When your Dewalt five amp battery falls into a bucket of water…

[A930Rocket]

I keep a couple of Dewalt chargers on the wall and as luck would have it, when I pulled the batteries out, one fell into my wash the car bucket, that was half full. It didn’t spark or explode. I fished it out and set it outside on the driveway, covered it with a metal pan, in case it decided to burst into flames.

I’m going to check, but I thought they were lithium ion batteries and the bath it took, would be a problem. In any event, I’m not going to keep it and we’ll dispose of it properly. I don’t want the car/garage/house bursting in the flames.

Thoughts (besides moving the bucket of water)?

[Bill Douglas]

I'm sure it will be fine once it dries. Not much current would have come out of it due to resistors etc. They have quite sophisticated circuitry to prevent too much current going out or coming in.

[LWJ]

^^^agreed. Dry that out. Let it sit for a week to see if anything happens. (It won't). Charge it somewhere that it can catch on fire. (It won't). Then use it.

Hats off to you for caution. But the cells are sealed. Once the offending water is gone, the odds of a short are gone as well. But, I am curious. Keep us posted. This is an intersting twist on some newer tech. I have been wrong before.

[911 Rod]

If these were susceptible to exploding's 1/2 the garages in the country would have burned down.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

If these were susceptible to exploding's 1/2 the garages in the country would have burned down.

plus a plethora of contractor/workman work trucks.

[Arizona_928]

When I did the whole industrial hygiene stuff...

Lithium ion batteries go in a metal bucket covered with sand... Do not puncture, as it'll ignite. Clean Harbors is the hazardous waste company that I prefer to use. veolia*is absolute garbage.



TBH, if it dries out and did not short. I bet it's G2G

[herr_oberst]

Schrödinger's battery?

[Arizona_928]

lol!^^^

[A930Rocket]

I have 10 of those batteries that I keep in my truck or on top of my toolbox in the garage. I’m not worried about them under normal conditions, it’s just the one that fell into the bucket of water…😂

I’m headed to VIR, but left the battery in the driveway with that cooking pan on top. I use that pan when I’m working on the cars too contain tools, nuts, bolts, etc.

[aschen]

it will be fine the cells are hermetically sealled, the boards are potted and/or conformally coated they are meant for abuse.

I personally would open carefully and wipe down the cells just to ensure no long term corrosion

[fintstone]

Personally, I would open it up and dry it out....and if it works, it works. You can replace individual batteries inside (one or all) if you care to. It is a lot cheaper than a new battery (5aH like that is pricey), but time consuming (as not designed for repair/replacement). Plenty of youtube folks doing just that...so easy to see if you wan to make the effort. I had a 6 ah that died within the warranty, and they sent me an 8ah (as they were out of 6 ah). Made me pretty happy as that 8ah is a monster (although heavy for some applications). They did not want the 6aH back...so I will fix it.

[Rusty Heap]

you can get (4) off-brand 6-8 amp/hr dewalt batteries for under ~ $100.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Replacement-Lithium-Compatible-Cordless/dp/B0DBZ8ZHS8/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?crid=1R768WVLZEHGN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-qr_DpNdrG16YLj3ahciOvCEdW5wkyBLKAUE3mHO6enshn5tJxX HtH023BuX_XRoIuqVh_oF3wwNx1KxgQbV-qJBWCUC82EWqjW777z_4Tms_L82obKbeCDF1QncFZeC0qVrcmo ImdMzFjBjBx3SlSwDEDkLG2qp4KTRFJwAg0xH55cBZblyqQasq pHoo6KxYwlVzKolDpt2DFMXXCJfru5_qe2pxtC4ym01ht3gr46 IUttWZh_eBuBS5E4seZ2EQwIMLkiW88ocegBUtSLhZkeTB3ZSt Lx9FIZluDgoH9M.MH_4LdZbMLqYJ3P15ygmsnV7Wyt-t_kTPVQ4UNiBo8c&dib_tag=se&keywords=dewalt+20v+battery+8+ah&qid=1726253172&sprefix=dewalt+20v+battery+8+%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-20-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/JUNWOOD-Replacement-Cordless-DCB206-2-DCB204BT-2/dp/B0D1FLF17J/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.140400a7-1208-46ad-8d2a-eb6e8eac81b5%3Aamzn1.sym.140400a7-1208-46ad-8d2a-eb6e8eac81b5&crid=1R768WVLZEHGN&cv_ct_cx=dewalt%2B20v%2Bbattery%2B8%2Bah&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AleCNmgjBYdu43f95bjxtC84ShSvwIqY5 LbT4nIAydjg2gElfwwSxU-huAQeF711S7YBQjzx4RfFLZ2oGkzI4bN7olk95VSUBkM_oaV0V VY.SyCzOV25hR1j2EhNDvSlRGzza5jd6nDc5owHfj_AViI&dib_tag=se&keywords=dewalt%2B20v%2Bbattery%2B8%2Bah&pd_rd_i=B0D1FLF17J&pd_rd_r=5cb56a21-b23f-432a-95c6-be8a5c067cdf&pd_rd_w=mQPZ6&pd_rd_wg=nDTFT&pf_rd_p=140400a7-1208-46ad-8d2a-eb6e8eac81b5&pf_rd_r=1WTQ404TE3ATVVBH9MXD&qid=1726253172&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=dewalt%2B20v%2Bbattery%2B8%2B%2Caps%2C194&sr=1-6-6024b2a3-78e4-4fed-8fed-e1613be3bcce-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&smid=A2EWKL8CVWRTKO&th=1

[fintstone]

I pass on those. The ones I have looked at...the internals (and warranty) are just not the same.