Battery Warning!!!

Framar

WOW Framer
Joined
Jul 24, 2001
Posts
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Loc
Buffalo, New York, USA/Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
I bought a charger for rechargeable batteries 2 years ago when I bought my digital camera.

For the first two years I used the batteries I bought from the company (C. Crane) that sold me the charger. These were NiMH batteries, marked Hitech Rechargeable, from Digi-USA. I never had any problems with them, but after two years, the 8 batteries I had originally purchased began losing their charge too rapidly and I was gonna send away for some more -

But one day I was at my photo processor and I really needed new batteries so I bought two from him (at almost three times the cost of the ones I bought from CCrane.).

These batteries were called PhotoAccu from Varta and made in japan. Even brand new they didn't seem to hold a charge, inside or outside of the camera.

Just now I charged up two batteries. They came up to a charge in about ten minutes, came out of the charger cold to the touch and I put them into the Altoids tin I use in my camera case to carry the spares.

Thank God I did not put them into the camera!!!

A few minutes later I reached into the case to remove my camera and the camera was HOT. I opened the tin and one of the batteries was practically on fire - it had melted the ziplock bag I had place it into and it was too hot to touch.

I carried it outside (by the corner of what was left of the bag) and placed it on the gravel.

After about a half an hour it had cooled down enough to bring it back inside.

Anyone ever hear of anything like this happening? What if I had left it in the charger and gone to work?

YIKES!!!

Beware, people - beware!!!

Now I might add that I am not sure if this problem was the fault of the charging device or the batteries - gonna make some phone calls tomorrow.
 
It (I think) had something to do with the tin box. Once when John was carrying 2 AA batteries in his pocket, the + side and the - side somehow got together against a quarter he had in his pocket and it nearly burned his leg!

But that doesn't have anything to do with them not holding a charge.
 
I'm with Betty on this one. Never use a metal container to carry batteries. They make little plastic cases just for them.
John
 
That's IT Betty!

When working in ICU we always put two fresh batteries into our temporary pacemakers before the cardiologist inserts it into the patient. During an emergency insertion I traded out the batteries, putting the old ones in my pocket.

Moments later my leg was nearly on fire because there were a few coins mixed with the batteries! We all learned a lesson that day.
 
I was starting to feel really foolish about this whole thread but now it comes to me that perhaps this is a VERY VALUABLE LESSON - and how come it is not COMMON KNOWLEDGE???

Good thing I am always broke because I have been known to stick batteries in my pockets as well!

So now I guess I won't be marching in and asking for a refund, right? LOL!
 
Unlike normal batteries, you can draw an almost unlimited amount of current from a rechargeable if short circuited, which is what happens when the pos and neg are joined as with coins or in a tin.
The batteries I have do have a warning not to short circuit,but you need a magnifying glass to read it, and I doubt if the average user would know what it meant anyway.
 
I certainly din't know, wouldn't have understood the teeny tiny warning, etc. At the start of this thread I had 2 AAs in my back pocket - happy to say I keep my change in a front pocket.

Thanks for the information. I like to learn something new each day.
 
As to not holding a charge, since you specifically said that the original batteries were NiMH, but didn't say anything about the replacements, were the new ones also NiMH? Chargers are generally type-specific.
 
yea the chargers are specific to the battery type. Even within battery types there are often different charger sizes to match the batteries. ex: I have a different charger for my nimh 1800mAh than the older ones.

I had this same thing happen TWICE with electric drill battery packs. It was so extreme that they sat on the sidewalk and hissed smoke/acidic smell for about 45 mins each. Those should never be left unattended.

Mike
 
Wow, I have loose AA batteries in my camera bag right now, and often in my purse or pocket. Thanks for the thread, Mar! Scary battery stories!!
I'm not doing that anymore.
 
Holy cow - now I am really freaked out! I have been using rechargeable batteries since the first ones were invented. This is my third recharging device and one of the reasons I bought it was the fact that it recharged both NiCads and NiMH batteries - and I have been using NiMHs since I was first able to buy them.

And I have two rechargeable driils and a circular saw - not to mention three dust-busters!

Everyone knows not to keep bananas in the refrigerator - why haven't the battery companies emphasized this little quirk?

Reminds me of the old phrase, "Liar, liar - pants on fire!"

Hmmm...
 
Many rechargeable batteries will develop a 'memory' over time. When the charge or discharge time appears to be noticeably different, you need to drain the battery to as close to fully discharged as possible. Then recharge with the correct charger.

The heat is caused by electrons racing through a circuit. Never never store portable batteries in any kind of metal container that could potentially create a circuit.


See, I really did learn something at ECPI. I'm a Certified Electronics Technician.
 
Our local news had one of those "dangerous home situation" teaser stories a while back about throwing away batteries that might still have some charge left in them, and how they could start a fire in the garbage can. Since then I put tape over the ends before discarding them.
kaffeetrinker_2.gif
Rick
Are your SOCKS killing your CHILDREN?....Tune in at 11and find out!!!
 
FRAMAR - don't leave us hanging!!

We all now know about battery storage, but now some of us (at least) don't know about why bananas aren't to be kept in the refrigerator!

I don't keep mine in the frig either, but having the curious mind that I do (just ask Ron), I really want to know the answer to this. Hope it's real dramatic......like, outgasing with potential explosive opportunities!
faintthud.gif
 
Bananas turn brown - I think that is all. They look rotten, but aren't!!

Then there are bananas foster - yum - could fix some of those anytime!!

But the batteries - that is truly scary!! Now we know!

Roz
 
Eric, I recently read that battery life is not extended by keeping them in the fridge: they said it was an urban legend. (Another one bites the dust.)
 
Now that my batteries are safely stored in a plastic slide box in my camera bag - doesn't anyone here remember the Chiquita Banana song?

"I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say
(something something something)
Don't put ba-nan-as in the re-frig-erator!"
 
Framar - here 'tis:


Today, it's still the "top banana" in jingles.

"I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say - Bananas have to ripen in a certain way- When they are fleck'd with brown and have a golden hue - Bananas taste the best and are best for you - You can put them in a salad - You can put them in a pie-aye - Any way you want to eat them - It's impossible to beat them - But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator - So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator."
Music © 1945 Shawnee Press Inc.
 
I keep my bananas in the refrigerator. They turn kinda brown, but only the skin. Who cares? I don't eat the skin! They don't ripen so darn fast. They're so goood c-c-cold!
 
Wonder what the "banana experts" have to say about frozen bananas!!......dipped in chocolate!

I suppose it's better to freeze bananas as opposed to freezing batteries, eh?
 
My 90 year old mother told me to store my batteries in the refrigerator - NEVER in the freezer!

But she uses non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. I wonder how you're supposed to store the newer kinds of batteries (yah I know - not in Altoids tins!)?
 
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