3 ms·

Taping Batteries Saves Lives

21 points by adrian_mrd 3y ago

kashunstva 3y ago
Unless I missed something, there is no mention of the risk. (e.g. what % of house fires are caused by small low voltage/low capacity cells? By what factor do storage interventions reduce that risk?) There is a "Battery Safety" link near the bottom of the page but it's 404.
- RecycledEle 3y ago
  If you store batteries in metal containers, you can expect sparks. If you store your batteries in the same drawer as your bare wire, you can expect sparks. If those batteries are Lithium Ion type, they might smoke or even catch fire. The claim that taping AAA cells will save lives seems far fetched. Relevant parody/commentary from Reason TV: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWhbUUE4ko https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWhbUUE4ko
  - EricE 3y ago
    Yes, I rolled my eyes at the AAA thing. Safety Third!
- ChuckMcM 3y ago
  There is a vanishingly small chance of your battery disposal box being the source of a fire in your house. The Fire Cause Analysis have reported one for sure, and another possible in the years 2017 - 2022. Out of all the fires that is a small number. That said, Lithium Ion batteries in the "recycling pipeline" (usually E-waste pipeline) have been suspected as the source of a big increase in fires[1]. This isn't particularly surprising given that more and more electronics make those batteries not removable, and just exposure to air by lithium metal can cause it to catch fire (no current or spark required). So if you put a cell phone through a crusher, very good chance there will be a fire in the resulting waste slurry. I'm watching for legislation that requires all electronics sold to have removable batteries. Manufacturers will pitch that as "and now you can swap out the battery!" but it will be because of the disposal risk. [1] https://www.wastedive.com/news/high-number-of-facility-fires-in-2022-prompts-renewed-look-at-battery-recyc/645682/ https://www.wastedive.com/news/high-number-of-facility-fires...
cf100clunk 3y ago
At a local hardware store the battery recycling bin has a sign asking that only 9V batteries be taped since there is a much more likely hazard of their side-by-side terminals being directly shorted from inadvertent contact than for those with polar opposite terminals. The mess and hassle of untaping non-9v batteries for recycling centre workers was the cited reason, so my guess is that the fire risk is seen as much less important than the work required to untape them.
lutorm 3y ago
Assuming you throw out dead batteries, what's the harm in shorting them? (If we're talking normal nonrechargable alkaline batteries. If throwing away a lithium battery I'll definitely verify that the cells are totally dead or protect the terminals.)
- gruez 3y ago
  How do you know the battery's dead? Just because it won't power the gadget in question, doesn't mean it's completely drained. Moreover, dead batteries look exactly like fresh batteries, so it's easy to get them mixed up due to inattention/confusion.
- crtified 3y ago
  In my limited understanding, the danger of shorting (and/or residual electrical charge) is merely one of the disposal risks associated with lithium-based batteries. For example, the raw materials innate chemical volatility may lead to combustion reactions upon crushing or piercing, which often happens during general rubbish disposal processes. Several fires at rubbish processing centers in my area were suspected to have been caused like that, and now, while it's not (yet) against the law here to dispose of them in this way, nobody will actually knowingly let you do it - it's strongly frowned upon.
Isamu 3y ago
Why clear tape?
- abdullahkhalids 3y ago
  Guess: so battery leaks can be seen.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
jacquesm 3y ago
This seems marginally useful (tape can be dislodged, and a 1.5V alkaline that is at the end of its service life isn't going to do much anyway). But for Lithium Ion things are a bit different, and for 9V blocks as well because they already have a nice series going there and have handy terminals that allow them to connect to each other (cheap source of HV DC: 10 of those clicked together will give you enough juice to run the high side of an electron tube based amp). Lithium Ion I simply discharge until the protection circuit kicks in, after that they are not quite inert but fairly safe to handle. Usually this happens somewhere between 2.5 and 3 V.

21 points by adrian_mrd 3y ago

Unless I missed something, there is no mention of the risk. (e.g. what % of house fires are caused by small low voltage/low capacity cells? By what factor do storage interventions reduce that risk?) There is a "Battery Safety" link near the bottom of the page but it's 404.

RecycledEle 3y ago
If you store batteries in metal containers, you can expect sparks. If you store your batteries in the same drawer as your bare wire, you can expect sparks. If those batteries are Lithium Ion type, they might smoke or even catch fire. The claim that taping AAA cells will save lives seems far fetched. Relevant parody/commentary from Reason TV: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWhbUUE4ko https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWhbUUE4ko
- EricE 3y ago
  Yes, I rolled my eyes at the AAA thing. Safety Third!
ChuckMcM 3y ago
There is a vanishingly small chance of your battery disposal box being the source of a fire in your house. The Fire Cause Analysis have reported one for sure, and another possible in the years 2017 - 2022. Out of all the fires that is a small number. That said, Lithium Ion batteries in the "recycling pipeline" (usually E-waste pipeline) have been suspected as the source of a big increase in fires[1]. This isn't particularly surprising given that more and more electronics make those batteries not removable, and just exposure to air by lithium metal can cause it to catch fire (no current or spark required). So if you put a cell phone through a crusher, very good chance there will be a fire in the resulting waste slurry. I'm watching for legislation that requires all electronics sold to have removable batteries. Manufacturers will pitch that as "and now you can swap out the battery!" but it will be because of the disposal risk. [1] https://www.wastedive.com/news/high-number-of-facility-fires-in-2022-prompts-renewed-look-at-battery-recyc/645682/ https://www.wastedive.com/news/high-number-of-facility-fires...

cf100clunk 3y ago

At a local hardware store the battery recycling bin has a sign asking that only 9V batteries be taped since there is a much more likely hazard of their side-by-side terminals being directly shorted from inadvertent contact than for those with polar opposite terminals. The mess and hassle of untaping non-9v batteries for recycling centre workers was the cited reason, so my guess is that the fire risk is seen as much less important than the work required to untape them.

lutorm 3y ago

Assuming you throw out dead batteries, what's the harm in shorting them? (If we're talking normal nonrechargable alkaline batteries. If throwing away a lithium battery I'll definitely verify that the cells are totally dead or protect the terminals.)

gruez 3y ago
How do you know the battery's dead? Just because it won't power the gadget in question, doesn't mean it's completely drained. Moreover, dead batteries look exactly like fresh batteries, so it's easy to get them mixed up due to inattention/confusion.
crtified 3y ago
In my limited understanding, the danger of shorting (and/or residual electrical charge) is merely one of the disposal risks associated with lithium-based batteries. For example, the raw materials innate chemical volatility may lead to combustion reactions upon crushing or piercing, which often happens during general rubbish disposal processes. Several fires at rubbish processing centers in my area were suspected to have been caused like that, and now, while it's not (yet) against the law here to dispose of them in this way, nobody will actually knowingly let you do it - it's strongly frowned upon.

Isamu 3y ago

Why clear tape?

abdullahkhalids 3y ago
Guess: so battery leaks can be seen.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

jacquesm 3y ago

This seems marginally useful (tape can be dislodged, and a 1.5V alkaline that is at the end of its service life isn't going to do much anyway). But for Lithium Ion things are a bit different, and for 9V blocks as well because they already have a nice series going there and have handy terminals that allow them to connect to each other (cheap source of HV DC: 10 of those clicked together will give you enough juice to run the high side of an electron tube based amp). Lithium Ion I simply discharge until the protection circuit kicks in, after that they are not quite inert but fairly safe to handle. Usually this happens somewhere between 2.5 and 3 V.