So I've got a battery here that is growing...

[G8racingfool]

I'll keep this short and sweet. Had a customer bring a ~2011ish Macbook Pro in for a harddrive replacement. While replacing the hard drive I noticed that the battery looked a little chubbier than normal. I didn't pay it too much mind at first but after a few days (had to do a sector-by-sector transfer recovery) I couldn't help but notice it was really noticeable now. So I went ahead and pulled it out and sure enough, this things really bloated. Here's the kicker, it's still growing. And it's growing rather quickly despite not being charged or plugged in to any power sources. When I left for lunch about an hour ago there were a couple of 1/4-1/2" long tears in the adhesive casing. Those tears are now ~2" long and the battery is big enough that I can't put it back in the MBP because it will no longer fit (it's pushing the touchpad right out of the front of the case).

I'm not a huge expert on batteries so is there any way to shrink this thing back down to size? Or should I put it outside and hope for the best? I'm obviously not going to give it back to the customer this way, I just don't want it turning into a grenade here in my shop.

 

[Umbra]

This may help you:

https://www.howtogeek.com/244846/what-to-do-when-your-phone-or-laptop-has-a-swollen-battery/

 

[trevm999]

swelling batteries are really common in macbooks, I've never seen one burst, but I've also never seen one in the process of swelling either.

Usually people notice the trackpad being hard to click when it starts swelling, so maybe your customer will remember that when you tell them they need a new battery

 

[NviGate Systems]

I'd love to see what a hydraulic press would do. There is a guy on YouTube who squashes things for fun. He has done batteries before, but I'm sure they were typical AA.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

You should see the mess they make when you have the double height rack mount UPS units in server racks...the batteries normally slide out in a sled to replace, but when they swell...oh boy...what a fun challenge to get them out. Sometimes you just cant!

 

[Diggs]

I'd love to see what a hydraulic press would do. There is a guy on YouTube who squashes things for fun. He has done batteries before, but I'm sure they were typical AA.

Woa! Not with Lipos! Fire/explosion! Lipos are a whole 'nother story.

 

[G8racingfool]

Well, left it overnight and it's absolutely HUGE this morning. Hasn't exploded or anything but you can definitely tell the thing's done for. Guess it's a good thing this happened while it was in the shop because I'd hate to have had the customer take this back and have something bad happen.

 

[GTP]

This may help you:

https://www.howtogeek.com/244846/what-to-do-when-your-phone-or-laptop-has-a-swollen-battery/

The last part of this article states: (quote) Don’t Leave It Plugged In
You don’t need to constantly charge your battery. It isn’t good for the battery, it introduces additional heat, and your batteries are happiest when they aren’t too hot and aren’t too full.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t leave your laptop plugged in while in the midst of a marathon work session, but you don’t need to leave it plugged in all day, every day.(end quote)

I have to disagree with this. In my experience I have never had a problem with a laptop being permanently plugged in. My own laptops are permanently connected for their entire lives, usually around 3~4 years. After their service life I usually onsell them with the original battery that seems to be just fine.
Most of my clients laptops are plugged in permanently also.

 

[Diggs]

Actually it goes both ways depending on the battery. Nicads always generated heat when fully charged and left plugged in which led to short lifespans. LiPos/Li-ions can stay plugged in as they have intelligent charging and will turn it's charge current on and off internally to keep the pack between 95-100%. LiPo/Li-ion are not always in the charging state when plugged in. The Li series batteries are most happy at ~55% charge for long term storage.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I'll keep this short and sweet. Had a customer bring a ~2011ish Macbook Pro in for a harddrive replacement. While replacing the hard drive I noticed that the battery looked a little chubbier than normal. I didn't pay it too much mind at first but after a few days (had to do a sector-by-sector transfer recovery) I couldn't help but notice it was really noticeable now. So I went ahead and pulled it out and sure enough, this things really bloated. Here's the kicker, it's still growing. And it's growing rather quickly despite not being charged or plugged in to any power sources. When I left for lunch about an hour ago there were a couple of 1/4-1/2" long tears in the adhesive casing. Those tears are now ~2" long and the battery is big enough that I can't put it back in the MBP because it will no longer fit (it's pushing the touchpad right out of the front of the case).

I'm not a huge expert on batteries so is there any way to shrink this thing back down to size? Or should I put it outside and hope for the best? I'm obviously not going to give it back to the customer this way, I just don't want it turning into a grenade here in my shop.

Contact your local fire department. Many FDs have a battery drop off point. If you have a battery recycle center then contact them. DO not attempt to alter this battery in any way. If it should burst it can catch on fire and will burn so long as it can get oxygen.

 

[fencepost]

That's one of the things I like about ThinkPads, and something I do on almost every one I set up (after briefing the owner/user): I change the battery charging settings to not start charging unless it's below 75-80%, and to stop charging at 80-85% (I'm not always consistent on the exact numbers). Most of these are laptops that live on desks but get unplugged and carried in & out of exam rooms, so they may spend 2-3 hours unplugged if things are busy. By capping the max charge lower it extends the battery lifespan and makes it more likely they can just keep a single battery for the useful life of the laptop.

I explain it to users using a balloon analogy - the battery is like a balloon, and if you think about how long a balloon will last if you repeatedly inflate it most of the way vs repeatedly going all the way it's a big difference and something people can understand.

 

[Umbra]

I have to disagree with this. In my experience I have never had a problem with a laptop being permanently plugged in. My own laptops are permanently connected for their entire lives, usually around 3~4 years. After their service life I usually onsell them with the original battery that seems to be just fine.

I also agree with that, lithium-ion batteries in modern laptop/phones are made to stop charging when they are full.
What wears the battery is consistent discharge/recharge cycles (which batteries have a limit) and overheat (like when you let your device under hot conditions).

 

[G8racingfool]

Contact your local fire department. Many FDs have a battery drop off point. If you have a battery recycle center then contact them. DO not attempt to alter this battery in any way. If it should burst it can catch on fire and will burn so long as it can get oxygen.

Yea about that.... I'm in a rural area so I checked in with the head of the local VFD and his recommendation was to toss it outside for now and later hack the thing open and pop the offending cell which is an absolutely bonkers idea (I've read you can put it in salt water and do that but even then it's a bad idea) so I'm ruling that one out. The closest battery recycling center is over an hour away and I'm not sure they'll even take damaged batteries (working on finding out though). So I'm kinda on-my-own for now.

 

[GTP]

Further to my post, there probably is no point in even keeping the battery in the laptop if it is permanently connected to power.
The only benefit to keeping it is during the odd power failure scenario. I don't have my laptops connected to the UPS.