Product recall: Mermaid tails, hoverboards listed 'unsafe' for Christmas presents

[ecar3483]

Every year it's the same story - unsafe toys, but people buy them anyway because they're the latest fad.

It's no wonder that the Darwin Awards were invented.

From the ABC News website -

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-18/mermaid-tails,-hoverboards-listed-unsafe-for-christmas/7042246

The Darwin Awards Wikipedia page -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

[jimmy*part4]

I don't know if hoverboards bursting into flames have been on your news, but that have been here.

They usually burst into flames while charging, but not always. One guy said he was riding it when it exploded, the flames shot out both sides. It burned down a house, burnt a floor, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jblw2Y__NTQ

This kid explains it pretty good and how to prevent it, if you MUST have one. Of course, once again...it's caused by cheap chinese products...the battery in this case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OcRLAj8Kbq4

And always keep those flat lithium batteries away from pets and small children.

Seems there's no escaping lithium!

[kopenhagen5]

I also heard hoverboards are only allowed to be used on private property not in public in most states.

[ecar3483]

Qantas and Jetstar wont take Lithium batteries as cargo, anymore. Apparently there's a risk of fire or explosion.

Now I'm cursing having put my mind in neutral during chemistry class, at school. I know what the batteries look like, but I don't understand the chemical reactions that go on inside them; the bit that makes them work,or not work.

[jimmy*part4]

Any battery can start a fire, not just lithium batteries. Although they do store more power in a smaller space and are now found in almost any device.

But even a 9 volt battery can start a fire. Take one and brush it up against steel wool.

(Handy in certain situations)

[kopenhagen5]

Without detailing the how the lithium ions produce energy,

"Unlike simpler batteries, lithium-ion ones have built in electronic controllers that regulate how they charge and discharge. They prevent the overcharging and overheating that can cause lithium-ion batteries to explode in some circumstances"

And I am guessing the electronic controllers vary in quality depending on where they are made.

Hence the concerns.

[imastawka]

Which is why seller of mobile phones are supposed to send

them by road.

Newby sellers don't realise the implications of not declaring that it's

a mobile phone in that parcel

[jimmy*part4]

---

@kopenhagen5 wrote:

Without detailing the how the lithium ions produce energy,

"Unlike simpler batteries, lithium-ion ones have built in electronic controllers that regulate how they charge and discharge. They prevent the overcharging and overheating that can cause lithium-ion batteries to explode in some circumstances"

And I am guessing the electronic controllers vary in quality depending on where they are made.

Hence the concerns.

---

Not exactly. The electronics you are describing are built into the PC Boards of the devices. They're only there because they are rechargeable.

The same with alkaline batteries. If you were to put a non rechargeable lithium OR alkaline battery into a rechageable device they could catch fire, without any defects.

A cross section of a rechargeable lithium battery....(no electronics)

[ecar3483]

Don't put a 9 volt battery in your pocket, with your keys.

If one of the keys touches both terminals on the battery, at the same time, and there is a fair likelihood of that happening, the battery heats up Very quickly, and your thigh is not a place where you want a burn.

Trust me on that. A lesson, painfully, learnt.

[jimmy*part4]

Never carry a bunch of D batteries in your pocket either.