Battery expanding [dodgy MP4 player]

[Fzero]

I had this old MP4 player which I ordered from China years ago, did use it for about a couple months, then it sat in a box for good few years, perhaps 6 or so years?

Anyway, doing a boot sale tomorrow and came across it again whilst digging through my drawers full of old tech and wires and stuff.

Found the original box for it it too, which had the usb charger, old USB Mini 4 Pin.

Charged it up to see if it still worked even, and literally after being connected for 1 minute I noticed it had opened up itself...

Disconnected it, as I feared it might be about to explode, don't need leaking battery all over the place.

Looking through the gap, can see some silver metal thing has expanded.

Got to be the battery, right?

Going in the bin anyway, glad I did try to charge it now rather than just sell it, in case some kid bought it from me and it did go pop when they tried charging it

Seems strange this would happen though as hardly used.

Reckon this was destined to happen after just a couple of charges, or you think it may be where it's say idle for years so just reached end of life?

 

[levi]

Yeah, it's because it's not been charged for years and that's given it enough time for it to self-discharge to dangerous levels. That said, I susupect there was something running on it, as I'm pretty bad at charging my old li-ion batteries regularly, and those don't seem to lose more than about 5% over four years or so left on their own.

 

[Null]

Going in the bin anyway

I'm glad I'm not your binman.

 

[Fzero]

Cheers Levi.

Going in the bin anyway

I'm glad I'm not your binman.

It's in a bag of [used] cat litter... within another bag, within a bin bag, within the wheelie bin full of bin bags.

He should be ok, but if it "does" go off as he loads it into the rubbish cart, he might get covered in cat poop. So yeah, be thankful

 

[Null]

but if it "does" go off as he loads it into the rubbish cart, he might get covered in cat poop.

 

[comradekingu]

I hope its the electronic waste bin.

 

[Fzero]

We don't have that level of recycling here yet kingu, not at residential level anyway.

My estate has 2 bins, one is for paper and also has a tray section inside for plastics, the other is for everything else

 

[levi]

I suppose WEEE regulations mean you should take old tech to the tip to allow it to be separated and recycled or disposed of properly, but in this particular case, I wouldn't particularly want anyone to be disassembling a potentially explosive battery, so perhaps sending it to landfill (in this very specific instance) is the best choice.

 

[comradekingu]

If you dont supply more voltage it will not catch on fire. Swelling of cells is very common.

Electronic waste.  It will be maybe seperated before getting ground up into different things.

Every single industrial nation in the world has it.

Here you go http://www.london.ca/residents/Garbage-Recycling/Recycling/Pages/Depots.aspx

 

[Nintendo]

I say, we shoot it all into outer space.

 

[Granitehead]

I suppose WEEE regulations mean you should take old tech to the tip to allow it to be separated and recycled or disposed of properly, but in this particular case, I wouldn't particularly want anyone to be disassembling a potentially explosive battery, so perhaps sending it to landfill (in this very specific instance) is the best choice.

That stuff actually goes to landfill in England?
Here around this kind of waste (i.e. non electronic, just general waste) is burned for energy.

 

[iprice]

That stuff actually goes to landfill in England?

Nope, it doesn't (and shouldn't go to landfill). There are numerous places to recycle batteries and your local council is obliged by European law to recycle them too. All major supermarkets and any shop that sells batteries by law, has to take old batteries for recycling. Town halls and libraries may also accept them.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/batteryrecycling-law-in-force-1885170.html

 

[Granitehead]

That stuff actually goes to landfill in England?

 Nope, it doesn't (and shouldn't go to landfill). There are numerous places to recycle batteries and your local council is obliged by European law to recycle them too. All major supermarkets and any shop that sells batteries by law, has to take old batteries for recycling. Town halls and libraries may also accept them.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/batteryrecycling-law-in-force-1885170.html

About the batteries, I was just taking it for granted that you aren't supposed to throw them in the normal bin. No, I was talking about the other waste. But I guess the article you linked says it:"are thrown into domestic bins and end up in landfill"

So it seems you do in fact put most of your waste in landfill.

A relative of mine has a job cleaning up a landfill. Not just landfill in general, one single location. He has had that job for at least 10 years I think and the entire project is incredibly expensive, with water collection measures to protect the water supply of a nearby city, halls built over the waste which are under-pressured so nothing gets out if I remember correctly, the vehicles and machines which drive around inside the hall have air supplies and to get into the hall you need to go through a system which looks like it belongs on a space station, to keep dubious gases in and air out.

There were several fires over the years, some worse than others and you never know when another one starts.

But that was a chemical landfill, ones with just normal household waste will be less dangerous - but they can still poison the water supply and sooner or later you'll want to get rid of it, which will still cost huge amounts.

 

[levi]

It varies by regions and councils in the UK I believe. Some places I know definitely incinerate their unrecyclable waste, but I don't know about where I live now.


Since my council started taking general plastic waste for recycling, I generate about twice as much separated recyclable waste as I do unrecyclable waste (and my unrecyclables are almost 100% biodegradable by weight). As I understand it, both my recyclable and unrecyclable waste may well get put on a boat and sailed down the river to China or other cheaper places these days, where they may burn it or it may go into landfill there, but I don't know if that includes my waste.

 

[dimag0g]

We don't have that level of recycling here yet kingu, not at residential level anyway.

My estate has 2 bins, one is for paper and also has a tray section inside for plastics, the other is for everything else

I don't have an electronics wastebin at my residence either, but that doesn't necessarily means it's impossible to recycle. I regularly walk/drive to dispose of glass bottles and jars for example. It's probably too late now (considering the cat poop), but think of doing a better job next time.

First thing I would try is the shopping mall, they usually take away old gadgets of reasonable size. Don't hesitate to ask them. Otherwise, you will have to discover where your local junkyard is.

And don't worry too much, your charger could not possibly generate enough energy for an exploion in a couple of minutes. Just don't pierce the foil (that silver metal), and if you do, don't inhale from the thing.

 

[Fzero]

We don't have that level of recycling here yet kingu, not at residential level anyway.

My estate has 2 bins, one is for paper and also has a tray section inside for plastics, the other is for everything else

I don't have an electronics wastebin at my residence either, but that doesn't necessarily means it's impossible to recycle. I regularly walk/drive to dispose of glass bottles and jars for example. It's probably too late now (considering the cat poop), but think of doing a better job next time.

First thing I would try is the shopping mall, they usually take away old gadgets of reasonable size. Don't hesitate to ask them. Otherwise, you will have to discover where your local junkyard is.

And don't worry too much, your charger could not possibly generate enough energy for an exploion in a couple of minutes. Just don't pierce the foil (that silver metal), and if you do, don't inhale from the thing.

Yeah I do use my recycle bin, which takes paper/cardboard/plastics/glass... which is most the things I have daily and are recyclable.

Then fairly often I drive to the local dump to throw larger items away and bits of wood and stuff. It's only a couple minutes drive from me and quite like it there, seeing what stuff people have thrown [like scalextric kit, and a while back someone had thrown a boxed Gamegear :huh:  , I tried to get it from the guy working there but he had his eye on it himself of course].

Electronics I don't often throw away, I'm a hoarder and have draws full of 'bits n bobs', a lot of which I'll never use or are beyond use ... but still

I was a bit hasty to get this into the bin, or at least out of my flat, as I did fear it might explode on me, which is why I didn't want to leave it in my kitchen where I keep stuff ready to recycle.

Good to know that it probably would've been ok though, so long as didn't pierce it.

...Once I had a mercury pen explode in my face which wasn't fun, emergency trip to A&E then had a silver face for a couple of days despite some serious scrubbing I had visions of something similar happening with this MP4 player

 

[Gruntfuggly]

I had an Apple Macbook Pro battery expand like that, except that it wasn't even being charged...  h34r:

 

[iprice]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuu...

 

[comradekingu]

Recycling is to gain resources from something that would be otherwise scrap.

Not polluting the land or sea with environmentally hazardous things is what should be avoided, recycling or not.

 

[Orkekum]

i had this happen to a portable 3g modem  :rolleyes:

except it was being fully charged for long amounts fo time, and now and then nearly or completely discharged

Not too good for lipo

Good it didn't catch fire tho!

I used to fly RC planes, and there we use a lotta LiPo batteries(great powersource) and you need to use a special charger, if quick charging, because a lipo fire is quite bad!