Battery protection

[TeamKnightshade]

Hi guys, I was wondering if there is any official guidance for protecting and mounting your battery in the chassis?
Are there any special precautions to take with specific battery types such as LiPo? I'm using LiFePO4 batteries.

[Maxamuslead]

apart from LiPo requiring a fuse (which has the be less then their max burst discharge) then no. pack them in foam and depending on your design you could choose to hold them in place with tape or velcro (would not suggest zip ties).

In my bot Blacksmith I warped it in foam, that was it really. I did place a 20mm bit of HDPE on top of the battery but i wasn't needed.

[Ocracoke]

Yeah, do avoid Zip Ties.

I use LiFePO4 batteries inThe Honey Badger and what I find works is putting the batteries in a small LiPo bag, velcro from that to the chassis base plate and then having a removable metal strap over the top of it. I did previously also use Tupperware boxes fixed to the base plate to hold the battery + LiPo bag in place, padded out with shopping bags.

Battery specific rules are in the build rules so I'd advise looking at them but for LiFe batteries, even the fuse isn't a mandatory thing but you do really want one in as it prevents all the expensive electronics from potentially going pop.

[Theo]

Yeah, do avoid Zip Ties.

You say that, yet they held up perfectly fine in Oberon, no damage on the electronics.It was a NiMH, mind you.

[Ocracoke]

I am casting my mind back to Tango, which used zipties to hold down the batteries as well (interestingly, they were also NiMhs though it did also have a HDPE base plate that they were tied to which was bolted down). We did that with the LiFe batteries I lent and they may have stayed in position during the fight but they were a bit of a pain to get out, especially with them all puffed up. The ties made them awkward to get out as I recall, think we ended up cutting them because we didn't want a smoke show in the pits.

[TeamKnightshade]

Ok thanks for the tips everyone

[typhoon_driver]

Make a proper box or compartment in the chassis that bolts down. You'll never go wrong.