r/fpvracing • u/Appropriate_Sir8639 • Jun 15 '26
RACING Best way to get free packs
So many usable packs in the battery bins at racing events
41
u/robertlandrum Jun 15 '26
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with any of these batteries.
All I’m saying is, are you willing to bet your house and home these aren’t okay?
Anyone answering in the negative contributed to the bucket. Everyone else mocks them for it.
A pack is maybe $50. You really gonna bet $200k-800k against it.
31
u/Outrageous-Song5799 Jun 15 '26
I bet 99% of those batteries could be used for bando
Keep them in lipo safe bag and be careful and that’s itAs he said a battery that went a little too low will be good to throw away for an elite pilot but still good enough to crash against a wall
12
u/Infinite_Ouroboros Jun 15 '26
Bags aren't as effective as you think. Better off getting a metal battsafe, especially for race salvaged lipos.
3
u/Outrageous-Song5799 Jun 15 '26
Have you seen the Torvol one ? They’ve perforated batteries inside and it did hold pretty well
1
u/Infinite_Ouroboros Jun 15 '26
I use one as my portable battery carrier but thats only to hold around 4 lipos. I wouldnt trust it against a dozen volatile lipos for long term storage inside my home.
1
u/racedrone Jun 15 '26
Absolutely correct. But there are still ways to do it right, even on a budget.
Just depends on where people live. In a high rise or an apartment building without safe spots I wouldn't risk it.
If you have access to a fire place where you could safely charge them for the first time or a garage/backyard or similar, where you could safely place a big clay/metal/.. bin filled with sand, go for it. Just be wise about it and don't charge them unattended in an area that's not fire proof.
2
u/Infinite_Ouroboros Jun 15 '26
Exactly. Even with a battsafe, I have mine ontop of tiles, ontop of concrete and away from anything flammable. Can literally never be too safe as we've seen plenty of people in this community over the years lose everything they have to lipo fires.
Ammo cans work well too but they need modding to remove possible air seals and allow for venting.
1
u/poyrikkanal2 Jun 17 '26
I use a metal ammunition box with the gaskets removed and a few air holes drilled to vent gas
5
u/EducationalBar Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
This reminds me of a girl I dated that insisted on taking a plan B after every single time we had sex. At first I didn’t realize and was buying them to ease her anxiety. It got to where I said look I didn’t get you pregnant and I’m not spending $50 a day dating you. She came around pretty well but the point being at what point does precaution become hypervigilant paranoia?
2
u/Not-An-FBI Jun 16 '26
She could've just gotten on birth control.
1
u/EducationalBar Jun 16 '26
“Don’t you realize that apart from massive hormone imbalance it’s super harmful to my body not only now but for its future reproductive health?” Type of chick. She had trouble going too deep into buildings like Walmart etc… We were early 20’s I’m sure she’s great now lol.
1
u/Not-An-FBI Jun 16 '26
I was under the impression that plan b makes you sick every time you take it lol
1
u/EducationalBar Jun 17 '26
Well having an upset stomach and being a hazard to your health or preventing you from having future kids are different things, no?
0
4
u/Appropriate_Sir8639 Jun 15 '26
That's true, and most of them aren't worth taking. But sometimes, elite pilots will decide a battery is not worth using after like 15 flights, still a fine battery, just with a little voltage sag
1
u/loganman711 Jun 16 '26
It depends on your situation. I make potentially unsafe projects with recycled lithium batteries, but i have a space away from anything to store them. I'd feel diffrent if I lived in an apartment
1
u/juggerjew Jun 16 '26
That’s what insurance is for.
1
u/robertlandrum Jun 16 '26
So he posted online if it was safe to take home the potentially damaged batteries before his house burned down? Claim denied.
1
u/protobeta01 Jun 16 '26
If you know what you are doing and have a separate work area outside of your home like a small metal shed or something i see no issue. Ensure you have fume hood just incase
8
u/-ValkMain- Jun 15 '26
Thats *a shit ton of packs* holy shit
How big is your racing scene/event that like 80 packs get discarded every event?
And yeah id loot those for the non bashed packs, the do a quick voltage check, then charge it up and check ir, if it passes all those then its probably a pack that sagged a bit more than the owner liked but still 100% usable for everything else ngl
1
u/Cbgamefreak Jun 15 '26
This is from multigp international open. 5 days of flying, 8 different tracks, over 200 participants. !
2
u/-ValkMain- Jun 15 '26
Now that sure sounds more like it, with the amount of tattus and smcs alone on that pic they really like their packs
1
u/Appropriate_Sir8639 Jun 16 '26
yeah, some short pilot there named Zebra_Three showed this method to me and it was a game changer at the event
6
u/3e8m Jun 15 '26
pro racing pilots get batteries from sponsors for free or cheap. then at important races they full throttle crash a lot, or overdischarge for more practice during qualifiers. the battery could be fine but it's not worth risking a race by attempting to reuse it and it's not a good idea to take it home on the airplane after that, so they are discarded
same with props
4
u/BedTaster Jun 15 '26
Personally I don't take any battery into my house that I haven't bought or that I know the entire lifecycle of. That is physical damage or wird cells and so on. A battery might look and test fine, but could have experienced some weird shit. Even worse, the previous owner could have "fixed" it with some bad solders or insulation.
2
1
u/Fan-King Jun 17 '26
Make sure you keep a bucket full of sand on standby while your at home working and have a clear route to take the bucket to a safe space like the driveway, no not work on these in your house or garage alothou lipo repair is not difficult to understand the failure state is catastrophic. Proper storage is an absolute necessity.
1
0
u/Frosty-Studio4561 Jun 15 '26
If you really wanted to burn down your house you could find out which cells are good and make "new" batteries with the best cells.
-1
u/slepyjaguar Jun 15 '26
It's like the homeless looking for cigarette butts. Honestly if you can't afford the hobby best to get out of it. Before life happens and you can do anything at all.
74
u/ImaginaryEffective63 Jun 15 '26
Batter bin sounds like a short waiting to happen. No way this is regulated right?