9 Volt Battery Danger...Burned this guy's house down...

[k0ua]

WOW! I never thought a 9 volt battery, especially a used one would have enough energy to make that kind of heat. Now, I'm paranoid!

A few weeks ago, I got burned carrying some nicads that I had ripped out of a pack for recycling. I thought they were dead, and I never even clued in when something was burning me. Some strands of the the wires that had been used to connect them caused a cell to short. They seem even more dangerous then a 9 volt, because the whole outer case is a terminal (once you remove the paper wrapper) and very close to the other centre terminal, plus they can deliver some serious current!

I accidentally welded a AA nicad onto my gold class ring one day in the exact scenario you outlined where the outer coating plastic wrapper did not go completely over the outer casing up near the center contact. You should have seen me yanking that battery off of the ring and the ring off of my finger. It all happened really fast. That was the day I stopped carrying Nicads in my pocket. Nicads are particulary dangerous because even a small nicad like a AA has a short circuit current measured in Amps, due to their very low internal resistance, allowing for large current flows.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I spent some time awake in bed thinking about this. I am over fifty. Never in my life did I hear of such a thing. Everything ran on those batteries. Walkie talkies, radios, you name it. I built many a project with them, and probably had shorts from time to time. Nothing ever burst into flame. The leads from the battery connector are often really chinsy and they never melted.

Think of how many years these batteries have been in service. How many have been used and discarded. Billions? One Fire?

I am guessing that the cirsumstances for this "house fire" must have been very suitable to start a fire. I did not watch the whole thing. Did it say EXACTLY what happened?

Just thinking. Maybe it's this new concept of replacing (still good) batteries that has led to this.

Maybe, The laws of unintended consequences strike again!

 

[brin]

I spent some time awake in bed thinking about this. I am over fifty. Never in my life did I hear of such a thing. Everything ran on those batteries. Walkie talkies, radios, you name it. I built many a project with them, and probably had shorts from time to time. Nothing ever burst into flame. The leads from the battery connector are often really chinsy and they never melted.

I am guessing that the cirsumstances for this "house fire" must have been very suitable to start a fire. I did not watch the whole thing. Did it say EXACTLY what happened?

Yes it did...Watch the whole thing...too hard to explain.

 

[k0ua]

Just thinking. Maybe it's this new concept of replacing (still good) batteries that has led to this.

This is certainly a major contributing factor. But the design of the battery with both terminals on the top is certainly part of the problem too. If you want to be safe and sure, put some tape on them before discarding them.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I say again. There have been untold Billions of those same batteries discarded. All without tape! Never heard of a fire! They are nothing NEW! Besides, MOST electrical tape is so cheap that it could very easily come off, especially with the common practice of tearing off a piece.

 

[joemd11]

Home Depot takes batteries and CFL bulbs.

Thanks, never knew they did this.

 

[deerefan]

I say again. There have been untold Billions of those same batteries discarded. All without tape! Never heard of a fire! They are nothing NEW! Besides, MOST electrical tape is so cheap that it could very easily come off, especially with the common practice of tearing off a piece.

Think of this....maybe they did not trace the cause to the batteries. Cut the terminals off...advice I got from a trusted source.