Dell laptops are on fire - seriously

[Toasty]

Sure hope this guy (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32550) sprung for the extended warranty. :P

[Stezo2k]

haha, last time i buy anything dell :p

talk about overheating

[Jaz]

Sure hope this guy (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32550) sprung for the extended warranty.

And maybe an external HDD. ;)

[Agozer]

Kind of ironic and funny that the computer in question was a Dell. I'm glad no one got hurt though.

[Miretank]

ROTFLMAO look at those guys, all startled :D

[BlueFalcon7]

Thats what you get when you buy laptops from dell (heh, ok bad pun) It sure is my last dell. I cant beleive I let my parents get me a dell in the first place. Or Beefy computer, if you know what Im saying, mine looks just like the beefy computers.

[WhiteX]

Nice news from a guy named Toasty.:P

[Toasty]

That was my thought too! :D I liked the comment in the article about not holding your laptop on your lap - could lose a lot more than a computer.

[WhiteX]

Dell had an increase on sales to the transexual market.

[Flash]

Explosive laptops from he... dell :D :D :D

P.S. Battery can go boom, but there's too much fire for battery explosion so it's better to get confirmation from more credible source than Inquirer ;)

P.S. Read these comments if you want to laugh for about an hour :) (http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/21/1448207&from=rss)

[Miretank]

I liked the comment in the article about not holding your laptop on your lap - could lose a lot more than a computer.
Also unrecoverable :D

[yegosimo]

hehe ... i'm glad my computer is Compaq :D
and my dad's laptop is Toshiba...

[Toasty]

What started out as an unfortunate fluke in Japan is starting to look more and more like a war on the laps of the people.

"I heard a small poof" (http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/07/31/dellonfire_laptopfire/)

Maybe Dell should start offering some sort of protective undergarment along with their laptops - at least as long as their using this type of battery. :happy: (Sorry about bumping the thread, but the new story seemed worth it.)

[smegforbrain]

This story was amusing, but I'm sure not as rare as people are making it out to be.

And no, this isn't to say Dell PCs or laptops are any more at risk than any other brand to have this freak thing occur to them.

But it's pretty ridiculous to say you'll never get a Dell just because of this incident.

The thing is: shit happens. We have nfc why this laptop did what it did, and there could be a lot of reasons for it. :)

[Toasty]

True; it's actually the batteries that cause the trouble - not the laptops themselves, but it's still funny all the same.

[Cheezyphil]

Dell Computers: Sponsered by your neighborhood friendly suicide bomber OSAMA BIN LADEN

[Toasty]

Looks like the fun is finally over. :P

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/08/15/dell_laptopbattery_recall/

[NES_player4LIFE]

Dell Computers: Sponsered by your neighborhood friendly suicide bomber OSAMA BIN LADEN

lol
no more dell 4 me

[Stezo2k]

Batteries made by sony... explains it all :P

[Doomulation]

Why do we always find that behind these stories, sony is behind? Can't they do proper hardware? Oh, forgive me, of course they can't... :doh:

[NES_player4LIFE]

http://www.yahoo.com/s/369620
here's a video news clip

[smegforbrain]

Well, I just got back from vacation to see this bit of news. Now I've got to find out if my laptop is on the list for replacements. :P

I'm not surprised that the battery is at fault and, yeah, some of you will get a kick out of the fact that Sony is at fault. :)

[Toasty]

It seems that either people aren't returning the recalled notebooks, or Dell has a bigger problem than they thought.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/09/21/delllaptop_catchesfire_yahoo/

(I'm starting to feel like this isn't even news anymore, so this will be my last bump unless there's someone who just can't live without an update every time a Dell blows up. :rolleyes:)

[t0rek]

It's not Dell what is causing problems ( I would like to blame them) Sony is the one who makes the batteries, Toshiba, Apple and other laptop companies are recalling a lot of batteries, all made by Sony. Laptops are not being recalled or returned, batteries are

[Toasty]

I know, but since they recalled the 'volatile' notebooks, you'd think people would rather return defective batteries, if for no other reason, just to save their laps. Either some people are lazy (entirely possible), or Dell has let some notebooks slip through the cracks (far more interesting)...

[Cyberman]

Welcome to Taco Dell!

As for the laptops this problem is caused by the use of Cobalt Oxilate for part of the Lithium Ion batteries chemistry. These batteries are very sensitive to heat, and produce free radical oxygen when they get to about 120C. This is why Lithium Ion batteries have such very particular charging systems to prevent such things. There are Lithium Ion batteries that are safer such as Magnese based chemistries (160C) they don't blow as easily. What makes this worse though is that the electrolyte in the battery is highly flameable. So you have oxygen in close contact with fuel... WOOSH. Once started they aren't extinguishable. Batteries made with Iron Phosphate or Vanadium phosphate chemistries do not shed there oxygen tell 1200C ... much much safer, but too many companies have there behinds into the Cobalt and manganese chemistries. So ... guess what? Exploding cell phones laptops and model airplanes... happen :D as a result.

Just for your edification here is a Lithium Polymer battery ... well burning.
The second image is the result of such a battery exploding and catching on fire in an SUV (Chevy suburban)

[smegforbrain]

Well, my laptop batteries weren't on the list for recall.

Since the big recall by Sony, a couple of other companies have had smaller recalls as well. And I had a Kyocera battery that was part of a recall awhile back as well.

The more devices, the greater the likelihood for problems. And such problems are only compounded when nobody notices for months on end. :P