Warning do not carry exposed batteries in your pocket.

[Juan334]

Had a trustfire 16340 in my pocket and noticed something felt like it was stinging me. So I feel the outside of my pocket and its hot and I pull out my keys and then the battery and had it in my hand and it was getting hotter so I threw it outside and forgot about it just thought I would add my story

[samgab]

Is it possible something metal in your pocket was shorting it out? Lucky you didn't get a serious burn on your leg, or worse!

[Norm]

Exposed battery terminals and a bunch of keys are a dangerous combination.
I recommend you invest in a battery carrier of come kind, I use an aluminum pill container, it requires no insulation as the container is slightly longer than the battery, it is impossible for both terminals to contact the container at the same time.
Norm

[Max_Power]

I attended a star party where a friend of mine was complaining he was hot and sweating for no apparent reason. Suddenly he let out a yelp and started hopping around madly, flinging something from his shirt pocket.

He told me that he had placed a spare battery pack for his VHF handheld radio in his shirt pocket, and then he put his metal Zippo cigarette lighter in the same pocket... so the battery had shorted out across the Zippo, heating both until they were quite toasty. He burned his fingers a little bit when he reached in his pocket for the lighter.

Smoking will kill ya!

[samgab]

Wow, he is very lucky it didn't ignite... lighter fluid, shorting battery... shirt pocket... Not a good combo!

[subwoofer]

Perhaps this thread should be renamed to "I put a bunch of keys in my pocket with an Li-ion battery which shorted it" as otherwise it sounds as if the battery is to blame rather than the user doing something dangerous?

[Max_Power]

Good point... although the Zippo was heated up by a NiCd pack :-).

[Nonprophet]

And the nominees for this year's Darwin Awards are..........



NP

[The_bad_Frag]

The same happened to a guy in my class back in the good old days in school.

We were sitting in the classroom and the teacher was not there. (he was copying some stuff) Suddenly a guy jumped up screaming, running around and trying to undress his jeans. He ran to the sink and put water all over his leg.

He had Ni-MH AAA and some keys in his pocket. Those shortet out and set the inside of his pocket on fire. He had a big burn mark and needed to go to a doctor later that day. The plastic hull of the AAA was completely molten. Surprisingly the AAA was completly fine after cooling down! (not including the molten hull )

[Norm]

Perhaps this thread should be renamed to "I put a bunch of keys in my pocket with an Li-ion battery which shorted it" as otherwise it sounds as if the battery is to blame rather than the user doing something dangerous?

Agreed, title edited. - Norm

[Juan334]

Well I think it was the cheap batteries fault because the protected terminal on the bottom the edges weren't wrapped so it would have been even easier to short. but that was an experience

[Norm]

Well I think it was the cheap batteries fault because the protected terminal on the bottom the edges weren't wrapped so it would have been even easier to short. but that was an experience

There is no mention of it being a a protected cell in the OP.
Norm

[subwoofer]

Well I think it was the cheap batteries fault because the protected terminal on the bottom the edges weren't wrapped so it would have been even easier to short. but that was an experience

I've never seen a protected battery having an unwrapped negative terminal unless it was badly damaged. However even the best protected battery has only a thin heat shrink plastic wrap that could easily be cut through by keys (which can be jagged and sharp).

Any combination of pocket change or keys etc and an exposed battery is a recipe for disaster.

[Starofthesea]

Sounds like a good way to make an emergency hand-warmer--probably would work best with a nine-volt.

[Exide]

I had this happen with a faulty battery holder, it had Alkaline cells in,three in series. the batteries got very hot so i dug them out quick. The batteries afterwards started to leak so were useless. I to carry batteries in my pocket but in one of those storage safety holders, i also have a storage case for all common sizes that have divided compartments to stop short outs, when getting rid of old batteries for recycling i always tape up the terminals to prevent short outs when there in the recycle bin because there stored in there with other cells so better being safe with this, more so with 6 and 9v ones.

[Johnbeck180]

This morning we were getting ready to go over to my wife's grandparents house. The whole family goes over for a get together/pitch-in, and of course to eat cabbage the first day of the year for good luck. So anyway, we were running late and in a hurry. I always carry my Fenix PD20 on my belt. It has been a while since I replaced the battery so I figured I'd take a Surefire 123 with me, because as a flashaholic there's nothing worse then using/showing someone your light and the battery goes dead. So without even thinking about it I put the 123 in my pocket. Walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee when all of the sudden my pocket got hot... I mean REALLY HOT!!! So I quickly reached in my pocket and jerked everything out. Seems I had some loose change and it had made contact just right with the battery the change was so hot i couldn't even tough it. I knew better than to do this but we were in a hurry and actually didn't even realize I did it until my pocket almos burst into flames. So to those of you that don't know or want to know..do not put a cr123 or any other battery in your pocket with change or any other metal objects.

Thread Merge -Norm

[RCM]

I've been burned that way before too...and it was an alkaline! Left a mark on my leg.
Wouldn't this thread be better off in the smoke and fire section?

[^Gurthang]

Just the reason I always put electrical tape on one end of each cell before storing it...

[Pawnshop]

I did that once when I was a kid with a 9v, I still remember it...

[Chevy-SS]

Interesting. Thanks for posting!

[mcnair55]

Once past the cabbage and your Fenix we got to the hot bit.,you could make a living writing books.

[LGT]

Did your pocket nearly burst into flames before or after eating the cabbage for good luck?

[shane45_1911]

Not LED-related, but thanks for the warning.

[PelicanCaseNut]

Good info thanks for the tip

[Johnbeck180]

Did your pocket nearly burst into flames before or after eating the cabbage for good luck?

Lol!! Before.

[PhotonWrangler]

Did your pocket nearly burst into flames before or after eating the cabbage for good luck?

[primox1]

thanks for the safety heads up

[Juanderful]

Short circuiting a battery is usually never a good thing...

But just be glad that nothing blew up, or else that would've put a huge dent in your day

[candle lamp]

That was close. Thanks for the posting.

[Johnbeck180]

No problem Folk's.

I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone it could have been a lot worse, I could have been asleep, or since I work construction and it's winter, I could have had cover-all's on and not been able to get in my pocket quick enough. Like I said in my first post, I didn't even realize I put it in my pocket. For me it's just habit if I have something small I put it in my pocket. so be carful whatcha keep in in your pockets. Hope every one had a good new year.