So what has changed in 2014 that has pushed the price of lipo batteries up in South Africa.

Well up until the new Boeing Dreamliner caught fire due to lipo batteries in 2013, there was no problem importing lipo batteries using commecial flights.  The instablility of Lipo's and the fact that they burst into fire at the drop of a hat, has made them banned from comercial flights.  Furthermore container carriers are starting to refuse to carry them on ships due to their fire hazardous nature.  This has created huge problems for importing these batteries....hense the pressure on price is not the battery price, but the import freight costs to get them here.

I myself have had a brand new lipo catch fire on the first charge on my kitchen table.  There is no warranty on this.  it is part of the nature of the beast!

What we all should know about Lipo batteries:

Before starting to play with your radio controlled (rc) helicopter or truck you should read this.

-NEVER run it totally flat, Lipos cells that run too low run the risk of not charging correctly afterwards.

-Always try use a balanced charger.

-Never forget incorrect charging can lead to an explosion, so only use the provided charger.

-Do not charge a swollen battery.

-After playing always allow battery to cool before charging and after charging always allow battery to cool before playing, this prolongs your battery life.

Hope this helps.