Can I store a spare 18650 in the car?

[Baldr]

I live in Texas, so summers are hot, and obviously my vehicle is going to get pretty hot in the summer when it's sitting in a parking lot.

Can I safely carry a charged 18650 in the glove box? I know that the heat will shorten the battery life. I know that in an air conditioned house, an 18650 will slowly drain, but will still hold a charge for a long time. I don't mind if I need to replace the battery every year or two. I do mind if it blows up in the car.

For a long time, I've been carrying a "vape purse" with me. When go home, I take it inside. When I leave the house it goes in the car. It has backup "everything" (juice, batteries, atomizers, a spare protank2, and a Vision Spiner battery) to the point where if I lost my Provari while I'm out and about, I could put together a new setup right then. I also have a battery charger in the car that will charge an 18650 while I'm out and about if needed. (Never needed, but it's easy to have that option available.)

But it's a pain to carry it all, and it's incredibly rare that I need anything from it while I'm out and about.

I'm considering throwing a spare 18650 in the glovebox and not carrying all the backup stuff. If I don't use that battery, then ever few months I'd probably top off the charge and put it back in the car.

I'd also like to have a good flashlight available in the car, and that battery could be used for the flashlight if needed. In fact, I'd probably just leave the battery in the flashlight most of the time, but I'd know it was there if my Provari battery ran low while I was away from home. (If you have 18650's around and want a good flashlight for under $10, go to eBay or Amazon and search for "UltraFire WF502B". $7 with free shipping for mine (from China, so it takes some time) and it's shines further than my car headlights.)

So has anyone tried this to know what to expect?

 

[Baldr]

I should have mentioned, I would either store the battery in the flashlight, or in a plastic battery box. Accidental short-circuit shouldn't be an issue either way.

 

[MorpheusPA]

In a word, no. How to Store Batteries – Battery University

60 C is only 140 F, which a car here in Pennsylvania can hit during a warm day in May, much less July when the heat can be fatal very quickly to children, pets, and incapacitated adults. The page shows that the battery will only retain 60% of its capacity after three months, which is really bad.

Your car will probably get hotter than this, potentially much hotter. The stability of the battery declines fast as temperature rises, and the "full" voltage isn't the same at 60 C--it's lower. You technically have an overcharged battery in that glove compartment.

I can't find the maximum safe storage temperature for lithium so you might still be within the range, but I don't think I'd be comfortable taking chances. Carrying the vape purse might be inconvenient, but it's a lot safer.

 

[MorpheusPA]

HEAT EXPOSURE IN AN ENCLOSED AUTOMOBILE

I found this, and it's in agreement with several other sources. 60 C is a reasonable temperature for a sunny day with an outside temp of around 90. Although we here in PA do get hotter, it's rare--I'm not sure how common it is in your locale.

 

[steved5600]

Long term storage in a car is a bad idea. The heat is not the friend of batteries.

 

[Baldr]

The high temp test and thermal shock test seem to indicate it's not a major issue.

I realize that if you do this, your battery isn't going to last as long as if you took better care of it. That's not the issue at all.

 

[Baldr]

Google lead me to this post : 18650 flashlight to use and leave in car | BudgetLightForum.com

I'm leaning towards "A battery will last one to two years if you do that, much longer if you care for it, but safety seems not to be problem".

 

[bubbalou32]

What about the lithium batteries used in hybrid & electric cars?

 

[2naphish]

better safe than sorry in my book...vapers certainly don't need the bad press of "E-CIG Battery explodes in parked car" headline.. just my take...

 

[Shootist]

Google lead me to this post : 18650 flashlight to use and leave in car | BudgetLightForum.com

I'm leaning towards "A battery will last one to two years if you do that, much longer if you care for it, but safety seems not to be problem".

Then if you feel it is not a problem why did you make this post?

Personally I would not do it. I even take my GPS with me, out of my car, in the summer months. One 18650 isn't that large so you could put it in some type of plastic sleeve or case and carry it with you.

 

[Baldr]

better safe than sorry in my book...vapers certainly don't need the bad press of "E-CIG Battery explodes in parked car" headline.. just my take...

If it goes bad, it won't be in the news that way. Even if anyone but me knows that there was a problem, my story is going to be "it was in my flashlight or similar."

Then if you feel it is not a problem why did you make this post?

I made the post looking for info. That got me started, so I googled around, which led me to feel a bit better about it than I had before. I'm still not 100% sure, but what I've found so far makes me think that as long as I don't mind a shorter battery life, it's not a problem.

 

[sawtoothscream]

U just carry my battery on me, small enough. Rather have the little inconvenience then walk out and see my car on fire

 

[turbocad6]

I leave a charger connected to an aux outlet mounted in my glove box, it gets powered up every time I drive the car and I always have at least one spare battery in it. never had a problem, have left chargers with batteries for ecigs in my cars for years, never a problem. there saying 140*f is within operating range, so like 150 and 160 would be bad and even then I don't think it would explode, worse it would do is outgas, it's not the same as a shorted cell releasing all of it's energy as fast as it can, it's just a pressure issue... I don't see that as a major concern, I worry more about something rolling on top of it and shorting the battery but it's up on it's own shelf in the glovebox so nothing can get at it

 

[Ryedan]

Google lead me to this post : 18650 flashlight to use and leave in car | BudgetLightForum.com

I'm leaning towards "A battery will last one to two years if you do that, much longer if you care for it, but safety seems not to be problem".

I can't find it right now, but I'm pretty sure I've read that IMR Li-ion cells will not vent until they reach upwards of 300 deg F. ICR are less than that, but you shouldn't be using them anyway.

IMO if you don't care about the reduced battery life, you'll be fine. I would let the battery cool down before I used it though.

 

[Southern Tina]

I don't do it, but I live in FL and it's blazing hot here all the time.

 

[Kr3wsk8er]

To the OP, this is just beating a dead horse but IMO I would abstain from leaving a battery in a car with extreme temperatures. Just my 2cents.

What about the lithium batteries used in hybrid & electric cars?

Weird to think that the Tesla is powered by a crap load of Panasonic 18650's.

 

[3mg Meniere]

I carry a spare 18350 in my purse. Smaller, and lighter. When leaving home for most of the day, I also make sure that the 18650 in my PV is fresh. No worries.

 

[B2L]

Can you? Yes. Should you? No.

 

[Baldr]

I appreciate the responses. I'm pretty convinced at this point that I'm going to stick a good 18650 with a full charge in a flashlight and throw it in the glovebox. If I die in a huge explosion, I'll come back and apologize.

 

[hazarada]

If it goes bad, it won't be in the news that way. Even if anyone but me knows that there was a problem, my story is going to be "it was in my flashlight or similar."

Headline: Electronic Cigarette can kill! A man from Texas left his flashlight in the car which then exploded and could have killed a school bus full of children if they were present. Whats worse is that the battery inside the flashlight is also commonly used in Electronic Cigarettes! Here is a word from our resident expert: "Them things be bad, you dun know whats in em, nobody knows! I heard they killed an old lady not so long ago and now they explode too, terrible." There you have it folks, terrible! And now for what Lil Giant Buttocks tweeted just last night....