Lithium-Ion Batteries and Charging – Fire Risk

With the exponential rise in the use of Lithium-Ion batteries, the risk of Battery explosions has increased exponentially whether during charging, de-charging or just standing. No brand or device type is immune, whether it’s a battery tool, RF scanner, e-bike, scooter or rechargeable torch.

Understanding the Risk

Lithium-Ion batteries can explode due to:

  • Overcharging
  • Faulty batteries
  • High temperatures causing thermal runaway
  • Damaged batteries (you only need to drop your battery tool to compromise the battery ) or  maybe it’s simply just too old and worn-out.

When a thermal runaway occurs, the battery can keep building up energy and exploding over and over again, shooting flames for up to two hours after that initial powerful blast 

Our Solution: Li-Ion BATTERY CHARGING & STORAGE CABINETS

Extensive R&D and Innovative Design

In 2019, after six months of rigorous research and development, we discovered that containing the explosion and allowing batteries to expend their energy was crucial. 

Here’s how our Li-Ion Battery Charging & Storage Cabinets mitigate these risks:

  • HotWall Insulation: Rated at 1260°C and 1430°C, this extreme temperature insulation is sandwiched between the walls, roof, floor, doors and shelves to mitigate that initial powerful blast from melting through the steel walls of the cabinet. 
  • Compartmentalized Design: Separate compartments with insulated shelves reduce the risk of multiple batteries igniting simultaneously.
  • Cooling System: Multiple electric fans keep batteries cool in each compartment, helping to prevent overheating.
  • Lithium-ion Battery Storage:  If you are just storing batteries , you must consider that there is likely to be one of the batteries which is compromised and explodes lighting up the rest of the batteries 

Why Choose Our Li-Ion Battery Charging & Storage Cabinets?

  1. Effective Containment: Our cabinets are designed to handle thermal runaway events, ensuring batteries can safely expend their energy.
  2. Automatic Fire Suppression: Unlike traditional systems, our cabinets don’t rely on single-use suppression devices.
  3. Heavy-Duty Options: Specially designed for 48 Volt E-bike batteries with higher fire rating insulation.
  4. We have 6 models of charging cabinets in our range plus another in production

Important Safety Guidelines

  1. Do Not Interfere: Never open the doors during a battery fire,  you may get exposure to toxic Hydrogen Fluoride gas . 
  2. Pouring water on a battery fire is not recommended , for a start that battery could reach temperatures exceeding 1000 Degrees C. how could you ever get close enough to that extreme heat to extinguish it ?
  3. It is best to let the lithium -ion battery spend its energy within a controlled compartment .  Recommended by the Fire Service. (Ask them )
  4. Effective Containment: Our cabinets are designed to handle thermal runaway events, ensuring batteries can safely expend their energy.

 

Applications

Ideal for charging:

  • Battery-operated tools
  • Drones
  • Golf bag buggies
  • RF scanners
  • Tasers
  • Laptops
  • Lamps and lasers
  • Power packs
  • Medical equipment
  • E-bikes
  • Scooters

Lithium-Ion battery explosions are causing significant damage worldwide. Hundreds of incidents have been reported, often leading to building destruction and injured people

We have 4 models designed for indoors and 2 models designed for either indoors or outdoors , the fans draw in clean air and force it over and around the charging batteries to keep the batteries cooler.

After much research we elected to create compartments (Like Kilns) with adjustable shelves with 1260 Degree continuous rated HotWall insulation within the shelves walls and doors which would mitigate the possibility of exploding batteries lighting up other batteries in an upper or lower compartment . The shelves, while adjustable and removable , have very little clearance gaps enhancing the compartments air tightness, apart from the fan with in that compartment exhausting cooling air from that compartment over the batteries.

We looked at fitting timers, the problem being, that some batteries take a lot longer to charge the others eg, one battery may be 10% charged and another maybe 90% charged , how will you know which one will require which length of time to charge. Most battery chargers have their own built in device to turn off the charger once the battery is fully charged.  If the charger is faulty then the 2 pole breaker installed by our electrician will sense an earth leak and trip , or it can trip if it is over loaded.

If you need to know more please ask 

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