Despite their light weight – and therefore high
power-to-weight ratio are lithium ion / lithium polymer batteries too hazardous
for Airsoft use?
By: Ringo Bones
With the recent incidents of lithium ion batteries catching
fire in the Boeing 787 Dreamliners used by JAL and ANA that lead to their
grounding and investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, many have
wondered whether the use of lithium ion / lithium iron phosphate / lithium
polymer / Li-Poly storage batteries too hazardous for Airsoft. After all, the
compartment in which the Li-Poly battery is stowed in most typical Airsoft AEG
weapons systems is surrounded by flammable plastic and burning plastic can
cause serious injuries once it drips into unprotected skin.
Believe it or not, it was in the remote controlled model
plane / model helicopter and Airsoft gaming world that the inherent fire hazard
of Li-Poly batteries were first observed. These types of batteries can easily
build up excess hydrogen gas under less than ideal charge and discharge
conditions. The hydrogen gas can usually catch fire when exposed to stray
electrical sparks – which there are no shortage of which in remote controlled
modeling and Airsoft use. And given its inherent fire hazard, why are lithium
ion / Li-Poly batteries still the preferred batteries of choice for Airsoft
use?
Fire hazard or not, the secret of lithium ion / Li-Poly
batteries success over nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride rechargeable
batteries is that lithium ion batteries have a lower internal resistance making
them have a better power-to-weight ratio compared to nickel cadmium and nickel
metal hydride batteries of similar milliampere-hour rating. A typical Airsoft
AEG gun upgraded to a much stiffer spring to make its BB pellet muzzle velocity
greater won’t function with a fully-charged nickel cadmium or a nickel metal
hydride battery rated at 1,600 mA-Hour. And yet a Li-poly battery rated at
1,600 mA-Hour 11.1 volt Li-Poly battery can drive the gun without problems.
