Tldr;
> we don't know exactly what flaw triggered this massive recall
What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
151–160 of 308 posts
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep. Anything I get from China, even from a vendor I have done lots of business with in the past gets at minimum random samples inspected and tested when appropriate. Every single shipment, zero exceptions before use. So many things are caught. At best there is a lack of QA on the Chinese side, but it's definitely worse than that. They have no qualms sending you known-bad items, and just see it as "maybe the customer…
I don't get how it's possible that nobody (other than Tesla) can manufacture batteries in the West? It a glance this feels insane. Batteries are in everything and such a basic need. How is it possible that buying through known scammers with tons of QA is still cheaper than manufacturing in the West? Obviously for Tesla it isn't cheaper to buy from China, so why is it thought to be cheaper for the rest of the West? Is…
Tesla is struggling to manufacture its own cells: https://www.energytrend.com/news/20240628-47693.html
As for designing them, this was a good interview with the CEO of CATL pointing to talent pipeline issues. We don't train enough chemical engineers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VIXjjw4u9A
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#153Ugh. Please don’t use a bad LLM to write this if you’re going to use an LLM.
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't get how it's possible that nobody (other than Tesla) can manufacture batteries in the West? It a glance this feels insane. Batteries are in everything and such a basic need. How is it possible that buying through known scammers with tons of QA is still cheaper than manufacturing in the West? Obviously for Tesla it isn't cheaper to buy from China, so why is it thought to be cheaper for the rest of the West? Is…
But Tesla don't make battery cells - Panasonic, LG and CATL make those (although co-located in Telsa's factories).
That isn't true for Tesla's 4680 that was briefly in the AWD Model Y and is currently in the Cybertruck. They are well behind the leaders in range and charging, but the company claims that they are competitive with cells from their suppliers on cost. Charging performance is on par with cars like the F-150 Lightning, which also isn't very good.
They are also starting to build their own lfp batteries at a new factory in Nevada, though it sounds like those will be for stationary storage.
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Your only option is to run. That is not true. Please don't spread misinformation that could lead to deaths or people losing everything they own. You can put out a Lithium battery fire with a class-D fire extinguisher. If you don't have one available, you can isolate the burning battery by surrounding it with sand or other inert, dry substances to keep it from spreading until the fire department arrives with proper…
You forgot having a fume hood, or halon foam system. Or just a silver heat resistant suit and SCBA. Please don't hold back on the pedantry and "you can"s. People might miss these valuable options and not know they can just coexist with the lithium fire right next door!
Instead of being upset and lashing out when someone corrects you and offers important advice that can save lives, you can just say "Thank you for the information." - or even say nothing at all.
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work in manufacturing in the US. Incoming quality control, for Chinese vendors, is necessarily set up with zero-trust. This isn't a "trust but verify" sort of thing, it's strictly "do not trust". Assume that, at every step of the chain, there will be a lie: change of process, material change, collected data, and that the product being given to you is even yours (delivering a knockoff at the final step, and resellin…
Yep. Anything I get from China, even from a vendor I have done lots of business with in the past gets at minimum random samples inspected and tested when appropriate. Every single shipment, zero exceptions before use. So many things are caught. At best there is a lack of QA on the Chinese side, but it's definitely worse than that. They have no qualms sending you known-bad items, and just see it as "maybe the customer…
Intel used to be infamous for doing this, if you'd like a western example.
A number of the integrators I worked with added rules banning customer-supplied CPUs because Intel would give away "working" product to educational/other institutions that, uh, did not POST, and it was such a headache so often that they banned using the product.
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
They also do recalls. Which I’m certain is more than some cheaper no name brands do.
I only buy portable Li-ion batteries from manufacturers with a history of product recalls in my country or directly from major retailers that regularly recall defective products. I also only buy portable battery models that I believe will sell or has sold many thousands of units so any widespread manufacturering defects should become apparent sooner.
Yeah, I see your point, never thought of it that way.
Just also darkly hilarious — “I only buy with a history of product recalls”.
There was a time in which we used to avoid such things…
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#158I think the CT scan tech is cool and the article is written nicely but I don't get the point of this article. Seems like if Anker were using the CT scanner, they still wouldn't be able spot the change. I'm confused.
The article authors didn’t want to physically destroy 5 products just to see if anything changed.
Would you want to tear down Lithium batteries??? It’s slightly hazardous…
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
It would be awesome if we were able to get more things besides vapes (and apparently some flashlights; I assume there are many niches where they are common) to use 18650 or even 21700 li-ion cells. I see most people I know buy AAs by the pallet and go through them regularly for their controllers, led lights, kids toys, etc.. and few I believe bother to dispose of them correctly. Also, repeating your sentiment, for al…
If you can replace the battery, they can't sell you a new one.
Bingo!
Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's also common to not put protection on the end of an 18650, which is probably a big reason we don't see more of these in user-serviceable devices. Even if you ship a device with a protected cell, the inherent implication of an 18650 socket is that someone is going to buy a cell from somewhere else and stick it in there. (and maybe throw a few in their junk drawer along with some loose change and rusty silverware)
Perhaps one of the things that should be included in right to repair legislation is stronger liability protection in cases where a third-party battery is installed in a device. I do often stick unprotected cells in flashlights that came with protected ones. It's important to know whether the flashlight can over-discharge the cell, but most can't, and it's important to not short-circuit them. I suggest people who don'…
Eh... I strongly disagree... We shouldn't let companies put out products that burn parents' house down because grandma didn't research 18650 protection circuits when she bought the grandkids some batteries for their toy on Amazon.
Consumer product safety regulation is written in blood, and exists for a very good reason.
Let the advanced right-to-repair audience open up the device with a screwdriver and install a new LiPo pouch. We don't need a battery door to let kids in like it's as safe as AAs in a gameboy.