SDS100/SDS200: **SAFETY ALERT** SDS100 battery severely swelled

[N0ZQR]

But if they split on their own, just laying on a table, what can you do about that?
I had one do that to me the other day, surprised the heck out of me!
Wish I could download a picture of mine, but they say the file is too large.
Ron

 

[richardbritt]

Those are lithium ion I believe. You might want to check and make sure. You might not want to keep the swollen ones inside your house. Don't throw them away in the trash or dumpster either. They self combust violently if heated or compressed. I am on one of the state regional Hazmat Response teams. If they are not lithium then disregard but once one of the cells starts to burn, they give off their own hydrogen and rapidly go up in seconds. NIMH and Nicads don't do that. That's why I own a 436 and use NIMH batteries.

As a follow up, I found this online about the lithium polymer batteries, "they have good resistance to thermal runaway and are less likely to catch fire or explode if damaged". They are made with gel not liquid.

 

[Ubbe]

But if they split on their own, just laying on a table, what can you do about that?

I'm pretty sure it's only one or two of the cells that have expanded and they are connected in parallel by a metal strip that can be cut to remove the bad cells and you can continue to use the battery at a lower capacity, suitable to be used at home. I had one cell expand and the other two have been fine for three years now.

/Ubbe

 

[darkness975]

But if they split on their own, just laying on a table, what can you do about that?
I had one do that to me the other day, surprised the heck out of me!
Wish I could download a picture of mine, but they say the file is too large.
Ron

Take a screenshot of the picture. Thats how I get around that.

 

[Ubbe]

Take a screenshot of the picture. Thats how I get around that.

Or open up the picture file in Windows Paint program and set the pixel size to 640x480 and it will upload.

/Ubbe

 

[N0ZQR]

Was taken with a I phone 6
Ron

 

[djeplett]

I run my SDS100 on AC pretty much all the time. As a result since the first battery swelled on me I charge mine up to only about 60% or so now and then run the radio off the micro USB port since that one does not charge the battery. When I decide to take it on the road I will charge it up to 100% before leaving. No signs of swelling now in the years since I got a replacement battery for the original that swelled. I have to do almost the exact same thing with my laptop, too. Only I actually open it up and remove the battery after it's been charged to around 60% and then run it off AC without the battery inside it. I had my original battery in my laptop swell so bad that it actually broke one of the threaded areas in the case and now the screw in that area will no longer hold anything. I've had to learn the hard way.

 

[Ubbe]

since the first battery swelled on me I charge mine up to only about 60% or so now and then run the radio off the micro USB port since that one does not charge the battery.

It doesn't seem to be related to how you charge it. People have had a battery tucked away in a desk and after a long period of time when taking it out it has swelled. There's probably something about impure chemicals or something, a low quality production line and it's just bad luck if it happens. I charge my battery the same since I got it and only one cell has swelled and the other two cells in the fat battery have not swelled one bit and I still charge it the same way since the first cell swelled.

/Ubbe

 

[DCHarris]

I have had FOUR batteries swell like this. All occurred while in the charger, but were not being charged at the time. The first two were the one that came with my SDS100 and a spare one I bought at the time, both having lasted several years and which occurred just a few weeks apart. When the first one went bad, I bought two more, both of which went bad within 1-2 years. Currently have batteries #5 and 6. The first three all occurred in my original charger; when I ordered #5 and 6, I ordered them both as a set, with chargers. My 4th battery went bad in one of the new chargers.

 

[samsat]

I run my SDS100 off external power and if I need to go portable I just plug in a powerbank. Tired of having to continually deal with the poor battery quality.

 

[Ubbe]

To be able to replay a conversation you didn't quite get are valuable to me and running without a battery will for some reason disable that feature. I would like Uniden to allow replay recordings even when running on only external power. There's no real reason to disable it, claiming external power gets unintentionally cut off too often that then will corrupt the file system on the SD card. Mobile scanners without a battery, like SDS200 or BCD536, can be run on external power from a wiggly cigarette lighter outlet that have a much higher risk of cutting power, especially when you turn the ignition key and start the engine.

/Ubbe

 

[n1chu]

The Uniden SDS100 uses a li-po battery, as opposed to li-ion. At least that’s what I have gathered from the specs I’ve read. The difference is a li-po battery might swell when it decides to crap out… NOT overheat to a point where it will catch fire and/or explode, associated with poorly built Li-ion or multi cell Li-ion batteries. And since I’ve never seen any posts stating the SDS100 battery caught fire or exploded, I e peck my take on this topic is true. But, just the other day Uniden announced a new SDS handheld scanner and in the add it mentioned it was sporting a li-ion battery. Still waiting for clarification on this offering. But if they are manufactured to the same standards as the amateur radio portable radios who all sport Li-ion batteries, I doubt there will be a problem as I’ve owned numerous pieces of ham gear and never had a problem.

 

[VE3THO]

ALCON:

I was cleaning up my office work table and noticed that my original skinny battery supplied with my SDS100 was severely swelled. The battery was sitting in its original battery cover in the open in a temperature stable office environment. It has not been used or charged since I swapped it out with the higher capacity battery that Uniden supplied when they determined that the original battery was insufficient. I urge everyone to check the condition of any spare batteries they have for this radio, and in particular, any of the original "thin" batteries shipped with the radio.

My SDS100's battery did the same a couple of years ago . Posted the event here . Battery was bloated like a tick. Had difficulty releasing the latch to remove the battery. Sent the battery and radio to Uniden . They also repaired an internal fault that caused the radio to barely pickup any broadcasts .

 

[nessnet]

The Uniden SDS100 uses a li-po battery, as opposed to li-ion.

No need to speculate:

Look at the very first line of text on the battery.
"Li-Ion POLYMER RECHARAGABLE BATTERY"

 

[richardbritt]

Also, if you read the not released for sale Sds150, it specifically says that it contains a Lithium Ion battery. Any size Lithium Ion battery is capable catching fire if it overheats or is overcharged. Doesn't have to be the size of a car battery, or even a moped battery. Cell phone batteries, power drill batteries, and 2way radio batteries are common causes of thermal runaway fires. NYFD is probably the leader of information as far as dealing with the batteries and working with fires in apartments, if you want to look it up on YouTube.

I am speaking as myself and not representing anyone but myself here, but I am on a State Regional Hazmat Response Team (12 years) have been attending training dealing with lithium battery fires and their causes.

Please see both of these links below for information provided by NYFD for the public.

Safety Tips for Lithium-Ion Batteries - FDNY Smart Safety Tips for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion Battery Fire Learnings from FDNY

FDNY officials share their knowledge of and experience fighting lithium-ion battery fires to benefit other communities

www.nfpa.org

Here is a link (below) story done by a TV news station in Texas and it shows a lot of information provided by their local fire department regarding lithium ion battery fires

Check out this video from this search, are there any YouTube videos of radio lithium ion batteries catching on fire https://share.google/Y17OaLbj0OVX7hRKY