back to article Unplug that Anker battery pack now: House blaze sparks recall

Anker has issued a voluntary recall of its 535 battery packs — also marketed as the PowerCore 20K — one of which is believed to have caused a house fire earlier this month. According to the recall notice, "due to manufacturing condition, a small number of Anker 535 power banks may overheat and pose a fire safety risk." In …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Argh!

    And Anker is one of the "better brands"... all those unknown \ random branded bits of kit out there. How can any of this stuff be trusted?

    So much of a minefield... literally.

    1. NapTime ForTruth
      Flame

      Re: Argh!

      Hmmm...it's almost like lithium battery technology is fundamentally flawed and not fit for purpose.

      1. AVee

        Re: Argh!

        That's only partly true. Trying to store significant amounts if energy in a small container is probably always going to be a challenge. Yes lithium batteries have issues, but the same goes for nitroglycerine, or petrol, or uranium, or propane. Over time we will get better at controlling lithium batteries, just as we did with other things. But energy likes to go places and generally resists being contained.

        1. NapTime ForTruth
          Flame

          Re: Argh!

          Fair.

          But by the same token, we generally don't store nitroglycerine, or petrol, or uranium, or propane in our homes, backpacks, luggage, or pockets.

          I do look forward to the upcoming nitroglycerine-powered phones, though. I'm sure they're a blast.

          1. Gene Cash Silver badge

            Re: Argh!

            Yes, we actually do store propane in our homes, usually for gas grills. There's a reason the store has a big sign saying "DO NOT BRING PROPANE BOTTLES IN STORE"

            We also store gasoline in houses, and a large number of them go up due to that every year.

            That's not listed on anything but the local news (if that) because it's a "dog bites man" story.

            This is news because of the kneejerk "oooooh lithium batteries" from people like you.

          2. phuzz Silver badge
            Mushroom

            Re: Argh!

            I suppose the only gas stored in my house is what's currently in the pipes, but rather than a tank full of a set amount of gas, it's connected to the gas main, which will keep pumping flammable gas in.

            I'm not sure that's any safer.

            (Not that it's particularly unsafe, but then nor is most gas storage, as long as it's built well and is well maintained).

            1. AMBxx Silver badge

              Re: Argh!

              Butane is pretty safe as it's ligheter than air and disperses. We have bottled propane - much stricter for installation as it's heavier than air. We had to have our drains checked to ensure any leak wouldn't enter our septic tank causing a big bang.

              1. John H Woods

                Re: Butane is lighter than air

                No. Butane is, of course, heavier than Propane. As one might expect, C4H10 is about a third heavier than C3H8.

          3. WolfFan

            Re: Argh!

            Errr…. Nitroglycerin is handed out to some people who had cardiac problems. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325187

            I have two 5 gallon petrol containers in the garage right now, they are around to feed the lawn mower and the generator. There are two more empty containers. Should there be a hurricane in the vicinity, I fill all four.

            I have two propane containers, near the petrol containers. They are used with the grill.

            Note that the grill and the generator and their fuel supplies may be packed into vehicles and taken out when I go camping.

            Uranium has its uses, and is commonly found in very small concentrations in ceramic rocks, including rocks in places like New York City and Denver. People literally build on top of it.

          4. Andre Carneiro

            Re: Argh!

            Getting a bit unfashionable but cigarette lighters are literally flammable devices you keep in your pocket.

            They rarely go boom, AFAIK

          5. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Argh!

            I do look forward to the upcoming nitroglycerine-powered phones, though. I'm sure they're a blast.

            It certainly makes the 'shake the phone' action for undo a lot more exciting..

            :)

        2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Argh!

          > nitroglycerine, or petrol, or uranium, or propane,

          Uranium is pretty safe, it takes really quite a large of ingenuity to make the spicy rocks go all spicy

          1. WolfFan

            Re: Argh!

            Yep. The stuff that goes boom is usually found in something like 0.3% concentrations. That’s 0.3% of uranium, uranium in rocks like in New York are in pretty low concentrations in the first place. The stuff that goes boom needs to be in about 3% concentrations to generate power, and about 97% to go boom. It ain’t going to go boom anytime soon without a lot of help.

      2. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        Re: Argh!

        "Hmmm...it's almost like lithium battery technology is fundamentally flawed and not fit for purpose."

        What a stupid comment.

        1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

          Re: Argh!

          It's almost like commenting is flawed and not fit for purpose.

      3. jmch Silver badge

        Re: Argh!

        Considering that every single mobile phone and laptop in the world, and goodness knows how many other gadgets great and small, contain lithium batteries (ie Billions of devices), the safety record is actually pretty good.

    2. Mark #255
      Mushroom

      Re: Argh!

      On the other hand...

      Anker have issued a recall, with enough information so that I can check whether the Anker power bank I got was affected.

      If it had been a KAVNEOALDJGT "brand" on Amazon (or VEIJOAWEB, or OAWIEHBKG), would the mfr have cared, would the authorities managed to join the dots?

      (Icon just because...)

      1. David 132 Silver badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: Argh!

        Don’t know what you mean - those brands’ batteries have lots of 5* reviews on Amazon.

        Admittedly, the reviews all seem to be for gloves, small plastic toys and similar tat, but I’m sure that’s just a glitch in Amazon’s system. They wouldn’t steer us towards dodgy disreputable merchants with made-up names and manipulated reviews, would they?

        1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

          Re: Argh!

          To be fair, all merchants have "made-up names". It's not like those names were handed down by god or something.

      2. Fr. Ted Crilly Silver badge

        Re: Argh!

        Exactly, If Anker do the right thing when they are in a position to act and have... good enough etc.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I keep my e-bike battery separate

    It lives in a metal tool box that is waterproof and kept well away from the house.

    It only comes out when being used.

    I treat it as an active threat.

    Oddly, the only time I don’t worry is when I’m riding my bike.

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: I keep my e-bike battery separate

      I never have a problem with batteries on any of my bikes, mainly because they're bikes and they don't need them...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I keep my e-bike battery separate

      Probably because the risk of being injured by your ebike battery while using it is insignificant compared to the risk of being flattened by someone who thinks driving an electric SUV is going to save the planet.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I keep my e-bike battery separate

        risk of being flattened by someone who thinks driving an electric SUV is going to save the planet.

        As a cyclist I noted some extra words in there. HTH

    3. MarkTriumphant

      Re: I keep my e-bike battery separate

      Good move. My parents-in-law had a fire in their flat that burned out a whole room due a lithium battery for the ebike. Almost certainly a dodgy manufacturer, but we are not sure.

  3. Brian 3

    Their solution to a burney battery is to have them all collected into boxes with a bunch of other lithium packs for disposal? No more house fires, just stores and collection facilities eh?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      They use the same magic containers TSA have at the airport.

      The ones where you can throw lots of unidentified suspect liquid explosives in when they take them off potential terrorists.

      I must say technology has advanced somewhat since my day. If we had a misfire and potentially un-detonated explosives it was a giant deal.

      The EOD guys, engineer corp, Fire service, everybody taking cover from half a mile away - now they just need a transparent plastic tub.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        That's not just any plastic tub. It's a TSA plastic tub! :-)

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          I'm assuming that's what they make tanks out of

        2. J. Cook Silver badge
          Coat

          I'll stick to my Pie Tin of Fire containment, TBH.

  4. mikecoppicegreen

    Always a surprise....

    when people find out that stored energy has the potential to do harm as well as good.

    (by the way, not intended to offend anyone here - I'm assuming the average El Reg reader is one of the enlightened!)

    Energy, by it's nature, has to be managed. the management challenges vary on the type of energy and the type of storage.

  5. Wobblin' Pete
    Mushroom

    Are we the problem

    While lithium batteries are really very safe, the problem is with the way we use them. All the other dangerours stuff mentioned above, propane camping stoves, petrol cans, even mains gas, tends not to be used in the bedroom over night while we are sleeping. In our house even the power packs for battery tools are charged in a corner of the kitchen (where there is a convenient power socket), and there happens to be a smoke detector between the kitchen and bedroom.

    But our beloved phones, power banks and toys all get charged overnight (while we are sleeping) in the bedrooms from the wall wart nearest to the bed, where the very occasional fire is inherently more serious. I make an effort to place my phone while charging on an old ceramic plate on the bedside table, not sure how much that would help if it burst into flames, but my wife (and I guess most other normal people) are more than happy to put the phone on nay old nearby surface, regardless how flammable it is.

    So while I would not want to set fire to the kitchen at lunchtime, it is likely to be less worrying than the bed I was sleeping in going up in the middle of the night.

    And sudden fires at night around sleeping people are also more likely to make the news, and be very bad news at that...

    1. Fonant

      Re: Are we the problem

      Looking at the same point from the other direction: there are billions of lithium batteries charged in all sorts of places, and yet the very rare occasion one catches fire (in this case, not being charged) the story is newsworthy.

      Lithium batteries, as used in mobile phones and the like, couldn't really be much safer.

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Are we the problem

        >Lithium batteries, as used in mobile phones and the like, couldn't really be much safer.

        Possibly, I've not seen reports of conventional non-rechargeable batteries catching fire. Whilst they can leak some harmful chemicals the extent of the damage they can cause is limited.

        I think give it another decade or so and lithium batteries will be as safe as cigarette lighters and/or cans of camping gaz.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Anyone remember...

    ...the EE branded powerbank from maybe 10 years ago.

    EE gave them away to UK customers so that the (back then) power hungry mobiles could be kept charged up during the day, while people went about their daily lives and without needing to find a suitable USB socket to recharge their phone.

    Eventually, EE recalled them, due to some issues that a few customers had. Shame really as for a 2600mAh external battery, it did a great job. (I think I've still got mine !)

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like