Washed My Batteries

[PaulW]

Well, not on purpose. I was doing a big wash today and mistakenly threw in a pair of pants that had a pair of CR123As in them--the DPower brand that Arc used to sell. Fortunately, they fell out of the pocket and into the bottom of the washer. Otherwise they would have gone into the dryer.

I know that that turning on the dryer with lithium batteries inside could have been disastrous. And I thought there would be problems immersing them in water. But all that seemed to happen was that they came out clean as a whistle . . . except for some corrosion spots on the positive terminal.

The really big surprise is that they still work. They power up my L4 at full brightness, although I'm afraid to leave it on for long.

Any advice? Should I use the batteries as if nothing happened, or should I dump them?

Paul

 

[snuffy]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

I'd dump `em since you've only got a couple of bucks invested vs how much in the L4 ? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif

 

[E__WOK]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

The same thing happened to me. Just go ahead and use it.

 

[IsaacHayes]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Put them in the microwave!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

 

[Doug Owen]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Why do you think "turning on the dryer with lithium batteries inside could have been disastrous"?

Not that I'm recommending the process, but what are you afraid of?

Doug Owen

 

[snakebite]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

i doubt a dryer gets hot enough to do anything nasty.
a closed car in the summer gets much hotter.
just dry em off and use them.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Dump them, there may be moisture inside the
battery casing and when the flashlight heats up
with the batteries the moisture may seep from the
batteries and into the torch.

 

[RebelRAM]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

You are talking $3.00 worth of batteries vs. however much you paid for your L4. If it were me, I wouldn't risk it. I'm guessing there is a high probability that nothing would happen, but there's always that "Murphy's Law" thing.


--Jason /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

 

[Doug Owen]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Hey, these puppies are tough, don't sweat it. Not only is a dunking in *salt* water not an issue, but *sawing them in half first*, before throwing them in, isn't either. Nor is the dryer (assuming it's under 320 degrees...):

UL tests on 123 cells

Doug Owen

 

[PaulW]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Thanks for the link, Doug. I didn't realize these cells were that tough.

I've read many posts about protecting lithium batteries from water and have been very careful about keeping mine dry. It's hard now to believe they survived all that water and agitation.

Paul

 

[Ginseng]

Re: Cleaned My Batteries

Paul,
The vents are designed to be hermetically sealed unless abuse causes the buildup of internal pressure due to oxygen/hydrogen generation. I'm reasonably sure they'd be ok to use...but I wouldn't use them in my L4. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Wilkey