Are you at risk for a cell phone fire?

by John Smithe

Can a cell phone catch fire? It is possible, especially if the battery is tampered with.

Short circuiting the battery terminals can cause the battery to explode. If the battery is fully charged the likelihood of the battery exploding when short circuited is even greater.

The older NiCad batteries are not as prone to exploding; however, they will get very hot when short circuited. Although some of NiCad batteries will explode when they are short circuited.

Over the last several years cell phone manufactures have switched to lithium batteries. Lithium batteries offer many advantages over NiCad. They pack more power per cell. They provide longer talk times. They weigh less.

With these benefits comes a significant issue, lithium batteries are more likely to explode when short circuited or over heated.

A man is suing Nokia alleging that his Nokia cell phone caught fire in his pants pocket causing him second and third degree burns. According to Nokia, when their engineers examined the charred phone, it still worked.

Here are some tips to provide a safe cell phone experience:

· Don’t short circuit the battery.

· Don’t freeze the battery. It doesn’t help revive a dead battery.

· Don’t allow your cell phone to over heat.

A cell phone like any other device with a battery has the potential to explode. Using basic precautions cell phones are a safe device that provides a great deal of usefulness to our daily lives.

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