Swelling Lithium Battery

[Geffers]

This is curiosity and am enquiring on behalf of a neighbour.

He has a high end laptop bought specifically for gaming, yesterday he called me in a panic as he had, whilst doing some maintenance on the computer, noticed the battery had swollen. I asked him if the battery was hot, he said no.

I have little knowledge as to batteries but am aware that if they catch fire can be awkward to put out. He has been advised that as the battery is not hot it should not explode but has been told it could still ignite and to put it outside in a metal container.

Is this over reaction or not?

Geffers

 

[Retro]

No, definitely not an overreaction. They can go off like a blowtorch when they fail, so can be extremely dangerous when they bloat up like that. Similarly, they should never be punctured as that can set them off, too.

While there are safeties built into them so one needn't panic, one should get them out of harm's way as soon as possible, like that metal container outside.

I suggest he calls his local fire brigade for advice on disposing of it, who may then well come and collect it off him for free. Oh, don't call them on 999!

 

[Geffers]

These batteries remind me a wee bit of the hydrogen in the early airships, safety features were built in to them but the UK's R101 and the German Hindenburg were both destroyed by fire. Weren't some early Samsung phones prone to fires, so much so that I believe some airlines banned them?

Geffers

 

[Retro]

Weren't some early Samsung phones prone to fires, so much so that I believe some airlines banned them?

I posted a YouTube video a while back where it was shown that current Samsung phones also swell up. This is enough to stop me from ever buying a Samsung phone and I'm very surprised that one of the world's biggest companies should have such a fundamental and dangerous problem. Now, the video is from about a year ago, but I'd still be suspicious of Samsung phones and tablets.

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