What to do with a slightly spicy pillow?

anon_ymous

If anyone uses reddit, and goes on r/spicypillows you'll see batteries that have swelled up

My power bank is only ever so slightly spicy. I've basically discharged it and left it be. I could take it on a tip run with other stuff but equally not sure whether there are other alternatives in terms of where to dispose of it?

I wouldn't want to continue using it, not would I want to gift it or sell it to anyone else given it's *probably* not going to explode but I wouldn't want that risk. 

JSHarris

I've dealt with a handful of swollen LiPo cells over the years.  There's a small risk of them catching fire, but in my experience you need to seriously abuse them to make this happen.  My technique for dealing with them, which I think is reasonably safe, is to very, very carefully pierce the outer foil with something sharp and non-conductive (I've used a sharp cocktail stick in the past).

Doesn't need a big hole, just a pinhole will do.  Try not to penetrate the cell itself, just the laminated foil pouch.  This should allow the vapour to escape, depressurising the cell.  Our local supermarket has a battery recycling bin outside that accepts them (it's labelled for disposable vapes - they use foil LiPo cells, even though they don't have charging ports).

As an aside, I also collect discarded disposable vapes and re-use the cells.  They are normal single LiPo cells and can be recharged like any other LiPo.  No idea why they use rechargeable cells in a disposable item, maybe they are just the cheapest option.

QrizB

waqasahmed said:
My power bank is only ever so slightly spicy. I've basically discharged it and left it be. I could take it on a tip run with other stuff but equally not sure whether there are other alternatives in terms of where to dispose of it?

I don't know about your local household waste site, but the staff at mine are pretty culed up about what they can and can't accept, and on the best way to deal with things like this.
I imagine they will accept it into the WEEE skip but if you ask nicely you might find they have a specific recycling route for lithium batteries.

anon_ymous

JSHarris said:

I've dealt with a handful of swollen LiPo cells over the years.  There's a small risk of them catching fire, but in my experience you need to seriously abuse them to make this happen.  My technique for dealing with them, which I think is reasonably safe, is to very, very carefully pierce the outer foil with something sharp and non-conductive (I've used a sharp cocktail stick in the past).

Doesn't need a big hole, just a pinhole will do.  Try not to penetrate the cell itself, just the laminated foil pouch.  This should allow the vapour to escape, depressurising the cell.  Our local supermarket has a battery recycling bin outside that accepts them (it's labelled for disposable vapes - they use foil LiPo cells, even though they don't have charging ports).

As an aside, I also collect discarded disposable vapes and re-use the cells.  They are normal single LiPo cells and can be recharged like any other LiPo.  No idea why they use rechargeable cells in a disposable item, maybe they are just the cheapest option.

I have heard about that from Big Clive.. It seems like such a terrible waste of resources to make them disposable and especially when they're rechargeable 

BossBob

They probably use lipo cells as they are more flexible than the standard aa or aaa cylindrical batteries that need the metal case to function.