ALERT Must DO ASAP:Collect junk drwr loose batteries around house before one burns house down!

ainitfunny

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
Accidentally posted this to wrong board, should I delete on other board?
I talked to my sister last night and she told me about an old guy living in their area who LOST HIS WHOLE HOUSE to a fire started by a battery shorted out by other junk in a junk drawer and which then started a fire which consumed the whole house.

I was SHOCKED. I KNOW that deliberately shorting out a battery is a good way to ignite a fire in an emergency/SHTF situation, but my mind did not follow through to perceive the danger from ACCIDENTALLY allowing a battery to short circuit due to other metal around it.
But for the grace of God, my house did not burn down years ago. I probably have a hundred or more batteries (good, charged ones) in most every miscellaneous drawer in the house (in my purse) coat pockets, and also in boxes all over the place. I just did not think of the potential fire hazard. I HAVE A MAJOR PURGE OF THIS HOUSE TO DO, searching for dangerous battery situations. They should all be put in a place where they cannot ground out and will not pose a fire hazard if they do. IN ZIPLOCK BAG INSIDE COOKIE TIN?

Just a heads up in case you also just 'didn't think about that' when you stuck batteries in your coat pocket to "test" stuff you found at yard sales, but left them in your coat pocket after you got home.

I like to learn from OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES but I had never heard of that one before.
I shudder to think the inferno that loose batteries in a COAT POCKET with keys, other metal stuff in pocket might ignite a whole closet full of coats/clothes and not be noticed for a while with closet door closed!!!!
 
bw

bw

Fringe Ranger
Depending on the style of power plug on your cell phone, your change can sometimes short the contacts.
 
Tex88

Tex88

Veteran Member
I learned that as a kid many decades ago when the spare AA's for my Walkman rubbed together with the keys in my pocket and suddenly my leg felt _extremely_ warm.

And for modern times, a gadget of mine went through a continuous power on self test cycle because it couldn't find the operating system (long boring and convoluted story), which caused the battery to overcharge and swell up. Almost cracked the case of the device and poisoning me in the process, as the car A/C kept blowing the fumes across said gadget and towards me. Took the battery out and ordered a replacement.
 
ainitfunny

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
YOU CAN IMAGINE how TINY the battery in an electronic cigarette is.
I disassembled an e-cig (that i was going to throw away) just to see if, in a SHTF situation, without matches I could use a tiny battery to ignite an emergency fire.
IT WORKED, even though the ecig battery was so low on charge that it did not light the end of the e-cig!

THAT TELLS YOU that it does NOT require a big battery to start a big fire!! Even button cells and tiny batteries, in the right circumstance can start a BIG FIRE.
 
buttie

buttie

Veteran Member
I worked a fire that was started by 2 AA batteries in a toy car. Mom took the car away from the kids and stuck it in the closet and the switch got stuck on.
 
Wise Owl

Wise Owl

Deceased
We store all our batteries in small, flat plastic bags then secure that bag tightly around them with masking tape to hold them together side by side so they can touch each other or anything else. Or in the package they came in with tape on that. Never just loose.
 
bbbuddy

bbbuddy

DEPLORABLE ME
There are cheap plastic battery boxes on Amazon to hold your excess batteries.
We went to ask rechargeable AA + AAA batteries for as much stuff as possible, and they ask live in those boxes after being recharged and not yet in use. Each battery has a separate compartment so they can't touch.
 
Flippper

Flippper

Time Traveler
I've been shocked by a fair number of electrical wires/outlets/devices in my life, but none were so severe as the time I took apart a disposable camera and accidentally touched the battery and metal together. Yowza, took months to get the 'fro out of my hair.
 
workerbee

workerbee

* Winter is Coming *
I seriously had no idea.
Seriously.

I know if I asked my husband he'd tell me the why's and wherefores....
but I had no idea!
 
T

tm1439m

Veteran Member
ainitfunny said:
YOU CAN IMAGINE how TINY the battery in an electronic cigarette is.
I disassembled an e-cig (that i was going to throw away) just to see if, in a SHTF situation, without matches I could use a tiny battery to ignite an emergency fire.
IT WORKED, even though the ecig battery was so low on charge that it did not light the end of the e-cig!

THAT TELLS YOU that it does NOT require a big battery to start a big fire!! Even button cells and tiny batteries, in the right circumstance can start a BIG FIRE.
Click to expand...

On that note a smaller battery will have less "stored" available power/current. A large wire looped across a very small battery may not produce enough heat to start a fire unless of course the battery itself overheats.

Some general info for anyone thinking of trying this. A small battery will make fire better with a small wire or foil or whatever you are using. Either way if it gets hot enough to ignite then it will be hot enough to burn you so take that into consideration before trying to make fire.
 
tech020

tech020

Senior Member
The most recent total loss fire I recall was a residence where the owner took the suggestion of his local fire department and replaced all his smoke detector batteries. A 9v battery is the most likely to short out accidentally and a 2 year old used battery probably has at least 60 percent capacity left. The resident threw all of the old batteries in the trash and they shorted and caused the fire. Kind of embarrassing for the fire folks to recommend replacing batteries every year at Daylight Savings changeover. My solution is to have multiple smoke and CO detectors and wait until they "chirp" indicating low battery before replacing. The batteries should still be placed individually in a plastic bag before being disposed.
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
I do leave batteries in the original packages, but rechargeable ones pose a minor problem. I bought a bunch of storage containers like THESE: http://www.amazon.com/Bluecell-Pack...id=1428617651&sr=8-8&keywords=battery+storage (they come in various sizes to fit pretty much any standard battery). I keep them in the plastic cases, write the date they were charged with a dry-erase marker on them, and rotate them into use.

Used alkalines go into a cottage cheese container on the kitchen counter until I've accumulated a few, then get tossed into one of those metal "cookie tins" you see around Christmas time, and are kept in the machine shed until we take them to the recycler.

Summerthyme
 
etc

etc

Inactive
Lithion-Ion chemistry is a lot more dangerous than plain alkalines. Take one of these Energizer Lithium AA cells and hit it with a hammer. Ideally outside. It will set on fire. A neat way to start a fire in an emergency.

Same goes for Lithium CR123A cells.
 
Cyclonemom

Cyclonemom

Veteran Member
Thanks for the tip! Completely sounds like something that would happen to us. Our house was nearly set on fire by a wired in smoke detector a couple months ago. :rolleyes:
 
S

smokin

Veteran Member
Etc,
" BTW, the fumes are extremely toxic. "


Did those boys know that. I heard one of them sounding like he got a good whiff of it ?
 
etc

etc

Inactive
It's nasty stuff, enough to cause damage. I did this trick once - outdoors.

Just an extra way to start a fire if you are lost in the wilderness. Benefit #999 of Lithium cells. Running it empty does not seem to diminish its fire potential.

A damaged Li-Ion is significantly more risky and probable than a short-circuit from regular alkalines.
 
C

cjoi

Veteran Member
So many ways to intentionally start a fire using batteries -even weak ones- but we never think a thing of tossing the old ones somewhere that could turn into a problem.

With some steel wool; lint (plenty of that in my pockets, these days; ) foil/paper chewing gum wrapper ( called a prison lighter; ) pocket change and a tissue; just off the top of my head. Who knows what combination lies at the bottom of my purse? I shudder to think.

Good time to rethink how we handle batteries around here, thanks!


Appreciate the heads up, Ainitfunny. ;)
 
Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Years ago, a writer/photographer for one of the hunting magazines did a piece on battery packs with 22 shells.

He was covering some kind of dinner type event and had some loose rounds in his pocket and stuck a flash battery pack in with them.

One of the shells settled across the terminals and cooked off.

It scared him pretty good.

Nowadays there would be a full swat response with people getting thrown on the ground, houses getting tossed, dogs shot and felony charges being filed because some mall-ninja cop passed out from trying to hump a 60lb pack up 3 flights of stairs.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
Thanks for bringing this up. I checked my battery drawer and found a real mess in the few loose batterries. It is all cleaned up now and the bad cells safely disposed of, including some very old ones never removed from their package. I, too, keep the batterries in their packages until I use them, including partially used packages.
 
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