Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
11-13-2016, 02:41 PM   #1
Veteran Member
EarlVonTapia's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,207
Wasabi Battery expanding, afraid it might explode

For my K-30 I switch between the stock D-li109 battery and a third party (Wasabi brand) battery. The Wasabi battery was ordered on May 2013.

Lately I have noticed that the Wasabi battery was getting harder and harder to put in and take out of my K-30's battery slot. So I took my digital micrometer and measured the width of the center of each battery.

Original battery: 14.062mm

Wasabi battery: 15.098mm!

I've searched the net and can't find any reports of Wasabi batteries (or any third party brand) Pentax batteries exploding, and I don't want to be the first.

I think I'm just at the point where I won't bother with third-party batteries anymore, but OEM batteries are kind of hard to get here in Canada.

11-13-2016, 03:14 PM   #2
Veteran Member
MJKoski's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,784
Yea get rid of it before it goes. Lithium stuff can cause all kinds of pyro effects from sparks to fire to explosion.
11-13-2016, 03:28 PM   #3
Veteran Member
Tako Kichi's Avatar

Join Date: May 2013
Location: SW Ontario, Canada (ex-pat Brit)
Posts: 1,296
I'd suggest ditching it right away but I'd also recommend putting it in a sealed metal container too. You don't want a fire in your camera nor do you want a fire in your garbage can or in the garbage truck either!

I've seen bad things with lithium polymer batteries used in RC products and it's not nice. The sealed metal container will contain most fires/explosions if they do happen. Lithium ion (Li) batteries (as used in cameras) are generally not quite as reactive as lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries but it's better to err on the side of safety.
11-13-2016, 03:47 PM   #4
New Member




Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 8
If you want to dispose of the battery putting it in a bucket of slightly salty water for a few days is probably the easiest way. (Salt water discharges the battery all the way, so there isn't enough energy to do anything... interesting)

11-13-2016, 05:20 PM   #5
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
stevebrot's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Vancouver (USA)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 42,007
QuoteOriginally posted by rszasz Quote
If you want to dispose of the battery putting it in a bucket of slightly salty water for a few days is probably the easiest way. (Salt water discharges the battery all the way, so there isn't enough energy to do anything... interesting)
I would suggest this may not be a good idea. Even a dilute salt solution will discharge the battery quickly and a quick discharge may lead to explosion:

Lithium battery - Wikipedia

I can't say whether such would happen, but I don't think it is worth the risk. I would be inclined to call the local waste disposal people and ask them for suggestions.


Steve
11-13-2016, 05:22 PM   #6
Veteran Member
lightbox's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 599
If you have something like a BestBuy or a Lowe's nearby, they collect used batteries for disposal.
11-13-2016, 09:05 PM   #7
Veteran Member
E-man's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 678
QuoteOriginally posted by lightbox Quote
If you have something like a BestBuy or a Lowe's nearby, they collect used batteries for disposal.
Batteries Plus stores do as well.

11-13-2016, 10:56 PM   #8
Pentaxian
stillshot2's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,070
I have a "synergy digital" battery I bought around the same time as yours that started to get difficult to remove from my K30 too. It's funny because it had a 3 year warranty and RIGHT after the warranty ended is when this started to happen. After reading this I just dug it out of a drawer I had been storing it in and I can now feel a noticeable bulge in it. I gotta get rid of this thing now before it becomes a note 7 haha. As of recent, I have switched over to eneloops I already had and an off brand $4 AA adapter for my K30.
11-13-2016, 11:00 PM   #9
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
geomez's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,760
I've had original manufacturer batteries that have done the same. Luckily no Pentax batteries, nor any Wasabi batteries. I would blame lithium ion technology before I blamed Wasabi.
11-13-2016, 11:23 PM   #10
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Utah
Posts: 428
I had the same thing happen with a Wasabi battery. It almost got stuck in the camera.
11-14-2016, 12:02 AM   #11
New Member




Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 8
QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
I would suggest this may not be a good idea. Even a dilute salt solution will discharge the battery quickly and a quick discharge may lead to explosion:

Lithium battery - Wikipedia

I can't say whether such would happen, but I don't think it is worth the risk. I would be inclined to call the local waste disposal people and ask them for suggestions.


Steve
Assuming it is an 8.4 volt battery, discharging it to 6 volts or so will take almost all the energy out of it. Dropping it in salty water afterwards will take it down to ~0 energy (A 1k ohm resistor across the terminals will discharge starting at about 70mW, take the capacity in mWh divide by 40 to get a ballpark number of hours to fully discharge the battery to the point where you don't have to worry about it anymore, this WILL kill the battery)

250ohms will work for a 4.2 volt battery, 2.5kohm for 12.6 volts
11-14-2016, 02:08 AM   #12
Pentaxian
Jonathan Mac's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Madrid, Spain
Posts: 10,852
I had a Sony Li Ion minidisc battery start to expand once, luckily it hasn't happened to any camera batteries. My K3 battery still works fine, the two third-party ones I bought hold less charge every day and work quite poorly.

Eventually I'll need to buy a new original Pentax one.
11-14-2016, 02:28 AM   #13
Veteran Member
EarlVonTapia's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,207
Original Poster
Thanks for the replies all.

I have been wondering about a safe way to drain the battery. I should note that I have used it a few times in its ever-expanding state, so maybe one more round of use won't hurt (famous last words). But I do have a tin ready for it once I'm ready to dispose of it properly.

As for third-party vs original battery, I think I might just have to suck it up and overpay for an OEM battery shipped across the soon-to-be-NAFTA-free border.
11-14-2016, 07:16 AM   #14
Veteran Member
narual's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: South Bend (Notre Dame), Indiana
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,988
You've had one third party battery go bad. Lots of people have had zero third party batteries go bad. I don't think this constitutes evidence of impending doom for all third party batteries, or any reason to purchase an OEM battery.

The only batteries I've had this happen with have been made by Apple. I had 2 early macbook pro batteries swell up, and one iphone 3GS that was a good inch thick. The macbook pro batteries were replaced without question. The dude at the genius bar told me that the 3gs was *supposed* to swell up in order to prevent it from exploding. He was a twit, and the only genius bar chap I've ever been lied to by.
11-14-2016, 09:48 AM   #15
Forum Member




Join Date: May 2016
Location: Maine
Posts: 95
If you can still fit it in the camera body I would just run it down the old fashioned way... just use it.

I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to buy another Wasabi battery but I agree with others this sounds like a fluke thing and there does not seem to be any evidence of a widespread problem with 3rd party batteries. Also there are many ways a lithium battery can fail and not all of them represent manufacturing defects: if the battery got too hot it could expand (left in a hot car for too long?), or if it was dropped there could be internal damage causing a short circuit. It's also possible that the battery may have shorted out if it was left in a bag with some metal items (the internal circuitry of the battery is supposed to prevent that kind of short but who knows).

Also FYI it's possible that the battery is not at fault but instead it was overcharged by a faulty charger. Do you have any knockoff chargers from eBay or something? Wasabi is a pretty respected brand so I wouldn't worry about a charger from them (or Pentax) particularly, but if you have anything else I would consider it suspect.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
batteries, battery, brand, party, third, tripod, wasabi, wasabi battery
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
warning about wasabi replacement battery for Q hoffo Pentax Q 12 06-13-2016 01:37 PM
Wasabi charger and battery question tibbitts Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 12 04-11-2015 09:30 AM
“Don’t Be Afraid” – Emily Soto On What It Takes To Succeed As A Photographer Winder Photographic Industry and Professionals 8 01-31-2015 10:13 PM
Macro Ready to explode....... eaglem Post Your Photos! 7 10-24-2014 07:16 PM
How much might a repair cost before you decide it's not worth it. sterretje Pentax DSLR Discussion 7 02-25-2010 07:11 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:01 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top