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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?

#281

Post by bboygravity »

nebula8804 wrote: post #166
_ea1k wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 i…

How did they fall behind? Didn't they have tabless and 4680 first? Did they lose Talent post 'Nazi' Musk?

Yeah, all the employees left and all of Musk's companies are now bankrupt after he visited Israel to visit families of victims of the Hamas terror attacks and he then deliberately did a nazi salute and deliberately ordered an LLM to convert everybody into nazis in an attempt to take over the world.

/s

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

#282

Post by gosub100 »

datadrivenangel wrote: post #231
gosub100 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Enough water will suppress the fire and deprive it of heat for thermal runaway and keep nearby items from catching fire. If you stop the water, it may reignite or smolder and produce smoke, but water will work to combat the fire.

Will it emit hydrogen gas?

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

#283

Post by LorenPechtel »

numpad0 wrote: post #233
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…

I don't want to, but I can't stop thinking that DJT might be kind of right on this one. Each of economical blocks in this world such as EU/US, China, or Japan, don't mutually co-depend enough for any foreign currencies like USD or CNY to be single universal representation of values. The current US administration's weird argument is that the USD values exchanged in inter-national trades must be symmetrical, but if you…

The numbers aren't even relevant as he's obsessing about flows tracked across borders. An awful lot of what the US exports is services and data, not things, and doesn't show up.

Look at that research base that got targeted. Imports: what the scientists need. Exports: science. The latter doesn't show up, it looked like it was hugely "out of balance" despite the only inhabitants being penguins.

In the real world, something's being exported even if you're not tracking it. If there was a large, continuing imbalance the relative values of the currencies would change.

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

#284

Post by LorenPechtel »

tgtweak wrote: post #243

They also moved from a toroidal SMPS to an integrated PMIC for voltage regulation - but that was likely for cost/weight reasons but also hints at being able to more accurately measure and limit the charge or discharge current as a function of the cell temperature. This design is typically less efficient (generates more heat for the same output) so that strongly hints that the overheating issue was not from the pcb/el…

I find myself wondering. Recalled = tab connectors. Not recalled = wire connectors. Old, old batteries. Fatigue due to a lack of flex?

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

#285

Post by LorenPechtel »

Zak wrote: post #47
turnsout wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%... I'm seeking products that take AA or AAA batteries instead of built-in lithium batteries, for the same reason.

I wish more devices took field-replaceable cylindrical Li-ion cells. They're pretty common in flashlights and rare in other products where they would be advantageous.

There's a liability issue here.

You must have a charge controller in Li-Ion between each voltage point because overcharging a cell is asking for trouble.

Sealed battery pack, you can put a little controller in there with it. Loose cell, you either give up some capacity and add some cost by putting a controller in each cell, or you trust that the controller in whatever charges it is good. Bare cell, good charger, fine. Bare cell, iffy charger, you might get the blame when the cell goes up. Thus it's very hard to find good bare cells.

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

#286

Post by LorenPechtel »

Pxtl wrote: post #275
Zak wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish more devices took field-replaceable cylindrical Li-ion cells. They're pretty common in flashlights and rare in other products where they would be advantageous.

A fun trick is that if you're sure the batteries are in series you can sometimes swap out a pair of AA batteries for a 3.7V 14500 Lithium rechargeable and a fake AA battery (just a wire in an AA-sized plastic shell). Drill a hole in the battery-cover of the device where the 14500's USB port is and now your device is plug-in rechargeable, assuming it can handle 3.7V instead of the normal ~3.1V that comes from a pair o…

I have a headlamp for hiking with a slightly different take on this.

It will take 3x ordinary or rechargeable cells, or it will take it's Li-Ion pack that is the same size as the 3 cells side by side. Designed in from the start so there are no dangerous bits. Hiking headlamps are something where you do *not* want to be left with a dead battery!

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

#287

Post by LorenPechtel »

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.

Water won't put it out but putting it in a big enough container of water and leaving it there long enough works. You just need a big enough energy sink + containment.

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

#288

Post by corimaith »

numpad0 wrote: post #233
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…

I don't want to, but I can't stop thinking that DJT might be kind of right on this one. Each of economical blocks in this world such as EU/US, China, or Japan, don't mutually co-depend enough for any foreign currencies like USD or CNY to be single universal representation of values. The current US administration's weird argument is that the USD values exchanged in inter-national trades must be symmetrical, but if you…

>The current US administration's weird argument is that the USD values exchanged in inter-national trades must be symmetrical,

In Econ 101 going back to Keynes, if you run a persistent current account surplus, the increased demand for your currency to pay for your exports will strengthen your currency, thus reducing the competiveness of your exports, thus reducing your trade surplus. Vice versa for a deficit. Hence persistent trade imabalances should not exist due to self-balancing FX-effects.

This isn't happening in reality for a variety of reasons, but it's common knowledge that it's government policies that directly try to prevent that from occuring. Capital Controls, Protectionist Policies, etc, the most explicit mechanism is the controversial currency manipulation, whereby many central banks manage capital inflows by buying US assets to keep their currency stable.

But the aggregate result of this is that we have a strange situation today whereby the US dollar is simultaneously strong yet running a massive deficit, while surplus countries have weak currencies. And these imbalances are growing rather than shrinking. Many mainstream economists don't think the situtation is sustainable, but their proposals to fix it are differing.

I'd agree that Trump's method of "forcing" other countries to buy more American stuff is just a short-term fix that won't solve the underlying issues, but the real solutions of tariffs, currency revaluations or introducing capital controls will be hard to stomach for everyone, albeit necessary. Although the "correct" solutions like the Bancor will all be much more harmful to surplus countries than the USA.

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

#289

Post by corimaith »

LorenPechtel wrote: post #283
numpad0 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to, but I can't stop thinking that DJT might be kind of right on this one. Each of economical blocks in this world such as EU/US, China, or Japan, don't mutually co-depend enough for any foreign currencies like USD or CNY to be single universal representation of values. The current US administration's weird argument is that the USD values exchanged in inter-national trades must be symmetrical, but if you…

The numbers aren't even relevant as he's obsessing about flows tracked across borders. An awful lot of what the US exports is services and data, not things, and doesn't show up. Look at that research base that got targeted. Imports: what the scientists need. Exports: science. The latter doesn't show up, it looked like it was hugely "out of balance" despite the only inhabitants being penguins. In the real world, somet…

https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/08/04/blog-global...

The US is running a persistent current account deficit (and the largest one at that) for 20 years, which is the more relevant metric that includes services & data. This is an undisputed fact by most economists and institutions.

The relative values of currencies aren't changing because the central banks of surplus countries are actively managing capital inflows by buying foreign assets to keep their currency values stable. The Fed is one of the few that don't because they don't have that mandate.

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

#290

Post by Zak »

Pxtl wrote: post #276
homebrewer wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's still lots of poorly produced electronics that treat NiMH that is within its normal operating voltage as being out of juice, and either nag you or shut down completely. My supposedly high quality Logitech mouse is one example (probably not buying anything from Logitech ever again, they're one of those brands that are coasting on their old credibility).

If it runs on two batteries in series and you're willing to take a risk, you can get a 3.7V 14500 battery and then a dumb fake straight wire battery in there. Gives you 1.85V per-slot instead of the normal 1.5, which might be too much for the device, but beats the pants out of the 1.2V you get from NiMH AAs. I got 14500s for my Logitech F710 game controllers, and then drilled a hole in the battery compartment of the…

It actually gives you 2.1V per slot because a fully charged standard Li-ion cell is 4.2V. This is also sketchy because it will likely over-discharge the cell below 2.5V if not monitored carefully. Over-discharge makes it dangerous to charge the cell again.

Actual protected 14500s will be too long in most devices meant for AA, but it's possible to find protected 14430 cells marked as "14500" from some flashlight brands like Acebeam and Skilhunt. Those are safe with regard to over-discharge, but the voltage of a fully charged cell might still damage devices not rated for it.

I'd rate this modification as risky and only suitable for people with significant battery expertise.

Edit: saw the other comment mentioning 14500s with USB ports. These will be protected against short circuit and over-discharge, and are actually based on 14430 cells.

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