Do lithium-ion batteries only melt down during an energy transaction (i.e. when being charged/discharged), or do a significant number of meltdowns happen when the battery is just sitting on a shelf?
Wondering how concerned I should be about the batteries for my cordless drill (stored on a wooden shelf under my wooden workbench…).
it’s most common for them to experience “thermal runaway” when charged or discharged too rapidly. However, manufacturing defects can cause them to go poof just sitting. IIRC the big Sony laptop battery recall from several years ago was due to flaws in the cells causing internal short circuits.
'zactly.
We’ve stopped carrying shipments of packaged batteries because sometimes they just go off/up. Any latent defect can go into runaway mode at any moment. Vibration in our environment is a potential trigger for that. Which is not a problem the OP will have (much) on his shelf. OTOH, each time he drops or whacks a battery he’s increasing the odds of creating a latent defect. Which leads to a question for the OP: How hard are you on your tools?
Speaking just for me, I’m coming to see Li-ion batteries as being like oil-soaked rags. Spontaneous combustion is a rare, but non-zero, risk. Store the bigger ones with that in mind.
We store the Li-ion batteries for our [del]RC model aircraft[/del] drones in metal containers, on metal shelves. So far, the only melt down resulted in a scorched box, no further damage. Just a suggestion.
Granted, they were tiny batteries, probably smaller than what you’re using, but those suckers burn very hot if they do go up. I suggestion storing them away from anything flammable.