|  | Public Health Safety | Work Safety

Battery Recharger Dangers

Battery rechargers have become more common as more people have tried to be environmentally friendly. In addition to household battery chargers, there are chargers for two-way radios and for cordless power tool battery packs. While useful and certainly a better alternative to buying new batteries all the time, these rechargers do have some dangers associated with them that users should be know.

  1. Charges

    • Battery chargers may need repairs from time to time. Some people will be able to fix these chargers on their own, unplugging them from the wall socket to make sure that the electricity isn't flowing into the charger. However, even if you unplug the wall plug and all of the batteries from the charger, there's a chance that a lingering electric charge will be in the appliance. Grounding the battery charger before beginning any sort of repairs is an important safety step. In addition, all repairs should be done with insulated tools.

    Battery Damage

    • The purpose of a battery charger is to put an electric charge back into a battery that's either been used up or is nearly used up. However, this charging creates a buildup of heat. If there is too much heat, or if the battery is over-charged, the battery may be damaged to the point that it will no longer be usable. For regular, household batteries, this isn't as important since they're relatively inexpensive, but for larger battery packs or even cell phone batteries, this could result in a hefty cost to replace the damaged battery. Carefully monitoring the charging times and heat of a battery charger can help prevent damage to the batteries placed in it.

    Multiple Ports

    • Some battery chargers have only a single charging port, which means that only a single battery can be charged at a time. Other chargers have multiple ports, so more than one battery can be charged. It's important that you monitor the charger to see how many batteries are taking a charge, and whether or not they're charging at the right rate. A damaged port won't charge a battery, but if there are too many batteries, then they won't be charging fast enough. Putting too much strain on a battery charger can be dangerous, and over time it can lead to a malfunction or a blown fuse in the charger.

Work Safety - Related Articles