LiPo Bags Halt Battery Fires

Dear Undercurrent,

On a recent trip aboard the Rocio del Mar, the crew was adamant about using LiPo (lithium polymer) bags when charging batteries. They said the bags contain any fires or discharge that might happen with lithium-ion batteries. My buddy noticed a LiPo bag in the rubbish, so he plucked it out to see why it was there. It looked good on the outside, but when he looked inside, he saw scorch marks. The bag had contained the fire! We are sold on them now and have added the bags to our dive kit.

LiPo bags come in a wide range of sizes. I got mine from Amazon.com.

- Mary E. "Mel" McCombie, Ph.D., (New Haven, CT)