This thing will probably go viral, so here it is. A modeler was charging a largish LiPo in his garage, left it unattended for awhile, then heard the boom.

http://helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=291770

John

Edit: In skimming the rest of the thread, some people thought it was BS. Others suggest that other accelerants (e.g., spray paints, stored gasoline...) could have contributed to the explosion once there was fire. Nevertheless, I think there is little doubt the LiPo caught fire. The explosion itself could have been more like what happens in a potato cannon.

 

I agree that the lipo itself couldn't have caused that large of an explosion, it had to have been something else, but I doubt that that was faked.
Whats with the perfectly square black sections in the second pic?

 

Actually look at other Lipo videos. The suckers have a lot of energy stored, and it is explosive. I haven't looked at the video on post #1 yet, but don't be so quick to dismiss these batteries or their dangers.

One of my robotic combat contests a lipo was sliced. Before it could detonate it was put in a bucket of water. It brought the water to near boiling and kept it hot for over an hour. This was a small battery!

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If you read the 1st post he explained the explosion. It was a full spray paint can.

 

Actually look at other Lipo videos. The suckers have a lot of energy stored, and it is explosive. I haven't looked at the video on post #1 yet, but don't be so quick to dismiss these batteries or their dangers.

One of my robotic combat contests a lipo was sliced. Before it could detonate it was put in a bucket of water. It brought the water to near boiling and kept it hot for over an hour. This was a small battery!

***********************

If you read the 1st post he explained the explosion. It was a full spray paint can.

I don't doubt that they're explosive... I had a bad charger once... I was lucky.
I have a little trouble believing that it could knock the garage door out like that though. Maybe the combination...

 

If any hydrogen was being generated, then the explosion could have been very impressive.