Swollen battery....

lateck2

Well-known member
Sep 11, 2016
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Hello all.
I had a battery in my V10 swell up. So much that it pushed the back apart.
A little background. My back up V10, not used for some time, stored in the house. I did a full factory reset and wipe of the phone and 200gb card. All normal.
Noticed the battery level at 60%. No problem. Put it on one of my Anker 2.0 chargers that I have used with the V10 and my Tab S2 ( no problems ).
I noticed it said it would take 9 hours to charge. I did not worry, fluk I thought.
An hour later noticed it was charged. I also noticed that the back was separated from the fingerprint button(?????). Pulled the back and yes the battery was swollen. Strange.
Anyone else have this problem? I don't have a photo but will try to remember tomorrow.

Lateck,
 
Wow! This is the first I've heard of this with the V10. Was it the original LG battery? If so it's close to 2 years old so it could be the battery age. Could also be an issue with the Anker Charger as well or a combination of both. Scary stuff though especially after the Note 7 thing.
 
Probably a problem occurred when it was stored. Some chemical reaction. The recharging then triggered the swelling (formation of gas).
 
I'll post a photo later this morning so everyone can see it's real.
The battery is not the original but it is a LG replacement that I got on promo when I bought the phone. So it is 2 years old (+/-).
I stored the phone in my spare backpack in the house, temp 79/80°f and dry. Same as I store other phone batteries (V20) and flashlight batteries.

Lateck,
 
We're not saying it's not real. But batteries are known to swell up when some chemical reactions take place. It won't necessarily happen all the time as it is a bit unpredictable. Just throw away the battery and get a new one.
 
chanchan05, thank you. Yes, I do realize chemical reactions happen.
A little follow up. I had placed the battery ( an LG, BL45B1F with a date of 2015.11.16<L>) in the freezer at work for safety. I just pulled it out and it was back to normal. But as I am typing it is warming up and expanding again.
I have attached a photo showing the bulge starting.

Lateck,
 

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I agree. Throw it away (or recycle it) and get a new one. It's not worth the risk.
 
Thanks to all. I do agree and have removed the battery.
I more wanted to let others know of this happening. It makes me pause on the new V30, it having a non-removable battery........
 
I have 3 batteries that did that. they're all 18-20 months old and are certainly at the end of their life cycle. I have since replaced them.
 
If you haven't disposed of it yet, I wouldn't suggest throwing it away. If you have a shop in your area that can safely discharge them and dispose of them, that would be great. Tossing it in the trash as is, without discharging it completely to 0.0V (0% on the phone is not really a fully discharged battery) can risk a fire if it pops in the garbage.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can search the web for how to properly discharge a Lipo before disposal. I will say don't use the salt water bath method. The salt corrodes the connections before it's empty, thus preventing a full discharge and the inability to get a reliable voltage reading when it appears done. It'll show zero on a multi-meter due to the corrosion.

If you're feeling dangerous, there's also more... Spectacular ways of discharging batteries in a very uncontrolled way. I of course do not recommend using these methods. If you want to watch batteries being stabbed, shot, shorted out, etc, use YouTube for that.