NBC Washington relates the tale of a Sandy Spring, Maryland householder, who left their garden tools charging all winter long. Just before Christmas one of the lithium-ion batteries exploded, and erupted into fire. The moral of the story is do not leave lithium-ion batteries charging unattended, because you never know what can happen.
Take Care When Leaving Lithium-Ion Batteries Charging
Sure, we’ll concede that the risk is statistically low. However, lithium-ion batteries do warm up while charging, and could overheat if the battery management system fails. We may never know what brand the Sandy Spring batteries were. By now they may be in the garbage, or buried in the garden.
The Maryland homeowner apparently purchased the batteries from a neighborhood store. This implies they may have been aftermarket products, that may not have complied with the garden-tool manufacturer’s specification. We understand the Maryland homeowner never imagined the batteries posed a risk.
NBC Washington observes how reports of failing lithium-ion batteries are becoming increasingly common. Although once again we mention these represent only a minuscule portion of batteries powering a very large number of household devices.
How Then Should We Solve This Growing Problem?
We don’t believe telling battery users not to leave lithium-ion products charging unattended will achieve much. Our human optimism suggesting that ‘it will never happen to us’ is a far more compelling argument.
We believe manufacturer’s and suppliers of lithium-ion batteries should embark on a public information campaign. However, telling people that a product could be dangerous is not good marketing material.
We support a U.S. House Committee initiative to introduce safety regulations for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In the nature of things, new laws take a while before legislators debate them. Playing nursemaid while lithium-ion batteries are charging is a pain. But then so is a house fire.
More Information
Fire Extinguisher In a Battery – New Research
