BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

DaveHarris
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BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby DaveHarris » Sat Dec 06, 2014 3:08 pm

Whilst not strictly connected to P4 modelling I thought the following information might prevent someone having major problems!

I have today received an e mail from Doug Hewson of 5'' Ground Level Railway fame.

A friend of his has just suffered a major fire in his workshop, caused by a battery operated drill battery catching fire! It appears that whilst the battery was being charged it caught fire with disasterous results!

The insurance company are taking the drill manufacturer (Stanley) to court, as apparently there have been a number of similar such incidents recently.

Given that batteries for these sorts of tools are commonplace in many peoples homes/workshops and that like many such items whilst bearing the tool manufacturers logo are probably made by a third party it would seem prudent to ensure that if you have such a tool and need to re charge the battery that you do so in an area which will not allow a fire to take hold should such a malfunction occur!

Dave Harris

Terry Bendall
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby Terry Bendall » Sun Dec 07, 2014 9:09 am

One solution, although not always possible, is to make sure that the battery is only charged when you are in the vicinity. If two batteries are bought when the drill is purchased, one can be in use whilst the other is charging.

Terry Bendall

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LesGros
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby LesGros » Sun Dec 07, 2014 9:58 am

Does anyone know what type of battery was being charged?
LesG

The man who never made a mistake
never made anything useful

DaveHarris
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby DaveHarris » Sun Dec 07, 2014 10:39 am

I agree with your supervision comment Terry, but in truth how many of us keep an eye on batteries when they are being charged..... I think the vast majority of users are 'lazy' and assume nothing would ever happen to them.

Les... the battery was the standard li battery supplied with the drill as I understand the event. The underlying 'problem' will be that the battery/charger may be branded with the drill manufacturers name but will have been made by a third party which only someone like an insurance company/solicitor will be able to ferret deep enough to find out who it was and what detail design was involved, and hopefully prove a design fault by employing a technical expert.

My post was just to remind everyone to be careful with any of this type of tool range(from any manufacturer) that employs such batteries and chargers as a power source.


Dave H

dal-t
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby dal-t » Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:23 am

The lithium-ion charging problem goes much wider than tool batteries, and more frequently (because there are more of them 'in the wild') manifests with laptop or mobile phone batteries - but also occasionally with aircraft! Unless there is something exceptional about the Stanley arrangement, it isn't a design issue but more fundamental to the charging process. If the cells aren't properly balanced while charging the battery will overheat - and if there were an achievable solution to the problem, I doubt Boeing would have resorted to fitting fireproof 'shrouds' in the Dreamliner. I certainly follow Terry's advice, and never leave a charger unsupervised.
David L-T

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Re6/6
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby Re6/6 » Sun Dec 07, 2014 12:53 pm

I am paranoid about such things now after having had a Makita battery exploding with a 'pop' and then catching fire quite spectacularly whilst being charged. It was the second one to do that although it was even more elderly.

I threw the whole lot into the garden and it remained smouldering and hot for some hours. The battery was relatively elderly (10 years) so perhaps they do 'degenerate' with time.

I always charge even the newer DeWalt batteries (fast charge) outside the house now and only when I'm about to keep an eye on it.
John

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Paul Willis
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby Paul Willis » Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:15 pm

Re6/6 wrote:I am paranoid about such things now after having had a Makita battery exploding with a 'pop' and then catching fire quite spectacularly whilst being charged. It was the second one to do that although it was even more elderly.

I threw the whole lot into the garden and it remained smouldering and hot for some hours. The battery was relatively elderly (10 years) so perhaps they do 'degenerate' with time.


My wife was racing at Silverstone in 2011 when one of the TT Electric bikes caught fire in the paddock.

http://www.ttwebsite.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=11371

This was a brand new bike, with brand new state of the art Lithium batteries in it. Several tens of thousands of pounds of technology up in smoke...

The difficult thing was actually putting it out. Nothing at all would quell the fire. And this was in a race paddock where people are used to and experienced in things catching fire in novel and unusual ways.

The advice of Terry to have a spare battery is what I always do with power tools, as it saves frustration on the job as well. It's noticeable that the Bosch charger that I have for this runs a cooling fan whilst it's charging as well.

Be careful out there...
Cheers
Flymo
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk

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LesGros
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby LesGros » Sun Dec 07, 2014 6:40 pm

Flymo wrote:
...The difficult thing was actually putting it out. Nothing at all would quell the fire...

There has been a number of similar reports in the RC flying community. When a L- ion cell overheats and ignites, it produces an extremely hot fire ( like magnesium). The advice given, is to always charge in a fire-safe location. Also to be vigilant and reject without charging if there is any swelling of the cells. In the event that a fire does start, stand well clear, and wait until the white hot battery fire subsides, then use a fire extinguisher to save what is left of the model, and surroundings. It is also advised that In-model-charging is best avoided.

Given the modern risk averse " 'elf 'n safety" culture, it seems amazing that these L-ion batteries were ever approved for sale; and without a huge health warning attached :shock:
LesG

The man who never made a mistake
never made anything useful

Terry Bendall
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Re: BATTERY OPERATED DRILLS !

Postby Terry Bendall » Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:12 am

DaveHarris wrote: but in truth how many of us keep an eye on batteries when they are being charged.....


I agree Dave. The problem is that a lot of accidents and incidents like this happen when we least expect them. Yes there is a lot of rubbish said about health and safety but having spent 12 years advising schools and colleges about health and safety in workshops, it is often the unexpected that catches you out. The growth in on-board power for locos for example could be another area where such things could happen. :(

Terry Bendall


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