I want to make a fireproof box in which to charge and transport Lithium Polymer batteries, which can explode or catch fire.
A friend is giving me some offcuts of 6mm asbestos substitute.
But what can I glue it together with? Is there a fireproof glue? Or would screws work?
The message from Chris contains these words:
Why not go to Smiths and spend £8 on a metal filing box?
In article , Guy King writes
Metal conducts electricity.
The message from Chris contains these words:
And? Most people could probably manage to slip a bit of sleeving over a battery terminal. Or perhaps put an ice-cream tub in the bottom.
So make a wooden one and put sand around them.
Here's a fairly standard pattern for 1.4S transport (e.g. rocket motors)
Mil surplus ammo box, such as a .50 cal
Plasma cut big holes in the side, but no more that 2" diameter across any hole (regularly spaced hexagons are nice). This is for blast venting, which may or may not be significant to your situation.
Line the inside with plasterboard, glued in place with Gripfill. Use two layers and staggered corner joints if you're trying to get some insulation against external fire too.
Sand? - he wants to use it to charge the batteries in, he can't have a charger in sand!
To the OP, just use normal PVA glue, no it's not fireproof but it's not highly combustible neither, any fire will be quelled by the asbestos, although I think you are going to extrordinary lengths for no reason.
Fireproof safes are made with 3 layers. Inner and outer layers are metal, and between them is poured an insulating hydrate, such as gypsum. This has a 3 stage action. First it insulates. Then as it gets hotter it dehydrates, giving off steam, which cools it down. Finally, once all dehydrated, its just an insulator again. You could use your asbestos as the inner liner.
Glue isnt going to survive any fires. Screws will conduct the heat right in, plus all the gaps will not keep fire out. You need a welded metal box. Otherwise what youve got isnt really fireproof.
If you want a zero cost option, one metal box inside another, sat on a brick to keep them spaced apart, will give some fire resistance, but not a great amount.
NT
A few years ago at the place I worked there was a significant fire (not me, hones guv). We had stuff in fireproof safes but unfortunately one bloke had put some key backup tapes into a chipboard cupboard near the server. The next day he was a tad nervous about having to tell the boss what he'd done.
When we checked, everything in the "fireproof" safe was trashed. Tape shells had melted, paper was charred. In the chipboard cupboard everything was fine. One of the firemen said that they find that quite often. The phenolic glue in the chipboard boils off and cools the interior. As the wood starts to char it turns into fluffy carbon ash that acts as an insulator.
The message from Steve Firth contains these words:
My FiL was trying to burn some old kitchen carcasses[1] the other day - hated it, they just wouldn't burn without constant intervention to poke them and break them up.
[1] Chipboard furniture carcasses, not dead pigs/cow/hens etc.
LINE it with fireproof board epoxied on.
Yup. Get a ceramic cooking pot.
Good idea. I'll do that. Thanks.
High temp silicone sealant (example at
Peter K
I charge my LIPOS in flower pots. Carry em in my pockets.
20 years ago, a guy at work had an interesting accident. Staff had relatively recently been issued with pagers, and they were powered by Ni-Cds. One day he walked into the door frame, but thought nothing more of it for a few seconds, until the pager in his pocket burst into flames. He had broken the pager in the collision with the door frame, which had shorted out the battery, and Ni-Cds can deliver quite a punch when angry...
Yup. I've had one catch fire. Also seen a car battery explode.
Never had a LIPO go yet, though.
Obviously you're not buying from Sony then.
Quite right. Enerland mainly, via retail outlets. Also occasionally Kokam, but they are s**te. And E-tech.
We had a visiting photographer have a similar problem, he put an empty .22 case in his pocket, straight accross a spare flash pack, the output was enough to set a live one off when it was tried too!
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