re: Can an engineer or lithium battery expert make me feel better?

Justrite Safety has a cabinet that addresses the safety concerns with Li Ion battery thermal runaway. It is obviously intended for industrial workspaces, but could certainly be used in a garage setting.


Li Ion Storage Cabinets

quote:

---

Based on what?

---

EVs are more fire safe than gas based on the only large study ever completed (in Sweden) with appropriate data available.
This is a disadvantaged place for EVs due to weather as well.
They found gas vehicles to be 29x more likely to catch fire.

quote:

---

For best battery health and safety, you should only charge it to 40-80% for storage then top it off before use. More realistically, leave it at 60-80% for the off season. You’ll be fine.

---

it would be nice if ego had that option; its damn near impossible to catch the battery at 80% and remove it. there are indicator charging level lights, but no option on the base to set charge x% of total; you'd just have to be passing by when it was almost charged and pull it off and guess.

quote:

---

Maybe CAD can store his Telsa in a sea can?

---

hey now



and technically its the lovely mrs. cad's tesla. cad is perfectly happy with his 4runner.

quote:

---

What is your take on these in general? I don't vape but have a dozen or so from various mfrs (amazon, likely Chinese) for flashlights. Leave them charged on a drawer inside of flashlight. Would you replace with

---

Vaping is typically done with unprotected power cells, hopefully of the highest quality and where the vape mod protects the battery.
Flashlights and such should use protected cells. Forget Amazon. Go somewhere like liionwholesale.com. Or a trusted distributor.
Lithium ion batteries of common chemistry should be left half charged(40-80%) for maximum life. Leaving near 100% isn’t a huge risk but will shorten life significantly over several years.
Battery quality is extra important with protected flashlight type batteries because your free charger isn’t going to take any precautions.

quote:

---

lithium batteries typically have a battery management module built in them

---

Nope

Lion - yes
LiFePo4 - some do

quote:

---

Lion - yes

---

Not my Dewalt bateries. Power cells pinned straight to the leads.

quote:

---

What is trigger(s) that causes them to spark?

---

No “spark” necessary. Lithium battery cells are basically “sacks of chemicals (in liquid/gel form)”. If damaged in any way that causes the cell(s) to leak, the different cell chemicals combine and create a spontaneous reaction that gives off a shite ton of heat that accelerates rapidly. Dispose of any Lithium batteries (especially LiPo) that have obvious damage. Over charging or discharging of LiPo batteries causes them to overheat and damage the cell(s). The overheated battery is more likely to spontaneously ignite. LiPo batteries that are “overheated” will usually “puff up”. Puffing is an indication that the battery “may” be damaged to a point where they may continue “heating” to a “runaway” state characterized by an intense, combustion action that looks like a super power road flair or firework and produces copious amounts of highly toxic smoke. I keep my LiPo batteries in an old, inoperable metal BBQ pit/grill outside any time I cannot continuously monitor them. NEVER leave a charging or discharging LiPo battery unattended. Having the correct charger is key for this as they have built-in over-charge, over-discharge and overheat protection; at which point the charger will shut down and, in the case of overheat, may even sound an “overheat” alam.
The above explanation applies exclusively to LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries. LiPo batteries (discussed above) are still used, especially in high performance applications because of their much higher energy densities. However, because of their particular chemistries and higher energy densities they require a much higher level of care when used, charged or discharged:

Lithium ion and LiFePo4 batteries have considerably lower energy densities AND chemistries and are inherently safer. However, all Lithium chemistry based batteries typically use chargers designed specifically for that particular battery chemistry. Some Li batteries also have over-charge and over-discharge protections built into the battery. NEVER EVER charge a Li battery with ANY charger other than the one designed
SPECIFICALLY for that battery chemistry. There are chargers out there that will charge several different types of Li batteries. However, they are basically different chargers built into the same “box”, but they all use the same power supply.

quote:

---

I’m currently purchasing this guy for next campground cooler cart/ yard tractor/ refrigerator power backup.

3kw scary battery

---

Above my pay grade. My battery expertise peaked when I brought a 100AH trolling motor battery and a DirecTv dish to a tailgate in 2008. Using an inverter, I ran a 42" plasma TV, a DirecTv box, a few box fans, and the occasional blender for about 4 hours and people thought I was wizard when I told them I didn't have a generator.

On the downside, the then $50 invertor bit the dust before the battery fully died.