Warning re Jackery product quality/design

[Dendy Jarrett]

Im suggesting that all of you take a time out for a moment (Voluntarily) from this thread, or we could arrange a temporary vacation from EP if that becomes necessary.
This keyboard cowboy stuff isn't gonna fly here.

 

[jhmoore]

But since you say it bears no visible damage, Why not try return under warranty ?

Because I choose to live my life honestly.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Because I choose to live my life honestly.

You are not alone there John. I warrantied a tire once that were punctured in the desert. I was honest with the tire store and they gave me a free replacement on top of a very discounted tire to match the new replacement. It does not always work that way but you did the right thing and can be proud to have integrity.

We can all take this as a lesson to always do right thing even if the outcome is not what we expected. ??

 

[agent00111]

Sometimes when I have something break I take it as an opportunity to at least open it up and see if I can get it sorted out, as I have nothing to lose at that point especially if it's out of warranty. I once had a flatscreen TV that was flickering in and out and I noticed that after reading a book called'there are no electrons' (which discussed very basic electronics principles) and it mentioned something about how capacitors are always the first thing to go, and how to spot a 'puffy capacitor'. I cracked open the TV and sure enough, there was a puffy capacitor. $0.75 for the replacement capacitor, and 1-2 youtube videos on soldering, and I actually got the darn TV working again. TV still works to this day. Now I know I am kind of that glass-half-full type of guy, but I would encourage anyone to at least open up something broken and see if there's a new skill to learn (soldering, using a multimeter, etc). Safety first of course in all cases, but there's always an opportunity to learn something new, and for that sometimes a broken thing can be a blessing.

 

[OverlandNA]

... I would encourage anyone to at least open up something broken and see if there's a new skill to learn (soldering, using a multimeter, etc). Safety first of course in all cases, but there's always an opportunity to learn something new, and for that sometimes a broken thing can be a blessing.

Beware of microwave oven capacitors, they can kill you.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Beware of microwave oven capacitors, they can kill you.

They can kill for sure!!
However, they are no more dangerous than any other high energy capacitor or "hot" electrical current. Capacitors are rendered perfectly safe to handle by discharging them with insulated needle nose or screwdriver.

In the Jackery I imagine there are one or more electrolytic capacitors that will lose most of their energy when the battery array in the unit is fully discharged. I'm willing to bet that Jackery uses the aluminum electrolytic capacitors as they are cheaper to produce and have a much higher breakdown voltage (not to mention its application) than the tantalum, niobium or niobium oxide capacitors.

In laymen's terms the capacitor(s) in the Jackery are not going to hold a lot of energy by the time the battery is discharged. If you want to be extra safe just wait a day or two before disassembling unit after discharging it.

 

[john61ct]

Allowing the LI chemistry cells used in that unit to get below 2.5Vpc is in effect destroying them.

Really should be kept in the range 3.2 - 3.7Vpc while not actively being cycled

and ideally in cool temperatures

will help extend their (very limited) cycle lifespan.

Continuing to cycle them once past their EoL (60-70% SoH) **vastly** increases the risk of thermal runaway

boom bad.

LFP cells are **much** safer.

 

[1000arms]

Beware of microwave oven capacitors, they can kill you.

They can kill for sure!! ...

It is a shockingly good idea to be careful with capacitors.

... Capacitors are rendered perfectly safe to handle by discharging them with insulated needle nose or screwdriver. ...

Discharging capacitors safely is important, but, shorting them out can be very dangerous.

Using the right resistor to safely discharge them is a better way to go. To calculate the resistor needed, see:

How to Safely Discharge a Capacitor

How do you safely discharge a capacitor? This blog offers some tips and a video on how to accomplish this task without risk.

www.digikey.com

One might want to turn the audio off before starting the video.

 

[utherjorge]

Enough! I recommend the moderator removes all of you permanently from Expedition Portal who are trolling and and making childish posts. I'm blown away at all the useless posts someone has to sift through on each thread. It was not like this 15 years ago when I was lurking and enjoying members informative threads.

Lately it's been all about arguing and cyberbullying other members behind the keyboard. You have all been warned politely by myself and a moderator and yet continue.

Your incessant attempts to tattle are nonsense. Sending you up the chain. What nonsense.

 

[utherjorge]

Ok, so I sent on to the mod what I had to say to him, and he's doing a fine job.

My impression about all this: it started with a click-baity title, and it was designed for a specific purpose, and it appears that the attempt was successful? I don't know.

Perhaps I missed this important point being made by someone at some point: I would be stunned if any company gave any sort of "help" in a situation like this due to the obvious liability involved. As this thread has shown, the level of entitlement has increased exponentially for easily identifiable sociological and psychological reasons over the last 24 months, and as this thread quickly went to "let me speak to your manager," the obvious next step could be "I'm speaking to my lawyer"-level of threats. Someone cracks open a box with a fully charged battery, and bad things can certainly happen right away.

Again, I would be stunned to see any company offer such help, unless you could demonstrate (as one man here has done) that you are an electrician, or electrical engineer...and likely not even then.

And, in my 48 years, as I almost always get in trouble for asking questions...I note that there have obviously been no other companies that could be expected to perform any differently, where a used/reconditioned item already purchased at a discount was dropped by the user. Did we get an answer?

I think the YouTube video where the creator built his own is the winner, so this thread as at least allowed me to review that to build my own solution for either of my rigs. Additionally, I will not drop my creation from a meter up, so I won't know if my solution holds up any better.