Is my husband's light-up cane going to kill us all in our sleep?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I ordered my husband a Pathfinder light-up cane (essentially, a cane with a flashlight in the bottom portion). I could have swore I read the reviews, but evidently not. The first cane arrived, I put in the batteries, it worked just fine, I gave it to my husband, it no longer worked. Returned it originally for a refund, but the company called and said, “Yeah, it was defective, do you want another?” and I agreed to accept a replacement.

New cane came today. I put in the batteries (3 AA, if it matters), it lit up even as I was screwing it back together. Good, it works, I thought, let’s just turn it off so the batteries don’t run down. Except, it didn’t turn off. I removed the batteries, and, on a whim, turned them the opposite direction (the instructions are somewhat unclear which way they go). Again, the cane lit up. And would not switch off.

I turned the tube upside down to remove the batteries once more. Metal shavings fell out. I got a flashlight and looked down the battery tube. There is a nest of metal shavings, as though–and I’ll admit I know very little about how batteries work–the battery slot was too big and they filled in the spot with leftover metal scraps.

After shaking out all loose shavings, I put the batteries in once more, and found that in one position (i.e., the batteries facing one direction) the light comes on and doesn’t go off, while in the other position it works properly in switching on/off.

What concerns me–and please don’t make fun–is that the weird connection issues make it a fire hazard. If it was up to me, I’d ship the damn thing back yesterday, but my husband really wants the cane. Can someone who knows about such esoteric things give an opinion?

tl;dr Cane flashlight doesn’t seem to care which way batteries are turned; battery tube is filled with metal shavings.

2

I don’t think three AAA batteries would generate enough heat to do you in, but the presence of shavings in their compartment? Not a good sign, especially considering the fact the first unit was defective. Let the first one (second one, I mean) fail and don’t replace it. Everybody’s happy.

3

Oh, thank you for answering. I was thinking I was going to have to bump the thread with a message of, “Hey, guys, night is falling, could use some help.”

Edit, AA, not AAA.

4

I doubt it will catch fire. But no promises and it being sentient and plotting your nocturnal demise in other ways.

5

The main problem with cheap AA batteries with bad connections is that they get flat, leak, and corrode the metal, which you then throw out.

Really expensive high-density rechargable LiIon batteries are a possible fire risk. I’d be wary of 3W 3.6V Li-Ion cells.

Assuming you mean normal 1.5V AA cells, the risk is that you damage the cane and throw it out.

6

It sounds like they sent you a refurbished one as a replacement, instead of a brand new one. So yes, it will kill you.

7

Hey, the OP seems genuinely concerned about this. So if you were joking, it wasn’t very nice.

8

Eh, it’s okay, but thank you.

I’m hoping he’ll lose it somewhere. (This would not be without precedent.)

9

ah, no edit, I just can’t read. Still, I don’t see three AAs being a fire risk except for the metal shavings. Maybe vacuum them all out of the chamber and try to verify it’s clean?

10

Return the cane and get a refund. They make glow in the dark tips and handles for canes. Go with one of them.

11

Do you think it would be Able?

12

Oh sorry, I thought the fact that we were talking about inanimate objects coming to life planted it firmly in the tongue-in-cheek category. In my defense, I meant what I said; it sounds like they sent her a refurbished product, as companies usually do when they’re sending a replacement.

13

It’s name is Virgil, not Able. All of his canes are named Virgil.

14

Update: Still alive.

15

This was a triumph.

16

This is brilliant. But NOT in a good way…Or is it? I can’t tell anymore.

17

Well, I’m going to take a stab at solving/explaining one of the issues the OP raised.

Is it possible that the mechanism to turn the light on and off moves a piece of metal to make contact with one end of the batteries? If so, this would explain why the cane will turn off when they are inserted in one direction but won’t when they are inserted in the other. The positive terminal of the battery protrudes slightly, while the negative end is flat. In older “twist-on, twist-off” flashlights, the mechanism doesn’t move far enough away from the positive terminal when the batteries are inserted incorrectly. It’s just a result of the design.

However, this usually doesn’t happen in LED flashlights, because the polarity of the batteries is important. It only happens when the flashlight uses an incandescent bulb, which is oblivious to the polarity of the batteries.

Just an observation…

18

Congrats on making it through the night!

It seems from your OP that you do have another flashlight and I’ll bet your husband has another cane. A little duct tape and all your problems are solved! You’re welcome!!!

19

I’d just return it on general principles. No product should have extra metal shavings.