Battery question.
- Thread starter gb2nyc
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Hi & Welcome to ECF! I'm no authority on batteries but I'll tell you what I know. While it is unlikely they would explode or catch fire, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. There *should be* protection built into the charger to prevent such things but considering what's at risk I'd consider it unwise to trust such a cheap piece of circuitry very much. So, batteries should never be left in a charger unattended - protected or not, "safe(r) chemistry" or not. I never charge mine unless they're close by where I can see them from my desk, and unless I'm going to *be* at my desk... just to be safe.
For everything you always wanted to know about batteries & then some, go here: Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University
For everything you always wanted to know about batteries & then some, go here: Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University
By unprotected, do you mean IMR batteries or lithiums with no protection circuit.
In general, it's not good to leave them too long. Anything is possible.
But any half-decent chargers have a protection circuit against over-charging, protected batteries have a circuit against overcharging and IMR's can't really explode in any case, although they can overheat enough to burn or melt anything they're around.
If they don't overcharge in the first place, like the lights change green, then the charging circut in the charger is working and it's unlikely to suddenly quit working during the same session. If the light never turns green, and the batteries don't overheat or explode, then the protection circuit in the battery has done its job.
So, leaving them in the charger doesn't cause anything to fail and lead to an explosion. But if they're in the charger and something, two things in the case of protected batteries, fail, there could be a problem. Highly unlikely, but it's good practice to take them out as soon as possible.
Most incidents are caused by cheap cords on the chargers or a cheap charger (like an ego charger) and a cheap protection circuit in the battery. If you have a good charger and good quality batteries, it's highly unlikely you'll have a problem.
You might also look into getting a cheap timer to plug the charger into. Then the power will be automatically cut and you don't have to worry about forgetting to take them out.
In general, it's not good to leave them too long. Anything is possible.
But any half-decent chargers have a protection circuit against over-charging, protected batteries have a circuit against overcharging and IMR's can't really explode in any case, although they can overheat enough to burn or melt anything they're around.
If they don't overcharge in the first place, like the lights change green, then the charging circut in the charger is working and it's unlikely to suddenly quit working during the same session. If the light never turns green, and the batteries don't overheat or explode, then the protection circuit in the battery has done its job.
So, leaving them in the charger doesn't cause anything to fail and lead to an explosion. But if they're in the charger and something, two things in the case of protected batteries, fail, there could be a problem. Highly unlikely, but it's good practice to take them out as soon as possible.
Most incidents are caused by cheap cords on the chargers or a cheap charger (like an ego charger) and a cheap protection circuit in the battery. If you have a good charger and good quality batteries, it's highly unlikely you'll have a problem.
You might also look into getting a cheap timer to plug the charger into. Then the power will be automatically cut and you don't have to worry about forgetting to take them out.
ALL and I repeat ALL battery chargers have a shut off chip that turns the chargers off once the batts are fully charged. Very rare but the chips have failed thus resulting in the batts being overcharged/ continually charged with the possible result of a melted or exploding batt. Couldn't happen???? A little over a month ago my TR-001 batt charger failed and conitued to charge the batt. Pretty well all starter kits come with cheap chargers. Fortunately for Christmas I had received an upgraded charger. Another suggestion- use a timer on the charger if you are going to leave it unattended.
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