Lithium batteries, how safe are they?

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andya700

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The following report is pretty shocking. I already knew that lithium batteries were very dangerous if they were in a fire, but I never knew that they could spontaneously combust. I would suggest that people never charge a lithium battery if they are going out of the house, or overnight when they are asleep.

 
Apparently lithium batteries shouldn’t be left unattended while charging though I’ve been guilty of doing that
 
andya700 said:
The following report is pretty shocking. I already knew that lithium batteries were very dangerous if they were in a fire, but I never knew that they could spontaneously combust. I would suggest that people never charge a lithium battery if they are going out of the house, or overnight when they are asleep.

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The headline though does not tally with the reported comments of the expert witness i.e. the exact source of the fire could not be determined?
LCPete said:
Apparently lithium batteries shouldn’t be left unattended while charging though I’ve been guilty of doing that
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I have never left one overnight but I may not be in the same room all the time.

As for not being left unattended.........well the growing number of EV are 'left charging' for hours unattended, aren't they?
 
Not at all safe in one sense. There is a lot of reactive energy stored in a small space so not surprising that they are *potentially* extremely dangerous.
 
Life is fatal.
 
Box Brownie said:
As for not being left unattended.........well the growing number of EV are 'left charging' for hours unattended, aren't they?
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They are. And when they occasionally catch fire it makes for a very bad day indeed. But I spect the safety features in a 30k car will be significantly more than those in a £1k laptop.

My laptop is permanent on charge which isn't very good for them but with manufacturer's charger, I'd hope the risk is minimal.
 
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Sky said:
Indeed. It is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate. ;)
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You missed out its worst attribute - it's a 4 letter word!!! :P
 
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JonathanRyan said:
They are. And when they occasionally catch fire it makes for a very bad day indeed. But I spect the safety features in a 30k car will be significantly more than those in a £1k laptop.

My laptop is permanent on charge which isn't very good for them but with manufacturer's charger, I'd hope the risk is minimal.
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THE OEM battery and charger are designed together, however using cheap Chinese batteries or chargers, where the safety aspects of the OEM design could well be missing or inadequate is not something I would try. The costs of OEM batteries are high due to all the design required to make then 99.99% safe.
 
seaodyssey said:
THE OEM battery and charger are designed together, however using cheap Chinese batteries or chargers, where the safety aspects of the OEM design could well be missing or inadequate is not something I would try. The costs of OEM batteries are high due to all the design required to make then 99.99% safe.
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Agree 100%

When I ran a school network with 600+ laptops I always insisted in sourcing original batteries and chargers when we needed replacements. The laptops were stored in steel trolleys & left plugged in charging overnight. We never had one overheat or catch fire.

I used to advise staff to buy original batteries and chargers for their personal laptops too, if asked. One of them decided to go 'cheap', their insurance claim ran into many thousands.............
 
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