My house almost burned down today

lateralus180

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Had I not walked in the room when I did, my house would have caught on fire. Since the fire would have begun upstairs where no one was, it would have most likely escalated to a large room fire or fully engulfed structure fire.

I have had the 4Sevens single bay charger for about three months. It has been used to charge AW brand (exclusively) 16340's, 14500's, and 18650's. I use the black cell, protected 3.7v lithium ion batteries with my 4Sevens lights and Zebralight SC600.

I was in and out of the room tonight while doing some chores, and had left my 2200 maH 18650 battery on charge. I keep a very close eye on the red/green LED light on the charger, and make sure I take the battery off charge as soon as the light turns green. I don't know if the charger has an auto off when it turns green, or if it continues to charge but I like to take the cell out as quick as possible to avoid over charge. With that being said, the selector slides on the face of the charger were set to the recommended setting for a 2200 maH 3.7v LiIon battery. The charge was set at 4.2v (the other option is 3.6v, used to charge 3v cells), and the other slide was set to 1A (vs 0.5A used for smaller capacity cells). These recommended settings are on 4Seven's web site. The battery was used previously in my Zebralight SC600 and I am certain that it had low life remaining.

As I walked in the room to get something, I could smell burning plastic. I took a quick look at the charger which had a red light indicating the cell was not fully charged, and what I saw was smoke pouring out of the positive end from an opening. The charger was quickly unplugged and taken out of the room. I actually burned my hand because the bottom was so hot. The plastic on the bottom side near the information sticker was soft and bubbled, I suspect there was a small fire inside or intense heat. Had I not unplugged it when I did, I think it would have caught fire within minutes.

What could have caused this? My guess is the circuit was goofed somewhere and the electricity was forced to circulate throughout the charger for a period, resulting in great heat build up. Any guesses?

I am very grateful I walked in the room when I did, otherwise the wall and carpet would have been on fire at least. The whole room or upper level of the house could have been on fire as well. I have read into lithium ion battery and charger dangers, as well as fire stories resulting from mishaps.
 

lateralus180

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The AW Lithium cell was quite hot after removal, but about the same temperature as when normally charging. I tested the cell roughly 30 minutes after taking it off charge, and it seems to work fine.


Is this perhaps something I can claim with the warranty? I had the battery set in correctly, and as stated the red led was on showing the battery was not fully charged. I am convinced I did nothing wrong.
 
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simplec6

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Sure sounds like a dead short in the charger. Should certainly be able to tell when you send it in to them and they check it out. They need to diagnose the failure.
 

Lou Minescence

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I would call 4 Sevens. I have noticed my charger gets hot when charging larger batteries. I elevate it on some pieces of steel to get better air circulation. There were 2 versions of that charger. the first was recalled.
 

lateralus180

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I thought I purchased it 3 months ago, but after looking at sales records it was back in April. The charger was recalled in February I think, perhaps I got one that was recalled and never taken off the shelf?
 

CKOD

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The AW Lithium cell was quite hot after removal, but about the same temperature as when normally charging. I tested the cell roughly 30 minutes after taking it off charge, and it seems to work fine.


Is this perhaps something I can claim with the warranty? I had the battery set in correctly, and as stated the red led was on showing the battery was not fully charged. I am convinced I did nothing wrong.

Sounds like either a faulty charger. Lithium cells shouldnt get hot while charging. Maybe warm if youre charging at a high rate. (I.E. 1C or so) charging at 1/2C like you were, I'd expect nothing more then just lukewarm or less.
 

Jakpro

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I had a version 2 charger that started melting the case on the charger while I was charging a 4Sevens 26650. I smelled it in another room and disconnected it immediately. I sent it in to 4Sevens and they told me that it was defective and replaced it with a version 3. I am very happy that I smelled it burning! They never indicated exactly what was wrong with it. They did tell me to dispose of the AC unit because it was bad.
 

snakyjake

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I'd report this with 4Sevens and Consumer Product Safety Commission. I keep reading of all the safety risks of battery chargers, and have become wary. I think the only way battery and charger manufactures are going to improve safety is by having some expensive lawsuits. I'm still waiting for a "smart" charger.
 

lateralus180

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This is a version 2 charger. Thanks for the photo diagram Lou. The melted section on the bottom is minor, but there was quite a lot of smoke and the charger still smells today even from 10 feet away.

IMG_0255.JPG
 

Lou Minescence

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That"s the same area my version 2 charger gets hot. It used to have a smell but not anymore. I measured 120 degrees if I remember correctly. Mine didn't melt but I worried about it. That's why I blocked it up with spacers. The melted spot is proof it's too hot. Mine mostly gets hot charging the 26650 battery for my X10.
 

moldyoldy

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FWIW, I have two copies of the 4Sevens charger version 3. No matter whether set on 1A or 0.5A, the charger does not get "hot", nor does the cell (18650), or does the AC adapter.

I am puzzled by any reports of a Li-Ion cell heating (hot) during charge in a suitable charger. Even when i had the Pila IBC charger on RCR123 cells, the cells did not get hot. Warm is all I would expect from any of the components.
 

Black Rose

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I would call 4 Sevens. I have noticed my charger gets hot when charging larger batteries. I elevate it on some pieces of steel to get better air circulation. There were 2 versions of that charger. the first was recalled.
Actually, there are 3 versions of the 4Sevens charger.

On the 3rd version both inputs are 5V, whereas on the 1st and 2nd versions the inputs are 12V & 5V.
 
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lateralus180

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David

I sent 4Sevens an email the day after I posted the thread. I wasn't aware that there was a recall before posting the thread here. I received a prompt reply notifying me that 4Sevens had shipped me a version 3 replacement free of charge. Thanks!



For those in the market for a charger, the 4Sevens single bay has been great for me (aside from this issue on the recalled version). This thread wasn't meant to give 4S a bad rap, or to present a negative review toward the product. I have owned two ultrafire dual bay chargers and they are garbage. The 4S single bay charger worked 100% for me with no problems until the other day, but its been taken care of.
 
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ExtremeX

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Wow, these stories are good reminders not to become complacent with chargers and batteries.

Glad you and your home are ok.

I had some batteries to charge today, and I took the time to take the charger to work, where I can monitor it, vs leaving it at home charging.
 

Lou Minescence

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My 4 Sevens version 2 charger got very hot yesterday. You can see from the photo the side is partially melted. It is the same area lateralus180 had his charger melting in post #10. I didn't take a temperature reading, but the charger was too hot to touch in the melted area. I was charging an 18650 battery on the 1 amp setting.
4sevensbadcharger.jpg
 

Customerservice@4sevens

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Lou Minescence,
I'm very sorry to hear your V2 charger is not working properly. I've PM'd you regarding having a replacement sent to you. Please do not use that charger any longer.

-Trevor
 

snakyjake

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What's the cause of the melt down?
What is the fix for the problem?
Does V3 fix this problem? Or are we just buying an updated house burner?
 

Mr Happy

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What's the cause of the melt down?
What is the fix for the problem?
Does V3 fix this problem? Or are we just buying an updated house burner?

I suspect it's a component quality issue. If the charger worked OK to begin with and only later started overheating, it indicates some internal component has started to fail and has upset the operation of the circuit. A common problem with electronics being built to spec in China is that the assembler will often substitute or source the cheapest available parts to shave pennies off the cost. Some parts like capacitors are really not durable when off brand Chinese parts are substituted for major brand Japanese parts. Put them inside a sealed box with high operating temperatures and sooner or later they will fail.
 
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