A swollen battery can occur due to a variety of reasons, maybe you crashed your Quadcopter or your power bank case pops open. If you notice a swollen battery it is safest to stop using it and throw it away, LiPo batteries can be safely disposed of with your local battery disposal service or can even be thrown in the normal rubbish provided they are fully discharged.
Easy Method
Check the yellow pages and see if there is a local battery disposal service if so it is the easiest way to get it done.
Homemade battery disposal
The first task is to drain the battery to 0V as Lithium polymer batteries are safe if carrying no voltage then you need to ensure no more charge can build up, the following will guide you through it.
- Grab a bucket of sand and place it outside with the battery inside.
- Connect an led or small lamp to the battery and drain it completely, leave connected for 1 day after the led stops glowing.
- Cut the connectors off the battery.
- Strip the wires
- Join the red and black wires to create a short circuit and prevent any build up of voltage.
- LiPo Battery successfully stabilized, and you can safely put it in the regular trash.
A slow discharge produces less heat and is much safer then draining the battery fast with a motor or high load connection.
Some people shoot or nail their battery, although that is exciting and is an excellent way to learn how much power really is inside it is also very dangerous, so I will not outline how to do it. For any method of destruction you choose, be safe and always do it outside.
For a range of quality Lipo batteries for your helicopter or quadcopter check out our battery and charger section and remember to always inspect all batteries regularly and never charge when you are not at home.
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