I have a BaseUs power bank and just noticed the magnetic ring busted through the plastic top. Not sure if that means the cells inside have swelled to cause this. I recently noticed when I tried charging this no lights lit up so I was figuring it was dead. 2 weeks later the charger has split through the top. It seems like it is still separating more and more so I want to dispose of this thing ASAP. Can I put this in the Home Depot recycling bin where they take rechargeable cells?
Wish I could figure out how to post pictures here but it’s not intuitive as there is no graphic icon to post pictures here.
They might have a special box or bag for damaged batteries, but usually that’s a good place to dispose of batteries.
It’s the horizontal bar with an upwards arrow.
On mobile I don’t see what you’re describing
Trying to upload the other picture but now get an error. Is there a limit or restriction of only one picture per thread?
Maybe for new users, the new user rules are pretty restrictive for your first couple posts to keep spambots in check…
Usually you can upload 5 pics in one go, and I have uploaded 20+ to a single post without issues already.
That definitely looks like a swollen battery. How long ago did you buy? Baseus should cover this under warranty. Often they even cover swollen batteries outside of warranty as they are a huge fire risk and they want them disposed of as soon as possible to avoid fires tainting their brand name… My mother’s Google Pixel did the same, half a year after warranty was over, and google sent a new phone no questions asked.
Either way, do not use (especially charge) this thing anymore. Keep it far away from flammable things, and see what Baseus says first, then dispose of (following local regulations for Li batteries, not in the household waste please 
) ASAP.
Actually I did a warranty replacement for this about a year ago since the power button was frozen but it would still take a charge and was usable except for the stuck power button that wouldn’t work. They sent a replacement and just told me to dispose of the one I posted here. Since it still worked I never thought twice until it recently started to bulge. I guess I will contact them and see what they say but that may take a week or more I just want to get this thing out of the house.
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You can reduce the chance of anything bad happening (basically to zero) if you discharge the powerbank slowly.
If you have anything that uses a constant 500mA or so I would do that - outside of the house ideally. Obviously do NOT recharge the powerbank again.
There are a couple of options that you could utilize prior to trying to take it anywhere. All of them should be conducted outside.
Shoot it.
Discharge it by plugging something in until it is dead.
Put it in a small container of salt water for a few days.
Leave it in the barbecue grill for a month.
Shoot it.
For the same reason you want to get out of your house, Home Depot doesn’t want it in their building.
Wouldn’t the salt water cause some kind of violent reation?
Yes, it’s terrible advice (as is shooting it).
Oeuf. That looks like it could be used as a coffee-mug warmer now…
Sure there’s a whole lot of claims about not putting these batteries in water or saltwater but unless you have evidence to the contrary, read em and weep. There are plenty more of these videos available. Lipo, lithium ion.
Don’t confuse the subject with primary lithium batteries.
Where’s the kaboom? There’s supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!
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But only once
With all the flooding that’s occured after Li-ion batteries started becoming common you’d think we would have heard of some of them going kaboom after being submerged in dirty water.
Same with all the cell phones and the like that have been lost in lakes etc…