Exploding battery

[J P]

So I am sitting in my living room and I hear a loud "pop!" I look over at my HVX battery charger and it is smoking and glowing red inside. I run over a unplug it and then carry it outside by the cable.

Thinking of all of you, I run inside to grab my camera and when I notice huge amounts of white smoke billowing into my apartment. And then BOOM. The thing explodes sending pieces of plastic all over my apartment courtyard. Luckily noone was around.

It was a brand new, never used Lenmar 5400 battery. The charger was used and has always worked fine. Now it is covered in battery acid.

I've heard of leaking batteries, but not this! Has anyone experienced anything like this? What should I do??

 

[Barry_Green]

Not sure, but I think that "recycle" sticker is probably a bit optimistic.

 

[mikkowilson]

EDIT: LOL Barry! :grin:




wow, exciting. And photos too.. good man. :thumbsup:

Seriously though, glad to hear no one was hurt and the damage was contained.

Lithium batteries can explode on occasionally, and it's normally rather spectacular. It could have been much worse too.


Contact your dealer, and the manufacturer and let them know what happened.

Take some details of the battery (such as the serial number, date of manufacture, etc), along with documentation photos. The manufacturer may want that information. And they will probably cover any costs that resulted from this too. Panasonic may or may not be able to do anything for you (after all, their documentation does specifically recommended to use only Panasonic batteries) so your warranty on the charger is shot.

As for the battery itself. It should be considered hazardous still, the current damage may cause further fire/explosion depending on how the battery is damaged. I'd contact you local hazardous waste disposal center and take the battery to them for safe disposal.


Good luck, and let us know how it all ends up.

- Mikko

 

[NeverColdCall]

Crazy stuff! I'd always wondered why airlines didn't restrict lithium batteries since you can blow it up like that by simply short-circuiting with a paper clip.

Of course now they have and it really screws me up, what with laptops, cameras, cell phones and all ... oh well.

 

[ilauzirika]

I first thought that it was a sparkling special effects pod:thumbsup:

 

[J P]

Here's an update. EVS happily exchanged the defective battery for a new one (and they were quite amused with the ziplock bag of remains). I will also notify Lenmar of the problem in writing.

The moral of the story should be to always charge batteries (of any kind) away from flammable materials. Things could have been a lot worse if this started a fire, and as you can see from the pics, that could have happened very easily.

If your batteries do start to smoke, quickly remove the AC power and get away! Some shrapnel flew 6-7 feet and some is still stuck to the wall.

 

[orangesaybananas]

I heard somewhere that OEM batteries are more expensive because they have better safety features than "off brand" batteries. Is there any truth to this? Exploding batteries scare me.

 

[Jacquot]

I heard somewhere that OEM batteries are more expensive because they have better safety features than "off brand" batteries. Is there any truth to this? Exploding batteries scare me.

I personally only buy OEM batteries primarily because one might have more successful recourse against a major corporation if one suffers loss and/or physical injury. A recall like Sony had would put a small company like Lenmar into bankruptcy.

Lithium Ion batteries are not as safe as we have been led to believe, which is why manufacturing is switching to Lithium thin-film with a solid core rather than a liquid one.

Overcharging is the main culprit (and charging with any sort of excessive current.) I try to charge batteries on a UPS or on a line with some sort of voltage regulator, just in case. A surge could cause an explosion.

Always remove batteries once they are charged. Properly made batteries do have a safety circuit built in but that's not always a guarantee.

Bottom line is to treat batteries as what they are: potential bombs. I always put the caps on them and handle them super carefully and carry them in a separate bag

If you don't think you were overcharging it, Lenmar Enterprises (in Camarillo CA) should be notified ASAP as they might have a batch of poorly made batteries (they are made in China.)

 

[RJS]

Glad to hear noone got hurt! I use Panasonic batteries and Panasonic tapes in my Panasonic camera...I maybe paranoid but if something goes wrong there will be less finger pointing...hopefully...

RJS

 

[Robbie Comeau]

That sucks. Sorry to hear.