HELP - Safely removing damaged cells

[delvxe]

I made a bad mistake overnight and ruined my battery that is installed in my van. See photos. I need advice on how to safely remove these cells. They are completely wedged in since they are so far swollen. Will the swelling go down? How long will that take? It has only been a couple hours since this happened. I just feel terrible and like a complete bone head. I have completely disconnected.

 

[MisterSandals]

They are completely wedged in since they are so far swollen. Will the swelling go down?

What voltage are they at currently?
I've not heard of anybody trying to reduce the swelling but maybe if you could reduce the voltage
some of the swelling will subside? Mostly a guess.

 

[delvxe]

Willing to give it a try. A little afraid to reconnect the individual cells. Can I drain them individually and any guidance on how to do that would be welcome. The voltage is all over the board with them but they are up to 3.8v

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

Willing to give it a try. A little afraid to reconnect the individual cells. Can I drain them individually and any guidance on how to do that would be welcome. The voltage is all over the board with them but they are up to 3.8v

The quicker you discharge them, the less damage they will suffer, but I cannot offer any advice on how to do so safely. Search the forums and continue to wait for advice. Time is of the essence, as I understand it.

 

[MisterSandals]

Can I drain them individually and any guidance on how to do that would be welcome.

You can drain them individually with just about any dumb appliance - things that heat like a halogen bulb, soldering iron, ... anything that will just draw a bunch of power without electronics or motors (not many will "run or turn on" with 3.2-4v).

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

Overcharged lifepo4 cells: Help!

I overcharged my cells to 4.5v and now want to quickly discharge them so they don't hang around at that state. How can I do this safely? There is no visible distortion, no blown vents. I have no way that I know of to get them back down to a good voltage. My 12v inverter lays voltage to high; my...

diysolarforum.com

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

What was the highest voltage they got to?

 

[delvxe]

What was the highest voltage they got to?

Thanks for the link. to the other post. I don't know how high they got. I set things up last night then came back to this and quickly disassembled. The highest I currently see is 3.95 v (correction from my earlier post of 3.8).

 

[delvxe]

You can drain them individually with just about any dumb appliance - things that heat like a halogen bulb, soldering iron, ... anything that will just draw a bunch of power without electronics or motors (not many will "run or turn on" with 3.2-4v).

I have some dumb appliances. Would I simply connect wires from pos/neg from the individual cells to an extra outlet and plug in the appliance?

 

[Forbisher]

I made a bad mistake overnight and ruined my battery that is installed in my van. See photos. I need advice on how to safely remove these cells.

Did you have a BMS installed when you overcharged the cells?

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

I have some dumb appliances. Would I simply connect wires from pos/neg from the individual cells to an extra outlet and plug in the appliance?

No! Needs to be a DC appliance.

 

[delvxe]

Did you have a BMS installed when you overcharged the cells?

Yes, but I accidentally bypassed it.

 

[delvxe]

No! Needs to be a DC appliance.

Should I be able to connect an inverter you think?

 

[MisterSandals]

(Sorry i meant to post this a while ago)

No! Needs to be a DC appliance.

It can be an AC light bulb or AC soldering iron or any other things like that.

I have some dumb appliances. Would I simply connect wires from pos/neg from the individual cells to an extra outlet and plug in the appliance?

Yes. NOT something that has a motor or some electronics that controls it. Its gotta be dumb. Probably a curling iron too if it does not have any switches or heat controls (dumb!).

 

[MisterSandals]

Should I be able to connect an inverter you think?

I am sure your inverter is not a 3.5-4v inverter.

Do you have a 100w light bulb? Any big light build will do.

 

[delvxe]

I am sure your inverter is not a 3.5-4v inverter.

Do you have a 100w light bulb? Any big light build will do.

Just a regular socket with a couple of wires should work?

 

[MisterSandals]

Just a regular socket with a couple of wires should work?

You don't even need a socket (but yes that would be easier).


Don't expect it to actually light up, it may glow a little. You want to feel heat to know its
pulling energy out of your cell.

 

[DerpsyDoodler]

(Sorry i meant to post this a while ago)

It can be an AC light bulb or AC soldering iron or any other things like that.


Yes. NOT something that has a motor or some electronics that controls it. Its gotta be dumb. Probably a curling iron too if it does not have any switches or heat controls (dumb!).

My bad. I like to err on the side of caution.

 

[delvxe]

UPDATE————

I was able to drain a couple of the cells some but don’t think that reduced any of the swelling. I think the tight box must have saved me and kept them from bursting open. I was eventually able to extract one of them using a little motor oil and elbow grease.
The cells are in tact but swelled up to nearly 2x their thickness. I assume these are hazardous waste now. Any advice on proper disposal? Of course will call my local (seattle) utility to inquire.

 

[MisterSandals]

.

Any advice on proper disposal?

Put them in a nice Amazon box and leave it on your front porch.