Tough love for the industry's lithium addiction

[Joe Baumeli]

I can’t go back and find it, too many posts. But my recollection is that I twice read quotes saying the customers had done a night dive, and only later the idea of the crew doing a night dive crept in as “I thought I heard” rather than an actual knowledgeable assertion. Nothing to say both couldn’t have occurred.

• DO NOT charge rechargeable alkaline batteries while they are still in the flashlight. Charging the alkaline batteries while they are still in the flashlight can cause internal gas or heat generation resulting in venting, explosion or possibly fire which could cause serious injury or property

 

[Joe Baumeli]

Are there ANY flashlights using rechargeable alkalines that are even capable of being charged without removing the batteries? I know of only lithium batteries in closed, charge-in-the-flashlight, lights.

Yes

2010N Nemo™ Dive Light | Pelican

 

[Joe Baumeli]

Are there ANY flashlights using rechargeable alkalines that are even capable of being charged without removing the batteries? I know of only lithium batteries in closed, charge-in-the-flashlight, lights.

Orca torch d550
Plugs right into your laptop

 

[ijdod]

Yes

2010N Nemo™ Dive Light | Pelican

That looks like a dime-a-dozen light to me, running on standard batteries. Those can be rechargeable, but not in the light itself.

To be honest, I didn't even know (formally; sold as such) rechargeable alkaline batteries was a thing, which apparently it is. I did know you could practically do so a few times, as I did that as a kid, but that was... well outside of spec and intended use. I would not charge those inside of anything, nasty stuff tended to come out at some point.

Orca torch d550
Plugs right into your laptop

That would be a lithium 18650. Please stop.

 

[Joe Baumeli]

That looks like a dime-a-dozen light to me, running on standard batteries. Those can be rechargeable, but not in the light itself.

To be honest, I didn't even know (formally; sold as such) rechargeable alkaline batteries was a thing, which apparently it is. I did know you could practically do so a few times, as I did that as a kid, but that was... well outside of spec and intended use. I would not charge those inside of anything, nasty stuff tended to come out at some point.


That would be a lithium 18650. Please stop.

Right...what I am saying is if you incorrectly put in an alkaline battery into a rechargeable flashlight it can be dangerous

 

[tursiops]

Yes

2010N Nemo™ Dive Light | Pelican

Yes, that uses alkalines. But are they charged in the light? It appears they are removed to charge...
It is kind of old technology, too.

 

[tursiops]

Right...what I am saying is if you incorrectly put in an alkaline battery into a rechargeable flashlight it can be dangerous

That flashlight is not rechargeable. It is a light that can use rechargeable batteries, but that is not how it is intended to be used.

 

[Londy]

Orca torch d550
Plugs right into your laptop

Where did you get that crazy and wrong idea from?

 

[StefinSB]

Orca torch d550
Plugs right into your laptop

This is just plain wrong. It doesn’t plug “right into your laptop” but uses a standard 18650 that needs to be charged outside of the light.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Something to read: https://publicsafety.tufts.edu/ehs/files/The-Hazards-of-Lithium-Batteries.pdf
Something to think about:
From: Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires

Lithium-ion batteries are a technical and a commercial success enabling a number of applications from cellular phones to electric vehicles and large scale electrical energy storage plants. The occasional occurrences of battery fires have, however, caused some concern especially regarding the risk for spontaneous fires and the intense heat generated by such fires1–5. While the fire itself and the heat it generates may be a serious threat in many situations, the risks associated with gas and smoke emissions from malfunctioning lithium-ion batteries may in some circumstances be a larger threat, especially in confined environments where people are present, such as in an aircraft, a submarine, a mine shaft, a spacecraft or in a home equipped with a battery energy storage system. The gas emissions has however only been studied to a very limited extent.

An irreversible thermal event in a lithium-ion battery can be initiated in several ways, by spontaneous internal or external short-circuit, overcharging, external heating or fire, mechanical abuse etc. This may result in a thermal runaway caused by the exothermal reactions in the battery6–10, eventually resulting in a fire and/or explosion. The consequences of such an event in a large Li-ion battery pack can be severe due to the risk for failure propagation11–13. The electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery is flammable and generally contains lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) or other Li-salts containing fluorine. In the event of overheating the electrolyte will evaporate and eventually be vented out from the battery cells. The gases may or may not be ignited immediately. In case the emitted gas is not immediately ignited the risk for a gas explosion at a later stage may be imminent. Li-ion batteries release a various number of toxic substances14–16 as well as e.g. CO (an asphyxiant gas) and CO2 (induces anoxia) during heating and fire. At elevated temperature the fluorine content of the electrolyte and, to some extent, other parts of the battery such as the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) binder in the electrodes, may form gases such as hydrogen fluoride HF, phosphorus pentafluoride (PF5) and phosphoryl fluoride (POF3). Compounds containing fluorine can also be present as e.g. flame retardants in electrolyte and/or separator17, in additives and in the electrode materials, e.g. fluorophosphates18,19, adding additional sources of fluorine.