Quietly struggling with a Soduko puzzle when there was a sharp bang followed by something hitting the floor.
Grandchildren expected tomorrow and my wife had gathered our collection of used batteries on the kitchen worktop as a reminder for safe disposal.
The only possible way to short across the cell would be the negative socket on a 9V alkaline battery standing on edge! None of the AAAs are the right height.
So was it the 9v battery that exploded..?
The OP says it was the coin cell in the post heading and suggests it might have been the terminal of a 9V battery was responsible for shorting the coin cell. Coin cells are amongst the easiest of cells to short as the positive side wraps around the edge onto the same side as the negative only being separated by a slight difference in thickness and a very narrow insulator. Having said that it is the first I have heard of one exploding I have felt shorted cells getting warm but I suppose with Lithium anything is possible.
Richard
Interesting. I collect all my nominally dead batteries (everything from small hearing-aid batteries to 9v 6LR61's) in a poly bag prior to disposal. I've often wondered if there could be a short circuit somewhere in the bag between batteries that still had a little life left in them, resulting in a fire. Maybe I'll collect them differently in future.
Local council rubbish dump has a large 1m cubed plastic container that seemingly any type of rechargeable battery is flung in, whatever type, condition or state of charge.
There is also a smaller spent battery container in my local supermarket, potentially also containing excitable energy, but then again... maybe not as we would have multiple incidents of fires reported every day?
Officially, where specifically should component lithium cells removed from phones and laptops be recycled, when they swell up into menacing puffy bags?
Nowhere special. Just dont short them
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