and even if they did, it would probably put the danger close to a neighbors house. So seriously, what would a reasonably safe distance be? Should this be avoided if you don't live in a really rural area with a giant property?

burger_moon 9y ago
You could build that in your garage with a concrete block or 3/8 steel box and a fire retardant system. Hell you could probably even just buy a sufficiently large gun safe if you didn't want to build something. Actually even a metal fire cabinet for storing acetone and such chemicals may be sufficient but if someone were interested would need to research this further of course.
- aphextron 9y ago
  Or you could just hire an electrician and buy new batteries so you don't have to worry about burning your house down. Lithium battery packs are perfectly safe to keep in your home when used and maintained properly. It's not even so much the DIY aspect of this that's an issue, as much as it is people thinking it's OK to use old batteries. It's not. These are not deep cycle lead acid batteries. LiPo cells have a very definite cycle lifetime, beyond which their internal resistance grows to dangerous levels. Using them beyond that is just reckless and irresponsible.
  - Piskvorrr 9y ago
    Mumble mumble Samsung Note 8.
  - jsight 9y ago
    Even new cells of this type have some risks, especially when the charge controller and wiring are all home-brew. Risk mitigation via physical barriers isn't at all a crazy thing to think about.
phil21 9y ago
I just used 50 yards as an overly cautious example. I haven't done enough research to feel comfortable giving a number, but it should be well under 50ft even. You do make a good point that this won't be an option for everyone. If you live in a dense city without yards, I guess this is one fun project I'd take a pass on. If you live in a standard suburb you are probably okay at least in terms of space.
- starlust2 9y ago
  Have you done any research into the potential energy release? Here is a decent primer. At about 26:30 they talk about battery failure testing. They have a 2 ton blast door in the room where tests are conducted. http://www.pbs.org/video/nova-search-super-battery/ http://www.pbs.org/video/nova-search-super-battery/
  - kbenson 9y ago
    Since they noted an 1800 degree flame (for what looked like an extended period), I wanted to look up the temperature at which cinder blocks failed, and came across this[1]. Apparently, depending how "cinder" your cinder blocks are, they might actually catch fire. :/ 1: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=94710 http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=94710

burger_moon 9y ago

You could build that in your garage with a concrete block or 3/8 steel box and a fire retardant system. Hell you could probably even just buy a sufficiently large gun safe if you didn't want to build something. Actually even a metal fire cabinet for storing acetone and such chemicals may be sufficient but if someone were interested would need to research this further of course.

aphextron 9y ago
Or you could just hire an electrician and buy new batteries so you don't have to worry about burning your house down. Lithium battery packs are perfectly safe to keep in your home when used and maintained properly. It's not even so much the DIY aspect of this that's an issue, as much as it is people thinking it's OK to use old batteries. It's not. These are not deep cycle lead acid batteries. LiPo cells have a very definite cycle lifetime, beyond which their internal resistance grows to dangerous levels. Using them beyond that is just reckless and irresponsible.
- Piskvorrr 9y ago
  Mumble mumble Samsung Note 8.
- jsight 9y ago
  Even new cells of this type have some risks, especially when the charge controller and wiring are all home-brew. Risk mitigation via physical barriers isn't at all a crazy thing to think about.

phil21 9y ago

I just used 50 yards as an overly cautious example. I haven't done enough research to feel comfortable giving a number, but it should be well under 50ft even. You do make a good point that this won't be an option for everyone. If you live in a dense city without yards, I guess this is one fun project I'd take a pass on. If you live in a standard suburb you are probably okay at least in terms of space.

starlust2 9y ago
Have you done any research into the potential energy release? Here is a decent primer. At about 26:30 they talk about battery failure testing. They have a 2 ton blast door in the room where tests are conducted. http://www.pbs.org/video/nova-search-super-battery/ http://www.pbs.org/video/nova-search-super-battery/
- kbenson 9y ago
  Since they noted an 1800 degree flame (for what looked like an extended period), I wanted to look up the temperature at which cinder blocks failed, and came across this[1]. Apparently, depending how "cinder" your cinder blocks are, they might actually catch fire. :/ 1: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=94710 http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=94710