Lithium ion battery explosion in my garage.

[henni]

What type of fire extinguisher used?
Element E50/E100 appear to be documented as not leaving corrosive/damaging 'cleanup' and our hybrids carry the E50

 

[Snagglefoot]

From the manual of an EGO 56 Volt Charger:

When the battery pack is fully charged the the two LED Indicators will shine green continuously. The power indicator pack will go out. Wait until the cooling fan stops, remove the battery pack from the charger and disconnect the charger from the power supply.

 

[Pablo]

In my experience, I have never seen a genuine power tool battery catch fire or explode. Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, Bosch, etc. very harsh conditions, charged in the heat and sun, in buildings, on generators, etc. Lithium, NICD, NIMH, none.

The only one I every saw close to an issue was in fact an old NIMH Makita battery, but that is becuase the fella threw the battery in his tool bag and touched I think a pair of pliers just right, and sparked........but no smoke no boom.

Evidently, Lithium batteries and water are a no no. I dropped my Milwaukee m18 sawzall in a "pool" once, maybe 5 ft deep.......the battery never worked again, but also did not go boom.

I dropped an M18 battery off of a man lift, maybe 15-20 ft up, direct on concrete..........case was smashed, internals looked mangled.........but it still worked for a bit, then it died, no boom.

I have seen fake knock off Milwaukee tools from China melt. One day I saw A guy with what I knew was a knock off Milwaukee tool.....it was an area light. Said he got it on Ebay for 20 bucks. Using an m18 9.0AH battery, the light melted in the period of about 5 minutes, and destroyed the $250 dollar battery.

EXACTLY. Good post.

 

[nickaluch]

Another reason I bought one of the last gas Honda mowers

 

[CT Rob]

no one got hurt and house didnt burn down so thats what matters.

 

[John105]

Man, I'm really sorry to see this. Stinks. It's likely the last thing on one's mind, but probably something should be filed against the mfg. If nothing more than to get it recalled or for other owners to be aware.

edit: p.s. the car is a bummer, is it a 6 liter? I remember seeing them being driven and transported to the NJ State Police, when I first started at my current job, so had to be 2011 or so. I really liked those cars. I would be feeling the same about my LS430, simply because I can't simply go and buy one in the same shape as mine, and I plan on keeping it forever. Hope this gets sorted out.

 

[shurguywutt]

In my experience, I have never seen a genuine power tool battery catch fire or explode. Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, Bosch, etc.

Buddy of mine was charging his newer Dewalt battery in the garage on top of his chest freezer. Thing burst into flames. Thank the good Lord he pulled up a few minutes later from work opening the automatic garage door. He was able to scoop it up with a shovel and throw it outside. Freezer and the food was trashed. After a couple months back and forth Dewalt sent a $500 gift card I believe, what a joke!

 

[rijndael]

After a couple months back and forth Dewalt sent a $500 gift card I believe, what a joke!

This kind of "gift" usually comes with a (hidden) string of releasing them from liability.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I'm glad everyone was OK and the damage is minimal. Having 3 fire extinguishers handy is a great idea and a reminder I should stock up just in case.

What the mileage on the Carpice? I can run a valuation to see how much it's worth. I doubt it's a total though. Bumper + spoiler refinish, new tail light, and possibly refinish decklid and quarter. I'd write for a new tire as well just to be safe.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

Wow that is awful, OP. Glad nobody was hurt or worse. Your story and others' on here makes me nervous about the batteries now. Do you think this an issue generally limited to cheaper Chinesium batteries or just Li batteries in general? I'm gonna talk to my wife tonight and I think we're gonna re-think what we leave charging at home when we're out. We have 3 rescue cats we adopted a few years ago and my biggest fear is always if a fire broke out while we were at work or whatever. We live in an apt complex so there's that, too.

Forgot to mention we never leave anything running when we're out, like washer or dryer. But I'm pretty sure like everyone else we have Li batteries in lots of devices.

 

[ls1mike]

I'm glad everyone was OK and the damage is minimal. Having 3 fire extinguishers handy is a great idea and a reminder I should stock up just in case.

What the mileage on the Carpice? I can run a valuation to see how much it's worth. I doubt it's a total though. Bumper + spoiler refinish, new tail light, and possibly refinish decklid and quarter. I'd write for a new tire as well just to be safe.

Needs a tire, trunk lid is perfect. 2014, 90,000 miles. Never in police service.
I have 3 in each garage. People think I'm weird I am but not this time.

 

[ls1mike]

What type of fire extinguisher used?
Element E50/E100 appear to be documented as not leaving corrosive/damaging 'cleanup' and our hybrids carry the E50

 

[ls1mike]

Man, I'm really sorry to see this. Stinks. It's likely the last thing on one's mind, but probably something should be filed against the mfg. If nothing more than to get it recalled or for other owners to be aware.

edit: p.s. the car is a bummer, is it a 6 liter? I remember seeing them being driven and transported to the NJ State Police, when I first started at my current job, so had to be 2011 or so. I really liked those cars. I would be feeling the same about my LS430, simply because I can't simply go and buy one in the same shape as mine, and I plan on keeping it forever. Hope this gets sorted out.

Cammed, stalled, exhaust 6.0

 

[Exhaustgases]

No I don't wish bad stuff on anyone. But I'm glad this happened somewhat, and it wasn't too bad destruction wise. To wake everyone up to the dangers.
I can't stand Li battery's. I just hope this incident wakes some people up here on this site about the dangers of these stinking batterys that are in almost everything. Never charge any Li batter inside a building you care about. And same goes for storage.
Watch StacheD training on youtube and learn about all the destruction they have caused.

I know someone that was burned on leg from a phone in the pocket. Doesn't matter the country of origin or brand they are like a mouse trap ready to snap.

EV's and Hybrids should all have Nmh battery's not Li. All the older Toyota's always used Nmh. Who knows now.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Needs a tire, trunk lid is perfect. 2014, 90,000 miles. Never in police service.
I have 3 in each garage. People think I'm weird I am but not this time.

JD Power came in at $10,500 and I ran a few comps which averaged around $13k.

Mind you the comps include police vehicles, so if I did an extensive search for non police service examples, the price would likely be much higher, maybe $16k+.

I bet an insurance value would be sub $10k. I doubt the car is totaled, but loop me in if they go in that direction!

 

[ls1mike]

JD Power came in at $10,500 and I ran a few comps which averaged around $13k.

Mind you the comps include police vehicles, so if I did an extensive search for non police service examples, the price would likely be much higher, maybe $16k+.

I bet an insurance value would be sub $10k. I doubt the car is totaled, but loop me in if they go in that direction!

I appreciate it!! I will let you know.

 

[Dborch41]

Why is it that small battery powered scooters, etc have a propensity to catch fire?

They are popular gifts for kids so there's a high demand but are not cheap to build, at least not with any quality. That means they are designed at a price point and using the cheapest possible components, especially the battery cells, is the primary way to keep costs down. Add to this the abuse they naturally receive during "normal" use (remember, we're talking kids here), including getting regularly discharged down to nothing then fully recharged with an equally sketchy charger, and it all starts to add up. Plus it's a fairly large battery compared to the average cordless tool so there is that much more energy at play. I'm sure the typical storage situation plays a role as well, as per the OP's incident.