Fires caused by #LithiumIon batteries r on the rise across #Canada, according 2 organization that represents country's fire chiefs, prompting warnings from fire services, injury lawyers & even #HealthCanada.
#Toronto saw a 90% increase in number of fires involving #RechargeableBatteries in 2023 — total of 55 fires, up from 29 the previous year — & the batteries were one of the leading causes of fires in #Vancouver that year.
Found a Pyne Pod 8500 discarded in the grass during a walk into town yesterday
Surprisingly sophisticated charging circuitry for an item designed to be disposable. No obvious way to open it in order for owners to refill the tank or to swap in a new atomizer module.
These lithium ion batteries now over a decade old, can no longer supply sufficient current to run the Samsung Nexus 10 tablet in which they had been installed.
Tried using salvaged vape batteries as a substitute but that experiment failed. Perhaps I should try a pair of 18650 cells.
Android version is so old that Google no longer provides security updates. What can I use this obsolete tablet for?
"Conventional flow batteries pack very little energy into a given volume and mass. Their energy density is as little as 10 percent that of lithium-ion batteries, due to the amount of material an aqueous solution can hold. There is only so much salt you can dissolve in a glass of water.
Thus flow batteries have been too bulky for most applications so far. To shrink them enough to fit in electric vehicles, you need to raise their energy density to that of #lithiumIon#batteries.
One good way to add capacity is with nanofluids, which hold nanoparticles in suspension. These particles undergo redox reactions at the electrode surface similar to how the dissolved ions react in conventional flow batteries, but the nanofluids are more energy dense. Importantly, the nanofluids are engineered to remain suspended indefinitely, unlike other suspensions—for instance, sand in water. That indefinite suspension helps the particles move through the system and make contact with the electrodes. The particles can compose up to 80 percent of the liquid’s weight while leaving it no more viscous than motor oil.
A next-gen system should have 5 times the energy density of present Li-ion systems."
Extinguishing the #EV#Battery Fire Hype
The numbers don’t support persistent fears of #lithiumion conflagrations
“Despite the scapegoating of #EVs, global momentum, spurred by concerns about the consequences of continuing to burn #fossilfuels, is still moving in the direction of battery electrics”
“Convenient and affordable charging at/near home is core to the ecosystem but must be complemented by reliable public fast charging” https://spectrum.ieee.org/lithium-ion-battery-fires#electricvehicles
“New PSA highlights ways to “Take C.H.A.R.G.E of Battery Safety”
Educating the fire service and the public on how to prevent and mitigate fires involving lithium-ion batteries” https://youtu.be/7UEv8WWn4Tk
People might wonder why I am a little hesitant about buying #Apple products now…
Back in 2011 I bought a used 2008-model #Apple#MacBook (MacBook 5.1), sporting a Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM and a 160GB HDD.
It was in good condition. I updated the OS on there to MacOS X 10.6, dual-booted with Gentoo Linux. I later upped the disk to a 750GB HDD (SSDs were puny and a bit dicey back then) and upgraded the RAM to 8GB.
It was a good workhorse for a couple of years, except its lack of ports.
2 USB 2.0 ports is a pain to work with, netbooks have more. Plus the lack of RS-232 was a pain at work. I bought a Panasonic ToughBook CF-53mkII (pictured) to replace the MacBook at work, and used it as a work-from-home machine.
After a while, it managed to cook its original batteries, so I took the machine into one of Apple's vendors in Brisbane, and picked up a replacement battery. Installation on this model is a tool-free process.
A few years later, the machine managed to cook that battery too! So the MacBook today is battery-less. This means when disconnected from power, it forgets the current date/time, and if that magsafe power connector moves just slightly, the machine may shut down as there's no back-up power supply.
I've had several laptops over the years, but only one Apple, and this is the only machine I've used or owned that has cooked its own battery in such spectacular fashion.
I'm thankful its removal is a tool-free process. Modern MacBooks have their batteries glued in. Sorry, hard-pass!
Especially as the ToughBook here is still being used today, its original battery is still good for 2-3 hours (and I have a new replacement which is good for ~6).
@stuartl@Fairphone
After all, #LithiumIon and #LithiumPolymer if not all #batteries will INEVITABLY die due to use and/or age.
Same with #Flash dying after exceeding it's life cycles or #HDD's dying due to motor failures and gunked-up greases or since recently loss of #Helium...
On the other hand it depends on your useage type and the cargind and discharging controls whether a #LithiumIon / #LithiumPolymer battery becomes a #DangerPillow.