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What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

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Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#171

Post by fragmede »

happosai wrote: post #168
bboygravity wrote: post #119

Earlier 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…

Batteries where "uninteresting" so their production was outsourced to Asia. Chinese invested in battery science, engineering and manufacturing. Fast forward a few decades, and here we are. Now with EVs and energy storage batteries are super interesting, and battery factories are being built in west too - by Asian companies (CATL, LG, Panasonic). Even Tesla doesn't make their own cells, Panasonic does. Tesla's promise…

How does that work out in practice? Panasonic owns the machines, do they employee and manage their own set of workers in the Tesla factory in Reno? and then Tesla pays Panasonic who pays them, even though they're working right alongside the Tesla employees? How distinct is it, really, when they're in the same factory working side by side?

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#172

Post by lazide »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #142
gosub100 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Are you trying to imply that "sand or other inert, dry substances" are too exotic to be in an average house? Also you can keep things near the battery wet.

So what, you keep a bucket of sand in your bedroom?

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#173

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

I've had my share of spicy pillows ranging from iPad to power bank from upstart company which became spicy after using it for just 3 times[1].

I've been overly cautious of batteries for several years now, I charge my devices with 1A charger and keep it between 40% to 80% . I now carry a single 18650 cell power bank instead of those 10,000 mAh, 20,000mAh power banks.

I don't sleep with phone, tablet or kindle on bed and I force my partner to do the same to her irritation. Last week her MacBook became spicy overnight and I had to rush to Apple Store morning, the price for battery replacement was more than the price of that MacBook in used market so I had to buy a new MacBook.

I miss the good old days where I could take the battery of the Nokia phone and spin it on the table to see if it's become spicy. I pray to EU gods to please force the manufactures to bring back user replaceable batteries.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/s/fMNcm07aT2

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#174

Post by morpheuskafka »

mmh0000 wrote: post #55

I have two of these powerbanks, one ordered in 2019 and another in 2021. Amazon sent me scary emails saying these things will kill me. Anker's recall site says I'm not affected and the product is safe to use. I'm not sure who to trust, but I've erred on the side of caution and trashed the batteries. Because it's not worth dying in a fire over $30 in batteries.

> I've erred on the side of caution and trashed the batteries

How is throwing a potentially damaged lithium battery into the trash, where no batteries of any kind should go, cautious?

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#175

Post by morpheuskafka »

gosub100 wrote: post #82
mmh0000 wrote: post #55

I have two of these powerbanks, one ordered in 2019 and another in 2021. Amazon sent me scary emails saying these things will kill me. Anker's recall site says I'm not affected and the product is safe to use. I'm not sure who to trust, but I've erred on the side of caution and trashed the batteries. Because it's not worth dying in a fire over $30 in batteries.

The scary thing is you can't put the fire out with water. Your only option is to run.

You can't put the lithium itself out with water, but presumably water would still keep everything around it from burning?

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#176

Post by tomhow »

nsxwolf wrote: post #84
bazingakiller wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It clearly isn't the "basic formula" if it was so out of the norm it caused a national controversy and got the vendor's certifications removed. Your bitterness is showing.

[flagged]

Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#177

Post by moring »

anon7000 wrote: post #169
bboygravity wrote: post #119

Earlier 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…

Scale is definitely a huge part of it. China controls huge amounts of the earth’s (processed) lithium & rare earth metal supply: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-is-oversup... On top of that, the US does not have very many lithium or rare earth metal mines or processing facilities relative to our demand. But it’s hard to deny scale: the US is a populous country. But there are more than ONE BILLION mo…

> But it’s hard to deny scale: the US is a populous country. But there are more than ONE BILLION more people in China.

This is true for the US alone, but US+Canada+EU is on the same order of magnitude, all of which prefer a more-than-zero-trust situation.

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#178

Post by Dylan16807 »

lazide wrote: post #172
Dylan16807 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you trying to imply that "sand or other inert, dry substances" are too exotic to be in an average house? Also you can keep things near the battery wet.

So what, you keep a bucket of sand in your bedroom?

I didn't say it was in the same room. I just disagree with "your only option is to run".

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#179

Post by jacquesm »

jszymborski wrote: post #33
jacquesm wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a liquid.

Lithium is an (albeit soft) solid at room temp. Im not sure there is risk of it becoming powder in a blender but adding water during the blending process (or at any point) would be the main concern for me.

Not in those cells. It's a Lithium salt in a solvent.

Re: What went wrong inside recalled Anker PowerCore 10000 power banks?

#180

Post by lazide »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #178
lazide wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what, you keep a bucket of sand in your bedroom?

I didn't say it was in the same room. I just disagree with "your only option is to run".

You’re not making convincing arguments, frankly.
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