I Fell Asleep With My Pants On!

[christo930]

I had some spare batteries in my pants pocket along with keys. I had always heard not to put batteries loose in your pocket, but like most, I ignore safety advice thinking it will never happen. Well in the middle of the night I woke up in my easy chair thinking I must have dropped a lit cigarette near my pocket and I jumped up banging my pocket trying to put out the fire that wasn't there. My leg was burning, so I thought an ember went through into my pocket, so I reached in and felt 2 scolding hot batteries and fished them out. I actually have a burn mark on my leg. The moral of the story, don't carry batteries loose in your pocket, especially with keys or change.

Chris

 

[senquack]

Another caveat: never overfill a Zippo lighter and sleep with it in your pocket, or you might end up with a 6" blister.

 

[Mr. Ksoft]

Wow. I had actually never heard that it was a safety hazard to do so, and I do it all the time when I have my GP2X with me.

I guess I'll take that plastic battery case that came in the box along with me (although it makes the batteries go clunkclunkclunk in my pocket all day long)

 

[zacaj]

Moral of the story: dont carry anything metal besides batteries in your pocket

 

[jbrodack]

how were the batteries hot?

 

[Samba Pa Ti]

they heat up when they discharge thru the keys/change

 

[Squidge]

how were the batteries hot?

Take some batteries, short them out by connecting metal between the + & -.

 

[scarath]

thats how u make cheap handwarmers in winter - Batts + Paper Clip = warm hands ... (btw i suggest not doing this)

granted u have to keep unplugging them or it hurts but what am i gonna buy battery powered heated gloves? i think not

 

[Alex.]

It's -20something Celsius here, might as well keep warm when waiting for the bus Thanks for the tip!

 

[Blah]

You'll want to use something thicker than a paper clip, or you'll get burned.

 

[christo930]

thats how u make cheap handwarmers in winter - Batts + Paper Clip = warm hands ... (btw i suggest not doing this)

granted u have to keep unplugging them or it hurts but what am i gonna buy battery powered heated gloves? i think not

What reallty sucks is that the batteries vent and they permanently loose charge capacity. These batteries were so hot they probably vented half or more of their power capacity away. They are probably 1250mah batteries now

edit:Of course, that venting possibly prevented a fire or 3rd degree burns on my leg, and possibly a fiery explosion. A new set is less than $10, what's my house worth? More importantly, what's my leg worth?

Chris

 

[Lint]

They usually explode when they're overcharged, I've never seen a battery exploding by discharging too quickly...
But I once exploded a NiCD battery on my bare hand, gez how I freaked out haha

 

[christo930]

They usually explode when they're overcharged, I've never seen a battery exploding by discharging too quickly...
But I once exploded a NiCD battery on my bare hand, gez how I freaked out haha

You're probably right on that point, but fire definitely can't be ruled out. As soon as something reaches ignition temperature a fire can easily start.

Chris

 

[christo930]

It's -20something Celsius here, might as well keep warm when waiting for the bus Thanks for the tip!

Where is here? Sounds freaking cold. I thought Philly was bad. 36 below freezing (-4). Too cold for me.

Chris