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MausBomb t1_j7n0rol wrote

Reply to comment by CBSnews in 4 people taken to hospital after battery fire forces United flight to return to San Diego by Icewear_Daddy

Things maintained well almost never catch fire for no reason, but the amount of people who still try to use a battery that they have dropped several times, left in the washer at least once, and then use a cable with exposed wiring makes me wonder why there aren't more battery fires out there.

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SidewaysFancyPrance t1_j7nfwxy wrote

This is why they don't allow any lithium batteries in checked baggage anymore - too dangerous. If this had happened in the cargo hold, that could have taken down the whole plane. They need to be in the cabin as carry-on where a fire could be detected and addressed quickly (like in this case).

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pineapplepredator t1_j7pe3gv wrote

I didn’t know this about dropping the batteries. I’ve also never used an external battery for my laptop. But makes me wonder about my external battery for my phone that I take everywhere.

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theory_until t1_j7q7mav wrote

Might be a good idea to keep these things in battery bags.

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needabiggerhammer t1_j7qbvd3 wrote

If it starts getting warmer than when new during charging or usage replace it. Or if it ever, even brand new, gets to "that's pretty warm (before hot)".

I'm lazy though so I just replace things like that yearly. They aren't expensive. In theory you should get a few thousand charge cycles so that is overkill, but I like the piece of mind.

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5zepp t1_j7v7cba wrote

Sure, but the sheer number of super low quality chinese vape pens and batteries makes me wonder why there aren't more fires in general. I do have a buddy whose apartment had a major fire stated by someone's vape pen left charging too long.

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