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Careful with lithium batteries

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69b3rt

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I just had my Snap-on heated jacket burn up in flames as I was sitting at my desk, with the heat on. I heard a pop and thought what the hell was that. Then pop, sizzle and poof, I was up in flames at the battery pack. I was running out the door trying to unzip that thing and get it off me and threw it out on the concrete. Then I had to go back in and put out two small fires in the carpet from flying fireballs. Talk about exciting, I was always leary of these lithium batteries after seeing some go up in flames on some videos. Yet I have a shelf full of power tool batteries, afraid the garage will go up in flames next.
 
Lithium batteries are absolutely known for being volatile, glad you're alright. I was told to keep lithium batteries in a lithium "battery bag" or other fireproof container, because when they go, they GO. They're pretty dangerous if not handled, stored and charged correctly but they're so much fun!

20201216_160538.jpg
 
i had one go bad in one of my Tracfones before.
my coat pocket got mighty warm,so i reached in pulled out the fone and burnt myself it was so hot.
dropped it on the car floor even.
i then threw the fone out the window,and watched in amazement as it burst into flames.
thats how close it came to burning me up.
Very glad to hear you didnt get injured.

kinda reminds me of that car hammond wrecked on Grand Tour,the rimack.
the electric one,that kept catching fire for a Week afterwards.
 
I can see you now...
hair-fire.gif


That's some serious **** there! You could have been badly burnt. Glad you weren't. Send Snap-on a email with pics!
 
I don't understand shipping rules for shipping lithium batteries.
I cant ship a lithium battery by itself by air but if I put it in a piece of electronic equipment it's fine.
Seems to me its more dangerous being in a piece of equipment which can malfunction.
 
Think abut this next time you are charging your cell phone... It has a small LI battery inside, seems harmless, right ? If that LI battery decides to fail and short it can start a fire just as easily as something with a much physically larger battery. Ever seen the videos and stories where someones phone caught fire on a plane ?
 
Lithium-Ion batteries come in different flavors; LiFePO4 is the safest, and the one used in automotive battery replacements instead of lead-acid. However, they are only available in round packaging. The flat Li-Ion batteries are Lithium Polymer. These guys are the ones to be afraid of. They are by far the most volatile of the Li-Ion family. In laptops and such, the most common version is Lithium Cobalt. They usually come in what's called an 18650 package (like a AA battery on steroids). They are safer than the -Polymer, have far more energy density than the LiFePO4 (or Polymer for that matter), but have a voltage range that make them mostly unsuitable for automotive battery replacements.

I work with them from an engineering perspective. What I found is that they are more forgiving and easier to work with than lead-acid. The crap being described falls under the category of piss-poor engineering.

If there is a point, not all Lithium Ion batteries are trying to kill you.
 
mpgmike said:
..The flat Li-Ion batteries are Lithium Polymer. These guys are the ones to be afraid of. They are by far the most volatile of the Li-Ion family.....
Click to expand...
As in these?
Just pulled this potential problem out of my cell phone. This thing got hot while on the charger and could be felt through the Otter case...........
upload_2020-12-17_7-55-55.png
 
I remember a bunch of skateboards/scooter frying when they first came out.
We have strict protocols in place for storage and disposal of batteries.
 
As I recall it was due to overcharging those batteries.

And carrying a phone on a plane proves my point. If you remove the battery from the phone it's not allowed but I can put it in my phone and charge it while on board?
What is the reasoning behind that?
 
Politicians and not engineers making up the rules as they go.
 
Slap Stick said:
I don't understand shipping rules for shipping lithium batteries.
I cant ship a lithium battery by itself by air but if I put it in a piece of electronic equipment it's fine.
Seems to me its more dangerous being in a piece of equipment which can malfunction.
Click to expand...
Good point but let me shed some info on the air shipping of them. We all know that the US Military uses them in abundance on a lot of their equipment. As a former Loadmaster/crew member on transports, I was responsible for all HAZMAT material being packaged and certified in accordance with IATA and US codes for doing so. Lithium batteries were some of the most dangerous when it comes to shipping via air. Anytime we would have them on board, no passengers were allowed. PERIOD!!! Passenger Service was always trying to circumvent the "no passengers" as they sought to get their way. I have seen them actually implode and go up in flames for the certification and training I had to have. Some nasty **** right there. But they are of use widely and their strength of duration is great but still are more than needed with all these devices we now use. A heated jacket is something of great value I suppose. I would have read though what type of power source is it utilizing before purchase. Just not worth even buying one IMHO. Get some of those pocket warmers that are chemically activated and that should do the trick. Glad the OP is OK but me thinks he now has a very good lesson learned...cr8crshr/Bill:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::usflag::usflag::usflag:
 
I am familiar with the rules on shipping them as I used to have to ship them.
A battery by itself had to have a label stating it had a lithium battery in it and had to go by ground along with another label stating it was prohibited in aircraft...uess it went to Hawaii, where I shipped it via ground but when it got to the west coast...
That same battery in the camera it was designed for could go by air no problem.
And the battery by itself was in a protective package within the shipping package.
The regs make no sense.
 
What type of battery is it in Teslas, the ones that run from front to back under the floor?
 
its all cells,linked to each other in a giant pack.
thats why i mentioned the Rimack electric car that hammond crashed.
that car not only burst into flames in the wreck,
but continued to Reignite itself for over a week afterwards,
as the cells all Slowly combusted from front to back.

 
BeatersRus said:
its all cells,linked to each other in a giant pack.
thats why i mentioned the Rimack electric car that hammond crashed.
that car not only burst into flames in the wreck,
but continued to Reignite itself for over a week afterwards,
as the cells all Slowly combusted from front to back.

Click to expand...

Yep, I remember it well. As advanced as that car was, it just reinforced my apprehension towards
electric cars all the more. I know, I know - I'm old and resistant to change, but I just am not ready
for electric cars, at least until they make some more progress with the batteries in them.
 
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