BOOM! AND MY HOUSE WAS ON FIRE!

[missionaryman]

Wow, I'm glad you weren't hurt and the house didn't get damaged any worse than it did.
I've always been very careful with mine and only charge them in single cell array but it still makes me worry about the long D cell Li Ion battery that drives my P7 Mag shorty - if it goes up I'll be in strife.
My Chinese HID's also charge in series with their own built in safeguards but who knows how carefully built they are.

 

[jasonck08]

YEs, please forgive me. I have the harness but did not use it! and you see what happened. Works like it should when I use it on the BC6.

Some how in my aging feebleness I confused that I had Lithium Ion cells in the light, I was off hand thinking this was a manganese Lithium battery, and that was wrong.

The BC6 is very programable, and does not fail.

Operator error...

FYI its never a good idea to charge any Li-ion cell including Lithium Managanese (LiMn) cells. The cells that can take the most abuse as far as overcharging goes would be Lifepo4 cells. While it may be fairly safe to charge Lifepo4's in series without using the balancing plug, its still not the best idea, because it could lead to some cells being overcharged.

My Chinese HID's also charge in series with their own built in safeguards but who knows how carefully built they are.

They have a built in BMS system which should charge and monitor each cell individually.

 

[kramer5150]

YEs, please forgive me. I have the harness but did not use it! and you see what happened. Works like it should when I use it on the BC6.

Some how in my aging feebleness I confused that I had Lithium Ion cells in the light, I was off hand thinking this was a manganese Lithium battery, and that was wrong.

The BC6 is very programable, and does not fail.

Operator error...

YIKES!!! Clearly operator negligence (or lack of understanding).

 

[F250XLT]

So cheap knock off cells charged in a cheap knock off light, in series, with a knock off charger...can be dangerous?

Does anyone else know this?!

We need to alert the community!

I'm sorry, but this is funny :laughing:

 

[The_bad_Frag]

I'm sorry, but this is funny :laughing:

+1

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

It is a bit funny, but it's also serious. It goes to show that you better be safe with your cells every time, not just most of the time. Plus, you'd be appalled at how many people still use off-brand Li-ions.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the community, Northern Lights.

 

[LuxLuthor]

NL, my good friend, the most important thing is that you are OK, and eventually your property has been restored. Thanks for the great and honest details.

I always hate hearing about these Li-Ion or Li primary vents, fires, explosions when we are all just using the cells for a fun/useful hobby. It is especially shocking when it happens to one of the experienced members, but experience & familiarity can result in letting your guard down.

Just last night I was charging two 18650 AW cells in my Pila charger..........on top of the wood dining room table because I was just too lazy to take it out to the garage where I *almost* always do my charging. Nothing went wrong, but still I know better, and this reminder is really valuable.

Maybe time to get back to some fishing? Hope all your family and "things" are doing as well as can be expected.

Heartfelt regards!

 

[Northern Lights]

...

Maybe time to get back to some fishing? Hope all your family and "things" are doing as well as can be expected.

Heartfelt regards!

Yes, I am fishing in the far north west, hope to catch some northern pike today. Been raining 2 weeks straight. My life is drama if not a conspiracy.

I flipped the boat and trailer 2 days ago, and spend 16 hours making make-do repairs so to continuing fishing. I broke a bunch, half dozen pole in the accident but I carry about 20, like a golfer has a bag of clubs. Pics to come later. It is an axle problem that caused it.

I retired a few months ago after 2 years of turbulent health issues.

Now staying on topic, I am testing green LEDs and fish attraction to them and Green Laser light. I find you can submerse key chain lights.

Thank you, my good CPFer Friend, LL.

NL

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

^I have heard that various colors attract fish for some reason. I'd be interested to hear your findings on this. I shore fish, read: I throw stuff in the water on a string and reel it back in, over and over again because I don't know what I'm doing. Wouldn't mind another excuse to make more lights.

 

[bstrickler]

What the hell is the first picture? It looks like a horribly stained coffee pot.

Cases like this make me VERY cautious, and somewhat afraid of my hotwire build.

 

[Northern Lights]

What the hell is the first picture? It looks like a horribly stained coffee pot.

Cases like this make me VERY cautious, and somewhat afraid of my hotwire build.

cnofused? (sic)

Lookat the 2cd pict. You are looking down the bell of the very same light! After the blow and before. Rag is around tube as it was still HOT.

I have had SLA, NiMh and Liion Batteries all blow at one time or another in different chargers.

 

[bstrickler]

cnofused? (sic)

Lookat the 2cd pict. You are looking down the bell of the very same light! After the blow and before. Rag is around tube as it was still HOT.

I have had SLA, NiMh and Liion Batteries all blow at one time or another in different chargers.

Ah, it was just so unrecognizeable.

Man, that's nuts. I'm lucky so far, and havent had a battery explode yet (had a primary 123 get super hot, but was able to toss it outside to cool down, then discharged it via 5mm LED in the backyard, and tossed it in the trash, in a superglued film canister)

 

[ShawnHu]

Lucky no one was hurt, would a protected cell have avoided this?

 

[LuxLuthor]

Lucky no one was hurt, would a protected cell have avoided this?

Perhaps, depending on the health and quality of the cells, their starting voltages, the quality and verified functioning of protection circuit, and other variables.

The main take home lesson in this thread is to only charge Li-Ion cells in safe location, and if charging in series--you must use balance tap leads. Another viable strategy is to charge a number of Li-Ion cells in parallel (assumes they are all identical brand/aged cells, voltages close to each other, etc.), but depending on your charger output, that can take a very long time.