Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
This happened 2 years ago and I was quiet about it. Just so you guys know a dewalt flexvolt battery burned my truck writing it off. Luckily the fire shorted wiring out turning my headlights on this was at 930 pm before bedtime. I noticed the lights on so went to check and my truck dash was melted on one side along with the door panel. When I opened the door the fire started to burn more intensely. I managed to put the fire out with water I had panicked and burned my hand resulting in third degree burns. Fire dept was also called to make sure. The burning vehicle was beside 2 other vehicles and my house. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t notice the headlights on and we went to sleep, it could have burned the other 2 vehicles and my house could have caught fire possibly killing us in our sleep. Be very wary of your batteries I would store them in a aluminum or steel container just in case. Any thoughts.
Welcome to the forum.
That is a scary event. Hopefully your recovery is progressing.
There are no issues related to that problem on the DeWALT Safety Notices and Recalls web page.
According to the MSDS the conditions to avoid are: “Avoid exposure to elevated temperatures and fire.”
Nothing else was located on-line about that problem.
Note that Lithium Ion batteries have high energy density and all appropriate handling procedures must be followed.
After the incident, did you inform somebody at Dewalt? I guess they might be interested to learn more about the circumstances, exact tool model etc…
Bloody hell! I just got my first flexvolt battery. First time I charged it the charger got so hot I could barely touch it. Instantly made me a bit wary.
Fire is one of the biggest problems with lithium ion batteries something like 1 in 200,000 will fail and cause a fire. Buy a lottery ticket lol
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I haven’t experienced or known anyone around town experience this with their DeWALT batteries. I have had batteries with issues but none caught fire. I personally keep my batteries in a tough system in my garage. Sometimes I might have one battery in the pickup connected to my DeWALT light but otherwise they just get used in the garage.
I’ve seen similar to be honest and had a near miss myself with Makita. I put my battery on charge and returned and it was smoking….red hot.
These batteries are powerful things and can fault causing damage like this
Was the pickup hot when you stored the drill in the front…..i.e hot day etc.
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Don’t they say when not in use to put the red clip back on ,there way of getting out of a claim I am bugger for it I don’t all ways or leave it in the tool
Paulw6969 wrote:
23 hours ago, Paulw6969 said:Don’t they say when not in use to put the red clip back on ,there way of getting out of a claim I am bugger for it I don’t all ways or leave it in the tool
I believe the red clip was just to make it legal for air transport.
DR99 wrote:
On 2/1/2020 at 10:22 PM, DR99 said:I believe the red clip was just to make it legal for air transport.
Yes converts the battery into essentially 3 batteries
Hello,
We had this exact this happen this morning in our garage around 9am, 12/24/2020, (merry Christmas eve to us). It was the exact model of impact driver you were using.
This needs further looking into at dewalt. I will be contact them. I luckily did not lose anything incredibly valuable, and nobody was injured.
wingless wrote:
On 1/10/2020 at 12:44 PM, wingless said:Welcome to the forum.
That is a scary event. Hopefully your recovery is progressing.
There are no issues related to that problem on the DeWALT Safety Notices and Recalls web page.
According to the MSDS the conditions to avoid are: “Avoid exposure to elevated temperatures and fire.”
Nothing else was located on-line about that problem.
Note that Lithium Ion batteries have high energy density and all appropriate handling procedures must be followed.
Kyle wrote:
1 hour ago, Kyle said:Hello,
We had this exact this happen this morning in our garage around 9am, 12/24/2020, (merry Christmas eve to us). It was the exact model of impact driver you were using.
This needs further looking into at dewalt. I will be contact them. I luckily did not lose anything incredibly valuable, and nobody was injured.
Welcome to the forum.
There are still zero FlexVolt safety issues issues being reported on the DeWALT site or on the CPSC site.
My suggestion is to report the details both to the manufacturer and to the CPSC, instead of only to a forum, so appropriate action may be implemented.
There is a reason why the Owner’s Manual has four pages of battery and battery charger safety instructions (that everyone fails to read).Lithium Ion batteries have a very high energy density and all safety procedures must be followed.
That is crazy stuff. I would contact Dewalt and let them know. Sorry to hear about this and your garage.
One thing that can definitely attribute in a big way to a car battery catching a car on fire is if the batteries hold down isn’t tight. A car battery can shift if the holder isn’t tightened during hard cornering. The positive terminal on the car battery will be exposed to the hold down that is plastic coated metal.
I had same problem last week. Xvolt battery sett on fire after charging. It exploded several times why we recorded it, spraying bits of hot plastic at us.
My boyfriend left a bunch of his power tools outside in the bed of his truck during a rain storm and they caught fire. How is this possible. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing. We had left our house so I wonder if someone deliberately caused this fire or if it’s possible for them to catch fire in the rain. I know it sounds crazy. We have cameras outside that record but can not recover the feed of the time while this occurred when we were gone. Is it possible someone did this and hacked our camera system?
I haven’t heard of a fire caused by water but who knows, maybe there was a short somewhere.
May 21, 2021 my half inch impact ( made by dewalt) caught fire in my tool box. Very intense fire. Caused over 4500$ dollars damage to my 2005 gmc 1500. The truck was cherry condition,no rust never driven in the winter. Firemen saved my truck and said it happens often… even more when the battery is in the charger.
That’s crazy. I sure hope this is getting addressed.
I think you should ask for compensation. My husband’s car caught fire because such batteries exploded in his toolbox. It’s good that we managed to put out the fire, and then I talked to a friend who works at https://firerecruitmentaustralia.com.au, and he told me that Dewalt batteries are a bit sensitive. He advised us never to leave them in freezing temperatures and never leave them overnight on the charger. The battery charger can fail to shut off after the battery is automatically fully charged, which can cause the battery to burst, and poses fire, burn, and electrical shock hazards.
I think it’s time for a class action suit against Dewalt tools. My coworkers new lithium batteries just exploded in his truck. Damaged his truck, and, it Happened today at a Costco gas station. Could have been VERY VERY UGLY.
I’m contacting a class action attorney and will see how many people have claims against these defective batteries.
DP
D Carolyn Payne wrote:
15 hours ago, D Carolyn Payne said:I think it’s time for a class action suit against Dewalt tools. My coworkers new lithium batteries just exploded in his truck. Damaged his truck, and, it Happened today at a Costco gas station. Could have been VERY VERY UGLY.
I’m contacting a class action attorney and will see how many people have claims against these defective batteries.
DP
Welcome to the forum.
Sorry, but I don’t understand why you are contacting a class action attorney if the truck damage happened to a coworker’s truck.
The DeWALT instructions provided w/ every tool are very clear. They also make sense. The printed instructions state: “Do not store or use the tool and battery pack in locations where the temperature may reach or exceed 104 °F (40 °C) (such as outside sheds or metal buildings in summer). For best life store battery packs in a cool, dry location.”
Many people are aware that there is currently a global heat wave, w/ extreme temperatures.
The lithium-ion batteries should be stored properly.
Miro wrote:
On 1/10/2020 at 8:44 AM, Miro said:This happened 2 years ago and I was quiet about it. Just so you guys know a dewalt flexvolt battery burned my truck writing it off. Luckily the fire shorted wiring out turning my headlights on this was at 930 pm before bedtime. I noticed the lights on so went to check and my truck dash was melted on one side along with the door panel. When I opened the door the fire started to burn more intensely. I managed to put the fire out with water I had panicked and burned my hand resulting in third degree burns. Fire dept was also called to make sure. The burning vehicle was beside 2 other vehicles and my house. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t notice the headlights on and we went to sleep, it could have burned the other 2 vehicles and my house could have caught fire possibly killing us in our sleep. Be very wary of your batteries I would store them in a aluminum or steel container just in case. Any thoughts.
Miro, how long did this happen, and do you still have the information about the brand, model?
Any information, pictures that you might have pertained to this?
I am trying to put together research on this very issue and addressing it to the SafetyProducts.gov directly and also to companies involved!
Any help or assistance you might have, would greatly be appreciated!
If needed, I’ll give you my personal email to send information to!
Respectfully
Tool Time
Resepectfully
Tool Time
Tools & Stuff wrote:
On 1/14/2020 at 6:08 AM, Tools & Stuff said:Bloody hell! I just got my first flexvolt battery. First time I charged it the charger got so hot I could barely touch it. Instantly made me a bit wary.
I have seen some SDS+ drills from DEWALT in 20V category which has the same specifications that a 60V Flexvolt SDS+ drill has, the question is if DeWALT can make two different tools with the same specifications, what is the need for the 60V version?! I can find the model numbers if you need.
Allennorth wrote:
On 6/13/2021 at 4:31 PM, Allennorth said:May 21, 2021 my half inch impact ( made by dewalt) caught fire in my tool box. Very intense fire. Caused over 4500$ dollars damage to my 2005 gmc 1500. The truck was cherry condition,no rust never driven in the winter. Firemen saved my truck and said it happens often… even more when the battery is in the charger.
By chance, do you happen to have any pictures…or if you could tell me what Fire Department showed up. I’ll go to them if feasible and ask for their reports! I am trying to gather as much info about these batteries and their chargers fires!
I know its a long shot, but any information, documentation, pictures I can obtain would greatly be appreciated.
Tool Time
Eric – TIA wrote:
On 6/11/2021 at 4:00 AM, Eric – TIA said:I haven’t heard of a fire caused by water but who knows, maybe there was a short somewhere.
Look up the NFIRS for the state of Florida. You’ll see that there are a total of (X460) total entries from Lithium-ion battery fires. POST Helen you will see the amount of fires that have come from water intrusion into the battery boxes of EV vehicles, Scooters, E-Bikes-Segways, CORDLESS TOOL BATTERIES and it’ll blow your mind. But as people came back to their homes to find garages, homes and a few RV’s burned and what many of the investigators determined in these cases!
I’ve been researching this state after state, but haven’t seen any one going after any company directly!
Insurance companies will say its costly to go after them and we can’t really determine what caused these….strange cause your Fire Marshal or investigator based off his or her years of experience told them, but I guess that wasn’t good enough…such BS!!!!
Miro are you still out there????