Gas from NIMH venting dangerous???

[lumenlover2]

Hey all ,

as mentioned in my other thread the eneloops in my ld20 vented. I opened the light 3 times after the tailcap bulged out 3 times because of the internal pressure.
Now I`M wondering if the gas that vented is very dangerous ...
Should I be worried ?
I mean gas from lithium`s venting is very dangerous but what about eneloops (aka nimh) ?

Thank`s in advance !

 

[CuNim]

Yes we never really got an answer in that thread

I think I read on another thread in the depths of the forum that the gas that escapes is Hydrogen. I guess that would make sense given it's a 'hydride'.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Generally, the gas venting from a NiMH is not going to be "seriously" toxic. It will be mostly Hydrogen, but can also be small amounts of Nickel/Cobalt Hydroxide. You would have to get your snout right up to the cells and take some deep intentional snorts to get significant enough amounts to cause respiratory distress. There is no toxic cadmium or mercury which were of more concern in those battery types.

Of course I'm not a battery engineer.

 

[Mr Happy]

I think there might be some oxygen mixed in with the hydrogen too. Don't open a bulging light next to a naked flame

 

[NiOOH]

The gas venting from an abused NiMH cell is hydrogen, no oxygen mixed. In such small amounts is not toxic, but as said, is highly flammable and forms explosive mixtures with air. Usualy, a small amount of electrolyte also leaks out during venting. This is concentrated aqueous solution of potassium hydroxyde and can cause severe burns in contact with skin. it is also corrosive to aluminium.

 

[digitor]

The gas venting from an abused NiMH cell is hydrogen, no oxygen mixed. In such small amounts is not toxic,

Even in large amounts, hydrogen is not toxic. It has been used to replace nitrogen in gas used in very deep diving to avoid nitrogen absorbtion and its attendant problems. Other problems however, (such as its explosive potential when combined with oxygen) outweigh its usefulness.

A bit of trivia, but I just thought people might like to know!

Cheers

 

[lumenlover2]

Thank you all for your comments !!!

It makes me feel alot better to know that the gas venting from my nimh / lsd cells is not really a concern in terms of toxication etc..
After reading ALOT of cr123 venting threads I am going to get rid of most of my cr 123 based lights.
But nimh seems to be a minor problem even when venting occurs , in my case probably because of a cheap charger with dual charging bays.

Anyway now thank`s to you all I´m again pretty confident with Nimh/lsd rechargables.

Thank you all.