Are loose 18650 batteries safe?
In some countries they are about the most common type of battery on the market.
\$\begingroup\$
\$\endgroup\$
6
-
1\$\begingroup\$ Hello and welcome. Can I ask why you're specially interested in this battery size? It has the same properties as pretty much any battery of the same type and rating. \$\endgroup\$– jonathanjoCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 7:25
-
1\$\begingroup\$ Define "safe". Most things are if used correctly. \$\endgroup\$– FinbarrCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 7:42
-
1\$\begingroup\$ Downvoting this question because without further specification this makes no sense at all, from a technical POV. "Naked" 18650 cells are commonly manufactured and sold to companies that have the knowledge to use them safely in the final product or in battery packs with suitable protection circuits. Also voting to close because as it stands this is heavily opinion based. \$\endgroup\$– LorenzoDonati4Ukraine-OnStrikeCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 13:20
-
\$\begingroup\$ What are you trying to do? \$\endgroup\$– DKNguyenCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 13:24
-
1\$\begingroup\$ Please, before posting a question here, read the help center center and try to understand how to ask a good question for this site. This is not a consumer electronics forum and neither a general electronics forum. Several of the component that are used in electronics are unsafe if handled without the required knowledge. Naked cells are not meant as a consumer item and neither as a spare component for fixing faulty devices by the end user. \$\endgroup\$– LorenzoDonati4Ukraine-OnStrikeCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 13:24
|
Show 1 more comment
2 Answers
\$\begingroup\$
\$\endgroup\$
4
18650 batteries are lithium-based. All lithium-based batteries are dangerous to varying degrees.
Lithium batteries which are shorted, punctured, overheated, compressed or a number of other conditions may result in fire or explosions. Lithium fire is very difficult to extinguish.
They have been the cause of many incidents, including the infamous Samsung Note 7 which led it to be banned from flights, many cases of "hoverboards" and electric scooters bursting into flames, electric vehicles burning, early Boeing 787 batteries catching fire, a plane crash, and more.
That's the reason why IATA have limits and recommendations for the carriage of lithium-based batteries by passengers on airplanes (there are also rules for cargo).
Beyond the limits, note that those guidelines state:
Spare lithium batteries
Spare batteries must be individually protected to prevent short circuits by placement in the original retail packaging or by otherwise insulating terminals, e.g. by taping over exposed terminals or placing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch and carried in carry-on baggage only. Articles containing lithium cells or batteries, the primary purpose of which is to provide power to another device, e.g. power banks, are considered as spare batteries and are restricted to carry-on baggage only.
(emphasis mine)
Some 18650 batteries will have an internal protection circuit which will prevent some possible issues, but definitely not all. So they remain dangerous and should be handled with care.
18650 batteries are smaller than other types of lithium-based batteries so one would think they are less dangerous. Think again.
-
3\$\begingroup\$ Loose 18650 in pocket shorted by keys \$\endgroup\$– bobfluxCommented Apr 21, 2023 at 9:34
-
\$\begingroup\$ I never heard of AA and AAAs, of whatever composition, misbehaving like that. This must be the reason in the USA or Canada, when you ask at any retail counter for 18650s, well, you might as well ask for 18649s or 18651s: nobody will know what you are talking about. There must be some government ban on selling them retail. Thus all that are on the shelves are the familiar AA, AAA, etc. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 22, 2023 at 23:18
-
\$\begingroup\$ So just I would warn aliens to leave their 330-volt hair dryers back on their home planet, I would also warn Santa Claus not to bring any 18650-based radios or flashlights as gifts for USA or Canadians: stores there just don't sell that kind of battery. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 22, 2023 at 23:24
-
\$\begingroup\$ I mean 18650 are great batteries. Who would ever have expected them to be totally absent from certain otherwise advanced countries' stores? So, just like left-hand drive vs right-hand drive cars... wish someone would have told me before I drove up to the border... \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 22, 2023 at 23:32
\$\begingroup\$
\$\endgroup\$
4
No. Quoting the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Once shorted, loose cells can overheat ... resulting in fires, explosions, serious injuries and even death. [1]
While they might be the major battery on the market in some countries that doesn't make them safe.
-
1\$\begingroup\$ This answer is plain wrong, from a technical POV. This is not a general electronics consumer forum, many electronics component are not "safe" when handled incorrectly. Without further explanation this answer doesn't explain anything. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 21, 2023 at 13:20
-
1\$\begingroup\$ The source you cite is the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Naked cells should never ever be sold to consumers because they are not a consumer item. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 21, 2023 at 13:28
-
1\$\begingroup\$ Please, read well your source, they say "Rechargeable lithium cells without proper protection that are not installed in a device or as part of an integral battery (“loose cells”) ...". What they call "loose cells" (quoted in the original text) is clearly what in technical jargon are commonly known as naked cells, i.e. cells without a built-in protection circuit. The term loose cells is not commonly used in the field with a technical meaning. Cells that can be used safely by end-users are a.k.a. protected cells and embed a small PCB with protection circuitry. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 9:42
-
1\$\begingroup\$ BTW, "naked cells", aka as "unprotected cells" from reputable manufacturer are not usually completely unprotected, but they have some mechanical devices (like vents) to prevent (up to a point) catastrophic failures. You may find this link useful and also this. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 9:46