CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks in inexpensive cells

Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by mixedbit on Saturday September 27, 2025 @04:22AM (#45394053)

Unfortunately, for products with batteries in non-standard form factors, we rarely have a choice of a manufacturer. For example, with home robot vacuums, we can only hope that brands will use top quality cells, but the information what cells are used is not even available to the customer. My Neato vacuum still runs great, but now that the company is out of business, my only battery replacement options are from no-name brands, with zero visibility of what cells are used internally.

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by rollcat on Saturday September 27, 2025 @05:35AM (#45394382)

> For example, with home robot vacuums, we can only hope that brands will use top quality cells, but the information what cells are used is not even available to the customer.

Hardware used to come with diagrams & schematics, for self-service and repair. This was a courtesy, but I guess manufacturers figured out it's better to make the consumer buy a new model. (AKA part of the reason why Commodore went bankrupt.)

Meanwhile we've been talking and implementing measures such as lists of ingredients and nutrients in food, SBOMs in software, privacy/tracking transparency, etc. Let's push it a little further.

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by avar on Saturday September 27, 2025 @05:19AM (#45394334)

You also have the option of building your own battery pack for these, or to disassemble an existing pack and replacing the cells. How difficult that is depends on the manufacturer, but from a quick look at the Neato packs I see it looks relatively trivial.

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by stavros on Saturday September 27, 2025 @06:42AM (#45394657)

I'm in the process of replacing the battery in my old robot vacuum right now, and for the amount of time spent doing that, I could buy a whole new vacuum. It's a pity, because the battery itself can be replaced just by plugging it in, but all the batteries I could find were AliExpress fakes, so my two options are either "more e-waste" or "spend $500 in time doing it myself".

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by avar on Saturday September 27, 2025 @10:43AM (#45396133)

Some of us enjoy fixing things like these over and above the hypothetically fungible billable hour, and whether you can substitute some time in an evening with a billable hour or three is highly dependent on your employment situation.

But in this case the relevant cost under discussion isn't that of a replacement vacuum cleaner, but what value you assign to your house not burning down due to a crappy 18650 cell, or the anxiety of worrying that that'll happen.

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by stavros on Saturday September 27, 2025 @10:58AM (#45396261)

Well, I don't enjoy making the hundredth battery pack, so I'm counting it against the hypothetically fungible billable hour.

The cost should be the cost of a good-quality battery pack from the factory, which I can only get right now as part of the vacuum, unfortunately.

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Re:CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks i... by FeepingCreature on Wednesday October 08, 2025 @11:08AM (#45517037)

I don't think "you should build your own battery pack" is the sort of advice that will on net reduce house fires.

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