No Crash, Just BURN

[PLANKBONE]

Home owner's insurance might cover it.

[RappyMan]

That's just crazy!

[BoneDoc]

Sorry about the loss. That must hurt (in more ways than one).

[jack01]

	Quote: Originally Posted by gpenner
	I was using A123 2300s. Had three sets in there. I don't believe there was any fault with the batteries them selves... Someone else suggested that it might have been a back-fire...? Is that possible? I just got a call from someone who has a used Carden 540. (thinking) Thanks for comments. Life does go on.

Your idea about a short somewhere in the ignition wiring is more likely... The wires past your switch were probably shorted somewhere. Then, when you turned the switch on, POOF.

The Carden Edge would be a good airplane. They fly really well, and will last you a long time. Just make sure the plane hasn't been beat on too badly.

[gpenner]

Someone saw the picture and called me with a used Carden/DA 150. It's in the back of my vehicle and maybe the air tomorrow. It looks brand new with only a small nick that looks like hanger rash. The pocket book is not as happy, but I'm getting there.

Time to get myself a fire extinguisher.

[jack01]

Well congrats on the Carden! They're kinda like a parrot: Take care of it, and it'll probably outlive you.

FWIW, the one in my avatar is 8 or 9 years old. I've put 6-10 flights a weekend on it for 5 years, and it's still going strong.

[JEFFRO503]

First off man , i am really sorry for your loss. I couldn't imagine loosing an airplane like that , due to something "unknown" like that. question : did you have an A123 on the ignition as well? Just a thought , but when you turned on the ignition , if there was a short , the battery could of gone instantly into a thermal mode ( smoke and fire) and once that started , it probably melted the fuel lines leading to the motor , which back tracked all the way back to the tank. Hot flames , and balsa are gonna go quick.....extremely quick when you get some gas mixed in there.

I think that is about the only thing that could of happened if you think about it. One of those battery leades could have rubbed on some ply or something , and was just waiting to be turned on.

I feel for you man. Good luck on your next plane. Hopefully it won't detour you from the hobby. You know what they say...."get back on that horse and ride her harder than you did before".

[gpenner]

Had A123s all the way around. All three pairs blew well after the fire started. That said, it only lasted about 5 mintues. No time to get out the frying pan. What a useless feeling to watch the whole thing go up in smoke.

You can bet I'll be watching the wiring very carefully on the next one.

[zoomer260]

Wow. Whatta mess. Did the engine survive ? I would have found something to at least knock the engine off and away from the blaze. Shoot I would have probably used my foot if nothing else !

'Course I was not there, maybe not.

[Kiwi]

Gpenner,

It would almost have to be a short circuit to do that. Unless your tank split or there was a pool of fuel somehow in the plane. It would not be the first time a fuel tank stopper has popped out or a fuel line has come adrift.

If that was the case it would not matter what battery packs you have as NiCd NiMh LiOn or LiPo all have enough grunt to get those ignition feed wires red hot even if just for a split second,

Darn it mate, I am off to the field today and first thing is going to re routing my ignition cabling away from being close to any fuel tank or lines.

That's a good eye opener if nothing else. Sorry for your loss.

[JEFFRO503]

You know i just thought of something , and i don't know why it didn't dawn on me before.....but i haven't seen an aircraft burn to the ground before from just turning on the ignition. For what it's worth , to help prevent something like this , i don't know why some guys don't use something like an lightweight RC charging bag? Something like this >>>>... http://www.hobby-lobby.com/liposack.htm but smaller. I know it couldn't really protect the wires and so forth leading out , but the batteries are actually the part that explodes or catches fire. I told my buddy last night about this thread and the first thing we did was go out and check all our wiring for a mishap like this one. I felt a little sick to my stomach last night after reading this thread......what a friggin' bummer!

[Kiwi]

I just got home from the field and guess what. I found the cables from my ignition battery pack (A123) lying across the fuel lines out of the tank.

These is no doubt in my mind that any decent sort of short circuit would melt that tygon in seconds and whammo, a viking funeral without an invitation.

I really absolutely doubt the battery pack would be an issue given the abilities of A123 to handle all sorts of abuse yet not explode. They might go bang in the fire but I don't think they can burn up like a Lipo cell. That's one of the reasons they are looking to take off in passenger cars.

But anything you can do to prevent the potential is worth it for sure. No matter what pack type you use.