CPSC warning highlights fire risk of loose 18650 lithium-ion batteries of
From the article, “When they come in contact with metal objects, such as keys or loose change in the pocket, they could short-circuit and overheat. That could then cause the cells to spew out burning materials.” Before I got into this hobby, common sense dictated this to be a potential hazard with most power cells I had encountered.
For those who gift or resell lithium powered flashlights, please always warn the person about the dangers of creating a short circuit and its potential consequences.
I have tried this ‘educating or advising’ many times with people, friends and online (deal sites usually) - largely they giggle and ignore everything you have told them, or worse mock you for being an overbearing nerd.
Most ignore every word.
Sadly, that is how humans work as a rule - tell them one thing, they revolt and do the other - covid19 rules would be a prime example.
You can’t help people who don’t want to be helped/advised.
So many people scoff at you—think the lithium ion is just an oversized AA.
I’ve been fooling around with Ebike Cell Packs and some solar —I was amazed that these guys revive old cells that below 2 volt — On their forum I’m not very popular on that topic —- I’m like where I come from below 2.4 - 2.5 I throw in the trash — especially if they’ve been sitting that low
To cull hipsters - let them contend with the Darwin Awards.
C’mon, loose batteries in pockets?
Stoopit is as stoopit does. You could make ’em take a 2hr course before they’re allowed to buy any Li cells, and they’ll still stick ’em in their drawer that’s filled with loose change, keys, and their paperclip collection.
And they’ll still come back and try suing you into oblivion if anything bad happens. And given idiot juries, they’ll likely win.
Well we still only require a 25 question, multiple choice test and a 15 minute drive around the block, to give you control of a 2 ton vehicle. Lithium Ion batteries are the least of their worries.
Or in otherwords you cant educate stupid, one day single cell sales to individuals might be stopped if you follow that articles last line.
Edward A. Murphy Jr, who sat long enough behind a desk to achieve the rank of major, is best known for his namesake Murphy’s law, which is said to state, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. Being just the sugar coated version of what he really said.
At a given time he was responsible for a new system of measuring G-forces on the human body. Nothing of the trial was measured and recorded because his assistant made an error in connecting the wires. Though preceding the incident Murphy several times turned down the explicit invitation to check his assistant. Which didn’t make him popular with the test team (who put their lives on the line). He publicly lashed out to his assistent, saying: “If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will.” Which his son later tried to play down (a bit) to: “If there’s more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then he will do it that way.”.
Morale: Sometimes unintentional acts or pure negligence can cause more damage than the best planned criminal intentions. And Darwin takes care of the rest.
Why do I get the feeling authoritarian fascists are going to ban our batteries and make expensive toys into expensive bricks? It’s already hard enough to find these batteries, we don’t need Uncle Sam’s “help”.
This has been simmering for years now - it really kicked off with those ‘hover boards’ I think. No one to blame there but the Chinese, their shortcuts, lies, fakes and cutting corners on safety.
Then a long came vaping…… numerous morons walking around with spare batteries loose in their pocket, or un locked out vapes. Funny, it only takes 0.10p silicone case to secure a battery from short circuit, but would they buy it…no.
That is when it spilled big time into the public domain here, falshlights aren’t even in the equation.
Seems strange to me theses batteries haven’t got ‘safer to use’ ie, in some sort of wrapping that would not allow shorts - for example the + and - ends sunk 5-10mm down so it would make it much harder (devices would obviously have to be modified too - but you have to start somewhere)
Most people do not understand the dangers. I think branding them stupid idiots is unhelpful. People know what they know.
The community is part of the problem. On r/flashlight every day newbies are encouraged to buy 18650 flashlights, incl full-FET pocket rockets etc. Very few are informed of the potential dangers. I think many of the prolific posters - those giving the purchase advice - are themselves ignorant.
This brings us back to the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument.
I’d be happy if people stopped trying to delete darwinism via authoritarianism.
Heresy! Doubleplusungoodthink!
Don’t you realise Our Most Benevolent Government is looking out for you? It wants, no, needs to protect you, even from yourself!
Feel the Authoritarian Love that Our Benevolent Leaders have for you. Warm yourself with it. Go back to sleep. Sleeeeep. Rest easy, knowing that others know better than you do what’s best for you.
Wellp, everyone wants simple answers to a complex problem, and that itself is a problem.
Mfrs are cranking out pocket-rockets, because every shaved ape wants a killer flashlight that’ll light up a football field, that heats up like a curling iron in seconds. No mfr wants to be left behind in sales. Responsible mfrs will build in thermal regulation, but the crap you see out there often doesn’t have it, and is sold with rewrapped crapcells that themselves are probably a few degrees from self-immolation.
If you give a monkey a gun, you can’t really blame the monkey, or the gun, but it’s the combo that has Bad Results.
And all it’ll take is some idiot to leave his light on to overcook and burn down an apartment house, and you know The Media will run with that sensationalised story about High-Powered Flashlights™ causing mass destruction. Oh so willing politicritters will jump on that, too, and fill the need with New Legislation to bring this modern scourge under control.
Both the media and pollies are parasites who create jobs for themselves. Clickbait or watchbait (“10 things in your kitchen that can kill your children! News at 11…”) promotes these oversensationalised stories, creating “problems” that are nearly nonexistent in the Real World. It’s likely that more people die from choking on hotdogs than are killed by exploding e-cigs or flashlights, yet it’s the latter that gets blown infinitely out of proportion. And pollies do the same, as no one would stand for banning hotdogs, but e-cigs, vaping equipment, or the dreaded Assault Flashlight? Easy marks.
But when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Ban it! Ban it! Ban it! Make it illegal! All will then be right in the world, all sunshine and puppies.
Solution? None, really, except to call out the media-whores and pollies for what they are, professional parasites who do what they do to create work for themselves at the expense of everyone else.
A quote from Carlin—-“Half the people are stupid; and half of them are even stupider than that.”
What’s worse—-Ain’t no cure for stupid.
Perception manipulation. 
I would accept that as an axiom.
Yea I know I’m not bright enough to use lithium ion so I’ve stuck with nimh. Just wish the manufacturers would do some innovation for AA lightss.