We cannot over-emphasize how important it is for batteries to deliver matching energy to devices. For if the battery voltage is too low, then the device may not perform optimally, if at all. But, if the voltage is too high, then the device may suffer damage. An illegally modified battery may deliver voltage that is different from the label, further complicating the situation.
Use the Original Charger to Recharge a Battery
Similarly, a battery can overheat if the voltage from the charger is too high (and explode and catch fire if it is a lithium-ion one). The best way to avoid this situation is to use the original charger, and stop charging when the battery is full, or even before.
Although, if you are charging an illegally modified battery, then you may still have a problem.
We wrote some time ago about a battery fire that broke out in Nanjing, China on February 23, 2024. Batteries News describes how this ‘began in an illegally modified electric bicycle’s oversized lithium-ion battery’. The thermal runaway-event then spread to other bicycles in the first floor courtyard.
To compound matters further, someone had stored flammable materials ‘illegally’ in the first floor courtyard too. The flames and smoke created a draft up the side of the building, sending intense heat and fumes into the apartments above.
Fifteen people died that day in the apartment complex, plus a further forty-four-were injured. The investigator has now released their report. It makes for chilling reading, because the incident should never have happened.
The Illegally Modified Battery Overheated And Caught Fire
The investigator’s report confirms that the bike manufacturer had illegally modified the battery, that the bike owner purchased from an unregulated online source. Either the bike owner used the wrong-voltage charger in the courtyard, or the battery itself was faulty.
The report criticizes the electric bicycle manufacturer and retailer for violating Chinese national safety standards. But they also fingered the apartment building management for not correctly maintaining the firefighting equipment, and responding too slowly to the incident when the fire broke out. This could have all been avoided.
More Information
Nanjing Electric Bike Fire Sounds Alarm
Choose the Right Battery Charger Here’s How
