Lithium charging dangers

[a2dcovert]

This is what is left of a friends 2007 Suburban. He left his iPhone connected to the cigarette lighter charging. This highlights the dangers of leaving Lithium batteries charging unattended. The truck was in his garage and he was lucky it didn't burn his house down.

Kevin

 

[RIMP]

Thanks so much8-o I'll be extra careful not to charge overnight8-o
Thanks for posting this Glad your friend's how and family o.k.
RIMP

 

[a2dcovert]

Luckily no one was in the area, no one got hurt. Could have been much worse if it had torched his house,

Kevin

 

[Deschain]

Yep, Li-Ions aren't toys, I used to be active on a flashlight forum, some guy posted pictures of his kitchen cupboard from when a few cells exploded in his flashlight...the end cap of the flashlight had almost punched it's way right through the cupbord door and the thick aircraft grade aluminum body was pretty split and deformed.


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[SLDS181]

I'm sorry.... how is this the fault of a li-ion battery? Because it was plugged in?

The extensive damage is due to highly combustible materials used in cars nowadays.

I should also point out that many of the cheap car chargers, especially those multi-purpose fm transmitter models, have been known to smoke, overheat, and burn.

In addition, 2007-08 Suburbans (and other GM SUV's) have a recall notice out.... the washer-fluid system board has caused... you guessed it, fires.

This picture has been in an email going around for a few months now.

 

[shadowmechanism]

I should also point out that many of the cheap car chargers, especially those multi-purpose fm transmitter models, have been known to smoke, overheat, and burn.

I agree, this is far more likely to be the fault of the cheap after market iPod/iPhone charger than the actual device itself.

 

[Deschain]

Disposable and rechargable Li-Ions do have a history of "venting" and/or blowing up.


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[NickWgnr]

Freak accidents happen... How many times don't these batteries malfunction and cause damage? Exactly... And Im sure he will get all the damages covered by Apple...




Wagner

 

[a2dcovert]

This was sent to my mother from a mutual friend. It didn't appear to be a one of those forward chains but it is possible. There are many other accidents of this type involving lithium batteries

Kevin

 

[SLDS181]

This was sent to my mother from a mutual friend. It didn't appear to be a one of those forward chains but it is possible. There are many other accidents of this type involving lithium batteries

Kevin

It is, I've been seeing this for a few months now, with no ability to confirm.

Yes, there have been incidents with li-ion batteries. That said, far more often its the crappy hardware between the battery and the power source causing the problem - and in this case, there is a side issue of the washer fluid circuit, which has caused fires even in GM's own fleet.

I just don't like being quick to blame one thing or another. The fire spreading like that wasn't because of the battery, I can definitely tell you that with certainty. That spread is due to the materials used in the suburban (and most cars). So that kind of damage, even when dealing with li-ion fires, is atypical.

A li-ion battery fire happens when the metal inside separates and shifts - if you see warping or bulging in a li-ion battery, do not use it. This happens primarily with exposure to high heat scenarios. Unfortunately, too many people see a li-ion battery exposed and burned, and jump to the conclusion it caused the fire. More often than that, something else was the initial ignition, and the heat from that fire warped the battery, puncturing the separators or causing a short by contact through the warping, and the li-ion battery ends up burning as well.

 

[a2dcovert]

If this wasn't the iPhone charger then GM got off lucky because the owner is blaming the iPhone.

I do have a friend that owned a Ford Expedition that had a fire caused by the cruise control module. It burned up both of their vehicles and their house. The Ford recall had already been done on that truck and it burned anyway. Needless to say Ford has been very nice to them. They also sent out a team of guys in Lab coats to gather all pieces of that Expedition and take it away for analysis.

Kevin

 

[crashtestjeep]

when i lived in florida, a neighbor lost his house and ford truck to the same thing, i saw it firsthand-horrible!

 

[shadowmechanism]

I should add that while I do not deny the risks present in poorly charged devices using lithium ion technology, the reported rate of battery related incidents with Apple hardware worldwide is very low, especially considering the amount of portable devices (200m+) in use. Some may put this down to Apple's legal team and restrictive settlements, but if there was a genuine widespread problem it would be very hard to contain this kind of information. While I am not a fanboy when it comes to Apple products, they know product design and put out some amazing hardware - the iPod and iPhone are very well engineered and I am sure there is a VERY high level of quality control on the batteries and charging circuitry.

If you have ever ordered goods off a Chinese electronics website (DX or similar) you would realise that the same care is not put into the car chargers. Fitting a 12->5V 7805 voltage regulator into a thin plastic chassis, avoiding the cost of a heatsink, fuse and decent gauge wiring and advertising it as being able to deliver 1 amp at 5V is sure to generate a bit of heat!

shadow|ɯsıuɐɥɔǝɯ

 

[a2dcovert]

That's the part I'm afraid of is the QC. If the chargers have the same QC as the batteries we may have a problem. Now I'm talking about the cylinder style lithium batteries here. I have probably ordered my last battery from DX. I have been more impressed with the Tenergy products so far. I know they are probably made in the same factory as Ultrafire and Trustfire but the quality of the shipped products seems so much better.

Kevin