On Nov 14, 5:32*pm, Mike Ash wrote:
In article ,
*Eric Greenwell wrote:

* * * the cell phone, laptop, power tool batteries are high volume
* * * production products. My guess is they are likely more consistent
* * * in quality than buying hand assembled, small batch (or only
* * * one-at-a-time) units.
* * * they all have dedicated, proprietary chargers that plug in to only
* * * their intended battery

Are you referring to internal charging circuitry with this last item?
Because many (most?) cell phones will charge off any standard USB port,
as long as you have the appropriate cable (and many can use a standard
USB cable for it). I believe the batteries themselves have enough
circuitry that the external charger doesn't need to be all that good to
keep things safe.

I agree with your point overall. While I carry my cell phone with me in
flight without a second thought, I'd be hesitant to have an order of
magnitude more battery capacity on board in Li-ion form.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon


Lithium batteries come in many chemistries - some with problematic
safety, others as safe as any battery can be. To group them all under
the heading "lithium-ion" is at best uninformed. Many of us will soon
be driving around with several hundred pounds of "lithium-ion" in our
cars.

One of the safest and best is "Lithium Iron Phosphate" (LiFePo4)
chemistry. This safety comes at the cost of lower energy density than
is typical of cell-phone or laptop batteries but they are still far
more energy dense than any lead battery. They also have a discharge
voltage curve which allows full use of their capacity.