Lifepo4 Cells (EVE,REPT,Lichen,etc) - Fire ? ..?

[solardad]

There have been other reports of LFE fires and one was using lead acid. The most serious one I recall, other than fhorst's, was reported by @stobbie in this thread and his van was destroyed in the fire The cause was never determined...much specualation as with the other fires. But speculation is good. I am not convinced one way or the other the cell was the cause of the fire is any of these cases.

@Gazoo

Ahhh I do remember reading that post. Thanks for linking to it.

In the poll I noticed a spot to vote for swelling. There is a big difference between normal expansion and bloating. Some equate swelling with normal expansion. I don't. Terms are terms but I would have used bloating in the poll instead of swelling

Agree. In the EVE spec. sheet I think they reference that cells will have some mm expansion and contraction.

Having said that this is a great poll and I do thank @solardad for taking the time to put it together. The more we learn the better.

Thanks.

I think in the end I really wonder is there anything that can be done with what appears to be perfectly looking cells..?
Appears that no what what protection gear that you have, fuses, BMS, etc.. will not protect you from an internal short.

So do you try and monitor the temperature of each cell? Batrium does a decent job (what I have) but it only does it at one terminal per cell which would not cover the latest scenario from @fhorst where it failed at the terminal vs cell body. If that makes any sense.

Even then if you do 'catch' a cell failing would turning off the system do anything if the cell is starting to runaway?
Are you up shit's creek unless you try and disconnect the cell and remove it from the pack safely?
Sounds unreasonable especially if you are sleeping or are away etc..

Thoughts?

 

[Gazoo]

Even then if you do 'catch' a cell failing would turning off the system do anything if the cell is starting to runaway?

I can't think of anything that would help in the event a cell shorts internally. Like I said I am not convinced any of these mishaps were caused by an internal short (and I really hope not) and I have no knowledge how to verify it. Perhaps disassembly of the cell would tell us something but who wants to do that and what would one look for? The only way is prevention and I don't know what to recommend. Maybe a steel container set on top of a concrete pad or something like that for those of us using the cells in a stationary environment. For those using cells in a mobile environment things can get tricky. I mean if a cell shorts internally one can't be expected to remove it and put it is a safe place until the event is concluded

It is concerning but we just don't know for sure if any cells have shorted internally and many have had them in use for awhile with no issues. My 8 EVE cells are sitting on a cart in my apartment. I don't use high C rates charging or discharging and they have been in use most of the time since February. I received them in November and experimented with them until I received my UPS in February. Now they just sit in a float stage ready in case there is a power outage.