A big way to protect yourself, your family, and your property. Avoid the lower cost aftermarket batteries and cheap no-name lithium battery powered products. The low prices are appealing but it’s not worth the risk.
The explosion in Missouri polluted the watershed and resulted in fish dying. How do products like this come to be labeled green and good for the environment?
Because they don't create anywhere near the amount of mining or disposal pollution, or kill near as many people, as lead batteries do. If congress would quit taking the bribes to allow companies to import cheap, poorly made lithium ion batteries then we wouldn't have this problem.
Ridiculous! these are used WORLD-WIDE, the numer of fires, injuries, deaths are a minute number out of the total number of batteries used in billions of devices of all kinds- every single smart phone around the world has one of these batteries, every single cordless power tool also has them, iWatches, laptops and you name it all have them too, THE biggest cause of failures includes; Repairing batteries, repairs by unauthorised non factory trained laymen who do things like "repair" ebike batteries and sell them for half price COUNTERFEIT batteries sold on Amazon! the "project farm" channel on youtube and others have bought and tested proven counterfeit powertool batteries sold as the genuine ones such as Milwaukee, Bosch, Makita, and other brands that were so good you cant tell the counterfeit from the real ones without a LOT of work- they reproduce the logos, text, brand name lettering style, colors and everything else, and these are being sold all over Amazon usually at discounted prices. People overcharge the batteries, leave them on chargers to "cook" overnight, the failure of one component inside the battery charger can cause the battery to catch fire if the charger fails to shut off. None of these batteries should take hours and hours or overnight to charge, many take less than an hour- when fully charged REMOVE them off the charger, this includes cell phones! About 50 house fires a year in the USA are caused by coffee makers when their thermostat fails, There were 183 fires reported across Canada over the past 5 years (36 per year) involving cell phones and their accessories. Every appliance carries risks
The market is so saturated with lithium batteries... It would be nearly impossible... These batteries are everywhere... In everything... The old "Nicad" batteries have become a distant memory...
Lithium ion batteries require (not a suggestion, a must) proper charging circuits that perform the different stages of charging and terminate it properly. (Note that this is nearly always built into the device itself. The thing we often call a “charger” is actually not the charger, it’s just a power supply.) The upshot is that as a user, you can’t overcharge the device by leaving it plugged in. It will stop when full. This does not stop some far-east manufacturers of extremely low-cost junk from making cheap gadgets (like flashlights or lanterns) that skip a proper charging circuit entirely. Those things are dangerous. But you will NEVER find that in a laptop or phone.
Hopefully you only threw away the light that caught fire. If you threw away other lights that were not damaged you could be endangering other people's lives. Just curious.
Lithium batteries that are UL listed are safe. UL listed batteries have safety features that stop them from experiencing a thermal runaway. The issue is that all these dirt cheap e-bikes people are buying from Temu and such that have little to no protection built into the battery
@@francismarion6400 Indeed. Charging components of EVs in the US are UL listed. So are fuses, batteries, plugs, receptacles and all to do with any EV, not just Tesla.
@@francismarion6400 Fuses protect against excessive current, but thermal runaway is usually triggered by internal factors like cell degradation or manufacturing defects, which may not cause enough of a current increase that a fuse can detect. Also, Fuses interrupt current flow, but don't address the causes of overheating.
Think of all the lithium Ion batteries vs the number of fires. I probably have 15 of them in my house. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than experiencing a lithium ion fire.
They take away my Lawn Darts due to “safety” but allow Lion batteries no problem 🤷♂️ Imo, Lion batteries should be outlawed. Lithium is too energetic and dangerous to be used in everyday consumer product. Sodium ion batteries is the way to go.
My cell phone has the option to stop charging my phone at 80% (among other options). Good thing to do if you want your batteries to last longer through the years, and to help from over charging these batteries and risk having them combust.
I always charge my phone batteries to 100%, the 80% is a myth, my iPhone battery was supposed to last something like 500 charges, it lasted twice that and still had plenty of life, I charge to 100%, let it run down, charge to 95%, let it run down, then charge to 100% the "cycles" counter counts every 100% charge or combination like 50 and 50 as one cycle, so leaving it on the charger all the time is BAD, so is charging to 100 every time, by alternating between 100% and 95% I got at least 1000 cycles on the OEM battery that Apple said was good for 500
Why would they use water on lithium ion batteries? They know that getting a charged lithium ion battery wet can make it catch on fire, right? There was a RUclips short demonstrating just this, that I watched the other day. There are so many lithium batteries around in flashlights etc., we need to start worrying. Big flower pots, BBQs, wood stove or fire place, cinder block, and cement backer board are good towards safe charging. We need safe charging locations. I like the plastic bag full of sand on top of a cinder block and the charging battery is within the cinder block; if it catches on fire the plastic melts and dumps the sand on the burning battery.
They said call 911 immediately, (I agree), but if its a tiny battery, is there anything else we can do to extinguish it? I heard water makes it worse. Even foam extinguishers can be useless.
No. The battery is experiencing thermal runaway; it must run its course, unfortunately. If it can somehow be scooped up and dumped into a bucket of water, that may help, but due to it being a chemical reaction, options are limited.
In situations like this, two pieces of the "fire triangle" are already present. All you need is heat to have combustion. I believe many times the only thing that can be done is let the batteries do their thing and try to prevent other combustible materials from igniting.
How about small rechargeable items like dog trimmers, rechargeable flashlights, small hand tools, distbusters, Etc.? Are there fireproof storage containets they should be stored in between uses?
Sort of like non flammable gasoline? It won't matter soon anyway, a NEW type of battery was JUST patented in Sept, an anode-free battery based on SODIUM that uses no lithium at all, the lab and inventor are working on scaling it up for EV's, for now we have the safer LiFe PO+4 battery on the market, the 100% lithium type batteries will be going by the wayside.
Why don't they pursue charges against Amazon who turns a blind eye to counterfeit UL stickers on dangerous chinese batteries? Who is Amazon paying off?
People own more- power tools have become HUGE sellers, now you can buy circular saws, chain saws, drills, drivers, routers, all kinds of things that run off batteries now that were not possible a few years ago. I use drills, drivers and a router at work all battery powered.
We didn't have that many problems with lithium batteries when online sites like Alibaba,Temu,and Pingduoduo didn't exist. Many companies from China often cut corners to make them.
There are videos on youtube showing COUNTERFEIT power tool batteries with names like Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch and others sold on Amazon at discounted prices, the counterfeits are so good that consumers CANT tell the difference unless you have the genuine ones in your hand to side by side compare weight and everything. One video opened the real brand and the counterfeit brand batteries up and showed the internal differences, the external logos, brand names, colors, font and printed text on the counterfeit batteries were nearly indistinguishable from the genuine ones!
Dang. Should I start leaving my cell phone n older tablet outside ? Im an old curmudgeonly fart n have lots of battery powered tools too. In my workshop. Any advice you younger folks?
@kevinjogoo8730 Thanks,,Il do that. I did catch thst info on UL symbols. I have always bought quality tools also. Ive done carpentry,woodworking for all my life so I buy quality .
Bulged swollen battery packs are weeks to months from catastrophic failure. Stop charging them, stop using the device, when you notice bulging. Don't pop the balloon to let the air out. The biggest risk is when charging the battery. The second risk is from fall damage from dropping or crushing it.
Because the LiFePO4 is more expensive, and the batteries in general have to be made to physically FIT whatever they are powering, that takes a lot of changes at the Mfr's level, the tools and devices all require specific voltages and all that too, a change to a different battery might mean issues with that aspect too.
@@fredicagoillanoise1309 A lable saying "UL listed" is EASY for anyone in China to forge- it's ONLY a sticker! they forged the CARB certifications on laminated flooring sold to and by Lumber Liquidators, they were even CAUGHT on hidden camera saying they could do that.
Why are non-certified batteries legal in the U.S.? So much for being a “great” country. I believe in and appreciate capitalism, but it has to have guard rails (public safety regulations) to prevent it from killing people to make profits.
Ban the sale of these lithium-ion batteries. Force the industries pushing these unsafe products onto the general public to change back to traditional a/b/c/d/etc.-cell batteries.
@@abandonedcranium6592 Don't forget N and 9 Volt cells. Also note that some 9 V batteries use 6 of the AAAA cells that can be liberated for other uses.
@@bobroberts2371 an idiotic notion, bub. The burning of gasoline in cars results in no harmful tailpipe emissions, catalytic converters scrub it all away, and all cars meet stringent emissions regulations, and most of what''s left is water vapor, nothing harmful there. You just voice an empty political talking point that is all falsehood. mo reality. Sorry but I'm blocking you. I don't debate with people who lack common sense.
A big way to protect yourself, your family, and your property. Avoid the lower cost aftermarket batteries and cheap no-name lithium battery powered products.
The low prices are appealing but it’s not worth the risk.
I agree 100%
BuT LeT tHe MaRkEt DeCide!
Chinese made 🇨🇳
Always get the cheapest. When conflagration ensues, celebrate your fantastic savings. Cheers!
Buy American 🇺🇸, Chinese made anything always fails horrendously.
The explosion in Missouri polluted the watershed and resulted in fish dying.
How do products like this come to be labeled green and good for the environment?
corruption and kick backs
Agreed
Rich people need to get richer.
They were never touted as good for the environment that's a lie you heard
Because they don't create anywhere near the amount of mining or disposal pollution, or kill near as many people, as lead batteries do. If congress would quit taking the bribes to allow companies to import cheap, poorly made lithium ion batteries then we wouldn't have this problem.
Due to the fact that it's a safety hazard. This should be taken off the market until they have solved the problem.
That's a lot of technology that uses these batteries 🔋.. I can imagine the craziness with people 😂
Its all about MONEY, not SAFETY. 💰
Ridiculous! these are used WORLD-WIDE, the numer of fires, injuries, deaths are a minute number out of the total number of batteries used in billions of devices of all kinds- every single smart phone around the world has one of these batteries, every single cordless power tool also has them, iWatches, laptops and you name it all have them too, THE biggest cause of failures includes;
Repairing batteries, repairs by unauthorised non factory trained laymen who do things like "repair" ebike batteries and sell them for half price
COUNTERFEIT batteries sold on Amazon! the "project farm" channel on youtube and others have bought and tested proven counterfeit powertool batteries sold as the genuine ones such as Milwaukee, Bosch, Makita, and other brands that were so good you cant tell the counterfeit from the real ones without a LOT of work- they reproduce the logos, text, brand name lettering style, colors and everything else, and these are being sold all over Amazon usually at discounted prices.
People overcharge the batteries, leave them on chargers to "cook" overnight, the failure of one component inside the battery charger can cause the battery to catch fire if the charger fails to shut off. None of these batteries should take hours and hours or overnight to charge, many take less than an hour- when fully charged REMOVE them off the charger, this includes cell phones!
About 50 house fires a year in the USA are caused by coffee makers when their thermostat fails,
There were 183 fires reported across Canada over the past 5 years (36 per year) involving cell phones and their accessories.
Every appliance carries risks
The market is so saturated with lithium batteries... It would be nearly impossible... These batteries are everywhere... In everything... The old "Nicad" batteries have become a distant memory...
So they should take cell phones off the market?
Omg every home has dozens of lithium batteries in so many appliances.
A big shout out to WGN for reporting what everyone else wants to ignore. Great segment and honorable reporting. Now about your Mayor....
Small towns with volunteer fire departments can't afford special trucks and training to deal with these types of fires.
@@drjekelmrhyde Sad but true.
A bucket of sand is asking too much?
@@whickervision742 For an EV vehicle?
@@dmc3489 big bucket of sand
Main reason why I put those socket timer to charge those device to avoid overcharging.
They say not to charge over night. Maybe we should start using NIMH batteries again?
Don’t charge your cheap Chinese e-bike with a huge dangerous battery over night. You will be fine
@@kevinjogoo8730Completely inaccurate.
NIMH batteries suck. They have less than half the capacity and discharge rates of lithium batteries.
Use those socket timer to avoid overcharging.
Lithium ion batteries require (not a suggestion, a must) proper charging circuits that perform the different stages of charging and terminate it properly. (Note that this is nearly always built into the device itself. The thing we often call a “charger” is actually not the charger, it’s just a power supply.) The upshot is that as a user, you can’t overcharge the device by leaving it plugged in. It will stop when full.
This does not stop some far-east manufacturers of extremely low-cost junk from making cheap gadgets (like flashlights or lanterns) that skip a proper charging circuit entirely. Those things are dangerous. But you will NEVER find that in a laptop or phone.
Happened 2 me 2 wks ago. It was a solar light I hung at a window. Small fire but still big headaches and mental anguish. I threw them out.
Hopefully you only threw away the light that caught fire. If you threw away other lights that were not damaged you could be endangering other people's lives. Just curious.
@@abandonedcranium6592 Yeah, keep the other lights until they explode, then throw them out.
Lithium batteries that are UL listed are safe. UL listed batteries have safety features that stop them from experiencing a thermal runaway. The issue is that all these dirt cheap e-bikes people are buying from Temu and such that have little to no protection built into the battery
Tesla are UL listed?
CSA is also another organization that tests lithium batteries to US a Canadian standards as well. Also safe.
@@francismarion6400 Indeed. Charging components of EVs in the US are UL listed. So are fuses, batteries, plugs, receptacles and all to do with any EV, not just Tesla.
@@Techridr So why aren't there fuses that can blow before these ev batteries go into thermal meltdown?
@@francismarion6400 Fuses protect against excessive current, but thermal runaway is usually triggered by internal factors like cell degradation or manufacturing defects, which may not cause enough of a current increase that a fuse can detect. Also, Fuses interrupt current flow, but don't address the causes of overheating.
Let me guess where they're made.
Have you purchased anything from Amazon lately that needs power 🔋 😅
@cedricksamaniego9146 no I don't shop much on there anymore.
Yes where everything is made.
1:50 Love how the dog's just chewing away on the battery, both freak out, then come back to watch the fire
Think of all the lithium Ion batteries vs the number of fires. I probably have 15 of them in my house. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than experiencing a lithium ion fire.
They take away my Lawn Darts due to “safety” but allow Lion batteries no problem 🤷♂️ Imo, Lion batteries should be outlawed. Lithium is too energetic and dangerous to be used in everyday consumer product. Sodium ion batteries is the way to go.
I had recycled a jump starter battery at home depot as it was swelled up and not safe
My cell phone has the option to stop charging my phone at 80% (among other options). Good thing to do if you want your batteries to last longer through the years, and to help from over charging these batteries and risk having them combust.
Apple wants to have a word with you
My Samsung cellphone has that feature too and I appreciate it.
I always charge my phone batteries to 100%, the 80% is a myth, my iPhone battery was supposed to last something like 500 charges, it lasted twice that and still had plenty of life, I charge to 100%, let it run down, charge to 95%, let it run down, then charge to 100% the "cycles" counter counts every 100% charge or combination like 50 and 50 as one cycle, so leaving it on the charger all the time is BAD, so is charging to 100 every time, by alternating between 100% and 95% I got at least 1000 cycles on the OEM battery that Apple said was good for 500
Why would they use water on lithium ion batteries? They know that getting a charged lithium ion battery wet can make it catch on fire, right? There was a RUclips short demonstrating just this, that I watched the other day. There are so many lithium batteries around in flashlights etc., we need to start worrying. Big flower pots, BBQs, wood stove or fire place, cinder block, and cement backer board are good towards safe charging. We need safe charging locations. I like the plastic bag full of sand on top of a cinder block and the charging battery is within the cinder block; if it catches on fire the plastic melts and dumps the sand on the burning battery.
They said call 911 immediately, (I agree), but if its a tiny battery, is there anything else we can do to extinguish it? I heard water makes it worse. Even foam extinguishers can be useless.
No. The battery is experiencing thermal runaway; it must run its course, unfortunately. If it can somehow be scooped up and dumped into a bucket of water, that may help, but due to it being a chemical reaction, options are limited.
In situations like this, two pieces of the "fire triangle" are already present. All you need is heat to have combustion. I believe many times the only thing that can be done is let the batteries do their thing and try to prevent other combustible materials from igniting.
The rainbow smoke is safe to breathe as long as your hair is rainbow-colored.
@@theamerican7080lol
A bag of sand for handheld type devices.
Huzzah for the greens
UL Solutions is also called Underwriters Laboratories
But Jen Granholm said EVs are safe & effective.
compiling and posting a list of offending products and batteries would be a tremendous consumer service
What is an eBattery? Is it different than any other battery?
imagine a battery fire on a plane.....
How about small rechargeable items like dog trimmers, rechargeable flashlights, small hand tools, distbusters, Etc.? Are there fireproof storage containets they should be stored in between uses?
There are, but they cost several hundred dollars for a decent one.
Are these batteries a risk for being used with i.e.d.s?
They should make non flammable batteries
You should contact the battery companies, they probably didn't think of that
They do lifepo4
Sort of like non flammable gasoline?
It won't matter soon anyway, a NEW type of battery was JUST patented in Sept, an anode-free battery based on SODIUM that uses no lithium at all, the lab and inventor are working on scaling it up for EV's, for now we have the safer LiFe PO+4 battery on the market, the 100% lithium type batteries will be going by the wayside.
@@HobbyOrganist Nothing anymore is not made without radiation. And they will lie.
nickel cadmium
BEAUTIFUL ❤ TECHNOLOGY
Adult pleasure toys that contain these batteries and they say to keep them outside 🙄!
And this is the wave of the future? Don’t think so
My lithium lipo4 battery has a Bms system to prevent this kinda thing
Very good point @ 2:52.
Batch of bad batteries is a roulette game with your life.
And go buy an ev for your garage
Especially our very popular solar generators.
Why don't they pursue charges against Amazon who turns a blind eye to counterfeit UL stickers on dangerous chinese batteries? Who is Amazon paying off?
Is the increase a higher % or do people just own more?
People own more- power tools have become HUGE sellers, now you can buy circular saws, chain saws, drills, drivers, routers, all kinds of things that run off batteries now that were not possible a few years ago. I use drills, drivers and a router at work all battery powered.
Good video.
I have a question about the lithium ion batteries. Are the lithium ion phosphate batteries the same will they catch on fire.
Those are much safer
Yet, nobody seems to care about assault weapons.😢
Time for a national recall and ban on Lithium batteries.
We didn't have that many problems with lithium batteries when online sites like Alibaba,Temu,and Pingduoduo didn't exist. Many companies from China often cut corners to make them.
You do realize that TVs are all powered with lithium, right?
@@dmc3489 Lithium is not a power source.
@@francismarion6400 Point taken.
@@dmc3489 TV's plug into the wall
Fire extinguisher 🧯?
Quit allowing companies to import the cheapest batteries they can buy and this would not be a problem.
There are videos on youtube showing COUNTERFEIT power tool batteries with names like Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch and others sold on Amazon at discounted prices, the counterfeits are so good that consumers CANT tell the difference unless you have the genuine ones in your hand to side by side compare weight and everything.
One video opened the real brand and the counterfeit brand batteries up and showed the internal differences, the external logos, brand names, colors, font and printed text on the counterfeit batteries were nearly indistinguishable from the genuine ones!
We need better dafer batteries no more lithium
We already have. Nickel cadmium is one of them
Stop overcharging them! Keep them away from water and heat! Most of time these fire are cause by user's error.
Dang. Should I start leaving my cell phone n older tablet outside ? Im an old curmudgeonly fart n have lots of battery powered tools too. In my workshop. Any advice you younger folks?
As long as your power tool batteries are genuine you are fine. Try to check all your batteries for a UL label. If you have that you are fine
@kevinjogoo8730 Thanks,,Il do that. I did catch thst info on UL symbols. I have always bought quality tools also. Ive done carpentry,woodworking for all my life so I buy quality .
Bulged swollen battery packs are weeks to months from catastrophic failure. Stop charging them, stop using the device, when you notice bulging. Don't pop the balloon to let the air out.
The biggest risk is when charging the battery. The second risk is from fall damage from dropping or crushing it.
@whickervision742 Thank you for this advice . Ill follow it.
I don't leave any of my tool batteries charging overnight at home or on my jobsites.
i don't know why they keep using these dangerous lithium ion instead lifepo4.
Because the LiFePO4 is more expensive, and the batteries in general have to be made to physically FIT whatever they are powering, that takes a lot of changes at the Mfr's level, the tools and devices all require specific voltages and all that too, a change to a different battery might mean issues with that aspect too.
unplug your cybertruck
wonder why no statistics for EVs deads with cars and buses and how many buildings were destroyed by parked EVs
They should make Sodium ion battery they are the safest!
They are working on that anode-free sodium battery right now to scale it up for EV use, it's looking positive.
@@HobbyOrganist By the time EV's start using it, other tech like Hydrogen is going to start being common.
Without specific information on which devices these batteries were installed, this info is useless...
I'm REALLY worried now... I just bought a Roland drum machine/sampler and it has lithium batteries in it. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
I think I would trust Roland as long as it's truly Roland and not imitation.
@abandonedcranium6592 It's authentically Roland so I should be good.... They are UL listed.
@@fredicagoillanoise1309 A lable saying "UL listed" is EASY for anyone in China to forge- it's ONLY a sticker! they forged the CARB certifications on laminated flooring sold to and by Lumber Liquidators, they were even CAUGHT on hidden camera saying they could do that.
Of course, manufactured by the lowest bidders to increase profit margins! Until those responsible are held accountable, this will become typical.
Time to outlaw them
Why are non-certified batteries legal in the U.S.? So much for being a “great” country. I believe in and appreciate capitalism, but it has to have guard rails (public safety regulations) to prevent it from killing people to make profits.
Its a fire you cant put out had 5 burn up
I wanna know when they will make the battery with brazilian niobium or sodium. To us charge in 1 minute 20 thousands of cicles more secure.
Yea here home depot let's you drop them off in the fire exit
😷
More studies,more bodies getting salaries,
Ban the sale of these lithium-ion batteries. Force the industries pushing these unsafe products onto the general public to change back to traditional a/b/c/d/etc.-cell batteries.
Also ban gasoline.
I think we should ban human blood. People can die from blood clots. 🤷🏼♂️
AAAA, AAA, AA, B, C , D batteries are generally alkaline. You can just refer to them as alkaline.
@@abandonedcranium6592 Don't forget N and 9 Volt cells. Also note that some 9 V batteries use 6 of the AAAA cells that can be liberated for other uses.
@@bobroberts2371 an idiotic notion, bub. The burning of gasoline in cars results in no harmful tailpipe emissions, catalytic converters scrub it all away, and all cars meet stringent emissions regulations, and most of what''s left is water vapor, nothing harmful there.
You just voice an empty political talking point that is all falsehood. mo reality.
Sorry but I'm blocking you. I don't debate with people who lack common sense.
Notice that they want you to believe it's your cellphone (it's not)...so we don't tank to each other anymore.
Brainwashed much
Cheap Chinese batteries are the cause of these fires 🇨🇳
or make them all illegal to own😂
chinese cheap out on battery shut off when its full or a timer that does that also
chinese can copy the ul tag😢