Consumers purchase billions of batteries every year. A growing number of those batteries are lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that can be recharged up to 1,000 times. Add to those retail purchases all of the batteries that are installed in electronic devices by their manufacturers. That is a lot of Li-ion batteries floating around out there.
Pale Blue Earth is a company that specializes in reusable Li-ion batteries. They sell batteries in multiple form factors along with USB chargers that make recharging as simple as plugging in to a USB port. They point out the fact that Li-ion battery explosions and fires are extremely rare, but they do happen. In light of that, they say there are five things you should never do with these batteries.
1. Leave Them in Your Car
The biggest enemy to lithium-ion batteries is heat. If they get too hot, a process known as thermal runaway can lead to explosion or fire. As such, you should never leave any kind of device powered by a Li-ion battery in your car. This is especially true if you live in places like Florida and Arizona.
Keep in mind that nearly every instance of Li-ion battery catastrophic failure is heat related. Also keep in mind that a car’s interior can get very hot very quickly. Triple digit temperatures are not out of the question during the summer months. Leaving a Li-ion battery in a car that hot is just asking for trouble.
2. Ship Them Without Notice
Along those same lines, you should never ship Li-ion batteries without proper notice. Shippers need to know that you are sending batteries so that they can take the proper precautions. Not notifying them could lead to a devastating fire while in transit. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you? You certainly do not want the liability.
3. Mix and Match
Li-ion batteries are safer than ever thanks to built-in safety features. The thing to understand is that said safety features vary from one manufacturer to the next. This suggests that you should never mix and match batteries and chargers. Only use the charger that came with your batteries. If the charger must be replaced, it should only be replaced by a manufacturer-approved model.
4. Build Your Own Battery Packs
Another no-no is buying individual Li-ion batteries and using them to build a customized battery pack. This is dangerous for the same reasons you are advised not to mix and match batteries and chargers. Building your own battery packs may damage internal safety features to the extent of making them inoperable. Then you are just one charge away from catastrophic failure.
5. Purchase Uncertified Batteries
The industry adopted certification standards a number of years ago to guarantee Li-ion battery safety. If you buy certified batteries from a reputable manufacturer, you can rest reasonably assured that the products have proved safe through rigorous testing. On the other hand, uncertified batteries are risky.
Never purchase uncertified batteries from unknown sources. This is especially important for retailers who buy large volumes of batteries from overseas suppliers. Unless those suppliers can prove certification of their products, they might be selling you unsafe batteries. That could bring liability back on you in the event one of your customers is harmed by a battery failure.
The vast majority of Li-ion batteries these days are safe. Compared to the millions sold every year, only a small number ever fail. But failure is still possible. Heed the five tips outlined in this post and you will mitigate most of the risks linked to catastrophic battery failure.