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Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by baddox on Monday April 02, 2018 @04:57PM (#16739207)
I think it’s reasonable to expect users of self-assembled drone batteries to be aware of and careful about those batteries. These batteries are intended for RC hobbyists, and are likely to be subjected to physical abuse. I’m talking about the battery packs covered in thin plastic wrap with no integrated protection circuitry, like this: http://www.rapidrcmodels.com/turnigy-5000mah-2s-20c-lipo-pac...

But batteries in consumer products, like laptops and ready-to-fly drones, should be protected both physically (with a harder plastic case) and with integrated charging circuitry. That seems to be the case with consumer drone batteries, like the DJI Phantom: https://m.dji.com/product/phantom-3-intelligent-flight-batte...

Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by Zak on Monday April 02, 2018 @08:28PM (#16740793)
A 20C discharge rate means that battery claims it can supply 100A @ 7.4V (740W) and be discharged in 3 minutes of operation. I don't have experience with RC batteries, but I'm a little skeptical. That's an awfully fast discharge rate, and a lot of power from a 282g battery.
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by baddox on Monday April 02, 2018 @09:22PM (#16741108)
In the RC hobbyist community it's fairly widely recognized that manufacturers inflate their C ratings. That said, these things can definitely put out a scary amount of power, and discharging batteries in 3-4 minutes of flight isn't unusual for some high performance RC aircraft.
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by snovv_crash on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @02:49AM (#16742414)
That is absolutely normal in the high performance RC world. You even get 40C and higher rates cells. No point carrying around a heavier battery than necessary for the power required.
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by stpe on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @07:22AM (#16743585)
This is from a respected manufacturer and they've got 2-cell 7.4V LiPo batteries with a 120C discharge rate. There must surely be a way to verify this claim? https://teamorion.com/en/news-and-racing/team-orion-ultimate...
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by pixelbreaker on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @03:30AM (#16742568)
I have a bunch of 4s Quadcopter batteries that are rated to 95c. If I fly hard I can run it flat (to 3.6v per cell) in 3 minutes
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by Zak on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @07:02AM (#16743469)
I'd bet on that 95C being fraudulent (at least for more than a couple seconds at a time), but discharge in 3 minutes is 20C, and that's a lot.
Re:Laptop explodes while charging at Letchworth business by pixelbreaker on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @07:09AM (#16743499)
Configuration: 4S1P / 14.8V / 4Cells Discharge Rate: 95C Max Burst discharge Rate: 190C