Rank: Super forum user 
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I've just been told of a customer (Ex-FSO) who mentioned that his friends have been called out to five different fires recently caused by batteries placed in a collection box for recycling.
I've never heard of this happening before. Anyone else?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Yes I have heard of similar things but I don't have any details.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I have no doubt it can happen, and still have unpleasant memories to provide some sort of evidence!
Carrying a modest pocketful of spent batteries in my trouser pocket to deposit in the supermarket recycling bin, I experienced sudden and quite dramatic heat evolution - from the batteries - presumably caused when the mix of AA, AAA and button cells shorted.
I escaped injury but lived in trepidation of the store security video appearing on TV, showing me at the store entrance dancing around like a fool trying to prevent a nasty burn and squeaky voice!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Ian.Blenkharn wrote:I have no doubt it can happen, and still have unpleasant memories to provide some sort of evidence!
Carrying a modest pocketful of spent batteries in my trouser pocket to deposit in the supermarket recycling bin, I experienced sudden and quite dramatic heat evolution - from the batteries - presumably caused when the mix of AA, AAA and button cells shorted.
I escaped injury but lived in trepidation of the store security video appearing on TV, showing me at the store entrance dancing around like a fool trying to prevent a nasty burn and squeaky voice! Excellent story, a lively scene I expect! Yes, I have also heard of incidents involving storage of batteries...
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Rank: Forum user
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Mybe slightly off topic but we had a fire last week when a contractor put a new battery in his cordless drill and threw his spent battery in his toolbox. Spent or not it managed to short circuit on his other tools in the box and set on fire.
I can see how a recycling box could easily replicate the same conditions and set alight.
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Rank: Forum user
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There's a lot of power in batteries, even ones which are 'spent' have simply dropped from their required voltage level, i.e. the 1.5 has now dropped to 1.2 etc.
Lets not forget that the typical rechargeable is actually 1.2v, not 1.5v, it's just that they can maintain that 1.2 for a considerable time, whereas a conventional battery drops terminal voltage rapidly once it reaches it's threshold.
I have a great respect for batteries; in my time in Aviation, I've seen people get some small but nasty burns when they accidentally shorted out a battery circuit.
If you want to start a fire, just get some wire wool and a PP3 9v battery together.
I personally would advocate only 1.5v batteries in recycling boxes (AAA, AA, C, D) and then only small quantities, i.e. about a 4ltr plastic tub.
However, there are some schools of thought that if you do wish to recycle Lithium-ion batteries, then they should be mixed with conventional batteries, simply to stop too many powerful batteries being in one container together.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A known problem, which has been discussed on the forum before. Ages ago though so finding it would be difficult (the search facility's not that good).
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