Fire department warns about batteries
The Montreal fire department is now warning us against charging devices overnight because of the fire hazard of lithium batteries.
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Kate
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JaneyB 20:43 on 2024-09-25 Permalink
I didn’t know that overnight was a problem or that there have been so many fires. I guess I could put a timer on the plug.
dhomas 04:01 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
The problem is using cheap, uncertified chargers. But I also suspect cheap, uncertified devices like escooters. Most modern phones are pretty safe, if they are not physically damaged. And many recent phones have “adaptive charging”, to protect the battery from overheating which is not only a fire risk but also affects battery longevity. A tip for buying chargers (or anything else electronic) online: make sure it has certification, at least UL but preferably CSA. A lot of garbage sold on Amazon does not have these certifications. These devices are potentially dangerous and might even be cause for insurance claim refusal. I don’t understand how they are even allowed to be sold here.
Kate 08:45 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
It would help if the fire department could divide up these battery fires by type. I’m still going to be charging my iphone at night most of the time.
dhomas 09:06 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
I think the risk is pretty low. Consider the teenage and adult population of Montreal (people 15 and above) as 1.5 million (the census numbers put it at 1,492,525). Let’s say each of these people have a mobile phone (not all will, but some will have a smartphone and a tablet or laptop, for example, so I’ll count the full 1.5M). Let’s say not all these people charge their phones every day, but let’s say maybe 300 out of 365 days per year. That would mean about 450M charge cycles per year. And of those charge cycles, there were 40 fires, according to the SIM. That’s 0.09 fire events per million. The number is so small that is it almost negligible. And that’s not even considering that we don’t have a breakdown by type of device: smartphone, tablet, laptop, ebike, escooter, electric cars, etc. Lots of things use lithium batteries. I wouldn’t be too concerned, but we should still educate folks on proper care for their electronic devices. For example, if your phone has a bloated battery or if the outer casing has been damaged to the point of exposing the battery, don’t charge it. Some regulation on selling appropriately tested devices would also help. Like I mentioned above, Amazon and other sell a ton of questionable stuff that is not certified by any authority.
walkerp 09:57 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
One would think the fire department would be better at risk assessment.
Joey 10:00 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
Kate, if you are running iOS 16, which you probably are if you are using an iPhone 8 or newer and have done a software update in the last two years, your device will automatically stop charging if the phone is either too hot or too cold.
Blork 10:20 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
Yeah, my understanding (based on reading about this in multiple places for several years) is that the risk is very low for simply charging a phone or iPad, especially the newer ones that prevent overcharging (as dhomas mentioned). The greater risk comes with using the wrong charger or a cheap off-brand charger, or if you changed your battery for an off-brand battery.
Same applies to e-bike batteries. While they shouldn’t be left to charge overnight, the greatest risk comes from using the wrong charger (or a damaged charger) or if the battery itself has been damaged. Also risky is using home-made batteries or batteries that come from off-brand and/or unverified sources.
dhomas 11:44 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
Here’s an example of a no-name charger sold on Amazon catching fire:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/customer-reviews/R1LD5PCTF62IE7/
You can see in a photo review that this charger has zero certification:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/customer-reviews/R8YVRXI0WTO6Q/
It should have one of these two markings on the device itself, to be certified “safe”:
https://www.testandmeasurementtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/csa-ul.jpg
Ian 13:40 on 2024-09-26 Permalink
@Joey Samsung phones shut off charging if too hot or cold, too.