10 things you shouldn’t do with lithium ion batteries in tropical climate
- Charge them to 100% full then not put the battery to service immediately afterwards. They hate it.
- Drain the battery completely then leave unattended for many days.
This is dangerous, for inside chemical reactance might happen with the development of Dendrite which causes internal short circuit. This is number one fire hazard cause of lithium-ion battery.
- Let the battery stay/charge/operate in hot summer sun. Or any fire sources.
- Attempt to recharge a dead battery
Or if you plan to do so, kindly do it outside of your house to avoid burning things to the ground.
- Soak the battery in water
- Puncture using metal objects.
There are data recorded about lithium ion battery fire in personal jeans or backpack. The main reasons are users keep cell phone spare battery together with some sharp metal objects, where they came into contact.
- Using an improper charger:
- Don’t ever use charger of a different chemistry (please know your battery, read the label to understand which type of chemistry is the lithium-ion battery and use a compatible charger).
- Voltage figure must be matched.
- Current must be selected according as desirable figure on the label of the battery. Normally you can calculate 0.2 to 0.5 times the nominal capacity of battery to estimate the charge current.
- For example: 36V NCM battery 5Ah, you will need a 42V charger and 0.2 x 5 = 1A charger. (kindly note that voltage of charger shall be read as maximum voltage, not the nominal one)
- Store the battery in metal box. Please don’t.
- Store the battery at high standard of charge (SOC) in hot/humid weather for more than 6 months. This will wear the battery out quickly. 30% SOC for storage is recommended.
- Drop/damage the battery physically.