charging overnight (unattended)

[Ryedan]

I'm not making fun or anything, but I find it interesting that this is a whole thread about safety while charging batteries written by people who used to take their lives in their hands one drag at a time. Does quitting smoking make one more cautious?

That's a no for me. I tried to quit smoking for years but couldn't until I switched to vaping. I have a pretty good understanding of risk assessment and the concept of due diligence from working in manufacturing for decades. I'm also old enough to know I'm not indestructible any more and that even though the odds are against something happening to me, the fact that I am that one in million will not make a disaster any more palatable to me.

 

[yzer]

These Li-ion batteries and their chargers are not perfect.

iPhone bun burn

e-cig: USBurned

The burned e-cig story has good video of the aftermath.

 

[ut1205]

From: US Fire Administration

Electrical fire safety outreach materials

U.S. fire departments respond each year to an estimated average of 47,820 reported U.S. home fires involving electrical failure or malfunction.
These fires result in 455 civilian deaths, 1,518 civilian injuries and $1.48 billion in direct property damage.
Roughly half of home electrical fires involve electrical distribution or lighting equipment.

To be safe, I suppose we should trip the "main breaker" to our homes anytime we are asleep or away. The electricity supplied to our homes is a know killer and should not be left unattended.

 

[ScottP]

You might not want to leave your TV unattended either:

TV CAUSED KILLER FIRE - 6 Dead
Investigators: TV caused Bensenville fire
Fire in bedroom was caused by overheated television
TV may have caused fire

OR your Water heater:

Fire caused by water heater displaces two families
Fire At Newstead Caused By Water Heater

Why take chances right?

EDIT: PS: An average of 15,000 house fires a year are caused by clothes dryers. Just saying.

 

[JMarca]

Everyone here has done it at some point or anther, they've left the room while they had a battery on the charger. People will tell you to NEVER do that!!! But honestly in the real world who has time for that? It's either leave the room or have my kid light the house on fire. I wonder which is more dangerous?

 

[Nermal]

Well, there you go, JMarca. You've just done a valid risk/benefit analysis. Also, likelihood vs severity per occurrence.

 

[Silent Knight]

I charge my cellphone and e-cig overnight while I sleep - but I have a working smoke detector in the room so it doesn't give me much concern.

And I'm a very light sleeper (cat farts wake me up)

 

[yzer]

I've never seen a home smoke detector that wasn't made in the far east.

 

[ScottP]

I've never seen a home smoke detector that wasn't made in the far east.

ROFL, even the smoke alarms themselves can cause fires:
Smoke alarm 'causes fire' in Hull

 

[Ryedan]

And I'm a very light sleeper (cat farts wake me up)

<--- When this one farts, it doesn't matter if you're a heavy or light sleeper. Heck, the stench might actually wake the dead

 

[burtonsnowww]

i sometimes charge my batteries while i leave the house...

i like to live life on the edge...

 

[DC2]

I'm also old enough to know I'm not indestructible any more...

Funny how that happens.

Well, not so funny.
But it happens.

 

[yzer]

Sometimes leaving the house is a bigger risk than charging a battery overnight. I live in a good neighborhood so I don't worry about that. I don't increase risk by leaving a charger on when I leave the house.

 

[jhelliwell]

I personally know someone who had a charger and battery go up in flames. Yes it was a cheap nasty charger, yes it was an ICR battery... He lives on a boat. The sleeping quarters are in the stern. If he had been asleep there would have been no way out.

Dont. Do. It.

 

[K_Tech]

<--- When this one farts, it doesn't matter if you're a heavy or light sleeper. Heck, the stench might actually wake the dead

If the smell is anything like what mine can put out (A cross between bad kimchi and burning tires) I can totally relate to that.

 

[yzer]

I personally know someone who had a charger and battery go up in flames. Yes it was a cheap nasty charger, yes it was an ICR battery... He lives on a boat. The sleeping quarters are in the stern. If he had been asleep there would have been no way out.

Dont. Do. It.

Amen. The boating environment multiplies the risk factor of anything by at least 10. I've known boaters killed or seriously injured by propane space heaters, dry lead-acid batteries, stoves, candles, tripping, and rotted thru-hulls. The one thing boats lack is routes for escape. When sleeping on my boat I've got three depending on water level.

 

[CommaHolly]

And this seems like a good place to put out my current public service announcement:

CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS NOW!!!

We just came through a major house fire (not battery related), and thanks to our alarms had the luxury of a calm escape. We're okay, our pets are okay, even most of our stuff will be okay once it's cleaned. The house is another story, but we needed to remodel anyhow, right? So

CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS NOW!!!

I'm so sorry to hear about this,,,,,

in 1994, my house caught fire,,,,,,,,,,thank god for smoke alarms,,,,,,we also made a calm exit and all living creatures fared well,,,,,

not so well fared most of our belongings,,,,,,,

but yes,,,,,,,

CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS,,,,,,,,,,,,AND CHANGE YOUR BATTERIES 2X A YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!! (when you change your clocks is a good time to remember this)

 

[darkknight187]

I too am guilty of overnight charging and honestly its just a poor habit I got into... there is no reason I couldn't do my swap when I get home from work as my batteries will generally get me all day. I do likely carry a false sense of security with a xtar vp1 and panasonic batteries but as others have said we assume alot of risks throughout the day. I think given its mention I will adjust my charging time. Although my panny 3400mahs can take quite some time charging at 250mah depending on low low I discharge them

 

[KYBLUE]

I always let my batteries charge while away from the house. If the house is going to burn down I don't want to be in it.

 

[zahzoo]

Can you say you have NEVER charged a cordless home phone, or a cell phone overnight? The eCig batteries are no different than those in your cell phone or even your cordless home phone.

Call me what you will but I charge phones, laptops, tablets, Wii-Remote batteries, and yes eCig batteries overnight and have done so my whole life. Yes there COULD be some problem but the probability is EXTREMELY low. If batteries were really that dangerous, with as many devices as we all have charging, there would be crying in the streets to ban them...to save the children.

Yes, the risk probability for all of these devices are so low it's a tiny figure spread across billions of devices that have power fed to them over billions or trillions of hours per day especially if you look at it on a global scale.

Not to say that there's probably someone who knows someone who had an electronic device fail with something between no damage to a total loss of a home or business building.

I suppose if your allowance for such risks require it... by all means kick the main circuit breaker in home each night or any time you leave the house... because risk is there. But then it boils down to practicality living in our modern world...

I take a few precautions with e-cig batteries only because the technology is new and the gear runs such a wide range of quality in materials and manufacture. Like many... charging during the day when I'm around. But I don't sit in the same room for hours checking them every other minute... I don't have the energy for that level of OCD...

But when it comes to cordless phones, TV's, coffee makers and all the modern conveniences we live with... it's just not practical to run around removing all these devices from power every night or anytime I step out of the house. Good smoke detectors... proper usage and common sense applied to power loads on a single circuit... your odds of a disaster are slim to none. Enjoy life and all the gadgets...