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Comment by galangalalgol | Hacker News Reader

For real? Is there anyone who doesnt just leave their laptop on their desk when not in use?

Just thinking about a typical household these days, say a family of four. That's 4 smartphones, say 3 laptops, probably 1-2 tablets. In my house theres a lot more because every AA, AAA, etc. are lithium ion rechargeable anymore which includes video game console controllers, physical remotes for TVs and other devices, and so on. Also everyone owns a tablet of some sort and a laptop. Not saying these will create a humongous exploiting by themselves but each and everyone is a potential ignition source to start a real fire. You'd have to isolate and protect all of these things, regularly, to really add fire protection to your home.

> every AA, AAA, etc. are lithium ion rechargeable

Are you actually using Li-ion rechargeable AA and AAA cells? Those exist, but because they put out 3.7 volts, are pretty uncommon. Almost all household rechargeable AA and AAAs are nickle metal hydride, which is a much less volatile chemistry (and puts out 1.2 volts, making it mostly drop-in compatible with alkaline cells).

There are plenty of lithium-ion rechargeable AA and AAA cells which put out 1.5v; they have an internal buck regulator that converts the 3.7v to the 1.5v that your device expects.

Interesting, never heard of that. Got any brand recommendations?

I've used the Pownergy batteries; I don't know how good they are relative to other brands but they work well enough. They charge over a micro-usb cable.

Panasonic eneloops?

Those are NiMH.

We have a metal "charging station" in the living room. It's the only place our laptops, tablets, and batteries in general are charged.

Phones are charged in bedrooms overnight though. But I figure this setup is better than having random electronics charging in random places everywhere in the house.

My devices just sit on a desk lol. I have two laptops working as servers in another room.

But if you wanted to be safer from a potential fire, a metal cabinet is the simplest way to do it.

A deflagration from a lithium battery would just heat it up a bit, maybe start burning other stuff inside, but it's highly unlikely to spread beyond that as it would fizzle out due to lack of fuel (also temperature).

> and 6-8 in cold storage (but still used)

There's a difference in risk between one machine and 6-10+

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