Ozito Battery Swelling / Bulging

Hi All,
I have two Ozito PXC 4Ah batteries and have noticed a slight bulging in the middle on both sides of both batteries.
When you put one on its side on a table they rock a small amount. My dad has the same battery, and it has a small bulge on only one side.

From my understanding they are cell based (such as 18650 etc) not pouch based so they shouldn’t really go puffy?

Do other ozbarginers notice the same issue?

Just wondering if this is normal and just a cosmetic issue with the case or if the battery is actually faulty and swelling or expanding inside etc.

They came with my Ozito 36V mower so they likely experience a hard life when in use due to the high power involved.

Comments

  • +2

    nope never happen to mine, and i pretty much buy every year when it goes on sale. i use and abuse mine with no issues. i toss them, drop them, fall of table, gets dirty, etc….

    • +1

      But might depend on how Op has stored the batteries.
      Regardless Op should take them back to Bunnings and ask for replacement

  • +32

    Lucky you! This means your 4.0AH is pregnant and about to give birth to a cute little 2.0AH battery ^_^

    • +3

      Or a house fire

      • A lot of heat involved with a bun in the oven

  • +17

    Might be hereditary if your dad is having the same bulging issue.

  • It's just the shape of the plastic - mine are the same. Including some that are are more curved on one side.

    And you are correct, the 18650s won't swell like pouch cells.

    Also the mower is generally not too hard on the batteries in (my) use and the batteries barely get warm. It's only if it is constantly spinning up to full power that the batteries have to work harder and supply their full rated wattage.

    • -5

      Getting warm during operation or hot during charging is a sign there is a problem with the pack.

      • +4

        While it can be a sign of an issue, getting warm is expected under high load.

        The 4Ah Ozito batteries are rated for 900W. That's 25A from each 2Ah 18650 cell. At 10C+ discharge with 10 cells in an enclosed space, even high current 18650s will get quite warm!

        The mower will only pull high wattage if under heavy load. But other Ozito tools (such as the angle grinder) will happily sustain power draws large enough to get batteries quite warm!

        • I used to have the Ryobi Pole Saw 18V and I think that it killed a less than or equal to 2Ah pack that came with it. Obviously only a single series pack. It could become quite warm on discharge. I suspect they never expected the pole saw to be used on larger branches, harder wood or many sequential cuts. This was before the 3 year warranty on the batteries. Whatever the case, the pack was not fit for purpose and should have had a thermal cut out temperature set lower.

          • +1

            @whats up skip: Yeah, I can't speak to Ryobi, but the Ozito batteries are pretty well made. There have been some teardowns of the packs, and they have a good quality BMS and temperature monitoring.

            I have never had one shut down due to temp, but have triggered the over current protection. Easy to do with a 2Ah cell on an angle grinder!

            The Ozito 2Ah packs are rated for 450W. Flat out that means they are flat in under 5 minutes. Of course while they can do this sort of output, the cycle life will be much much shorter if that's how it is used all the time.

            Definitely though Ryobi shouldn't have been selling the pole saw with a 2Ah battery. For higher wattage tools, Ozito often includes a 2.5Ah battery rated for 720W.

        • Hmm…What makes you think they are rated to 10C discharge, thats very high for lithium ion cell batteries?

          • @Ozbfan: Teardowns of the packs give the cell model. MH46259 PI280E. 10x 2,000 mAh 18650s. I believe they are 30A rated so 15C. However I don't spot an exact match for sale anymore so they might be 25A. Which is what it needed to meet the Einhell 900W pack rating.

            That sort of output is common for high discharge 18650s. Basically something like a cheaper version of the Samsung INR18650-20S 2000mAh cells rated for 30A.

            These are very similar. https://eu.nkon.nl/tenpower-20sg.html

            IIRC the 5.2Ah packs are 2600mAh 25A cells.

  • Who's the father ???

    • +1

      Somebody in the "puffy" network I guess?

      • 😲

  • +5

    Call the OzB Ozito Hotline.
    JV is on today and will tell you to go to Bunnings who will give you 2 new batteries and a sizzling sausage.

  • +5

    How do you handle it with the principle who call your son Henry a bully because of what he said

    • Do you reckon that screwdriver has a lipo in it or cell’s?
      Whats the solution, those battery safes don’t look very robust, maybe a traditional safe to store them in?

  • I can't speak for this particular battery pack, but some other brands are using pouch cells.

  • Open it up.

    They contain 10 X 18650 cells. I've never seen them buldge before.

    I've repacked many 18650 packs before and found dead cells and ones where the plastic wrap has come off, but never seen expanded cells

  • +1

    I've had a few lipo batteries swell when worked hard with my remote control hobbies. See @John Kimble news link above which is relevant.

    As an aside, I now tend to place the batteries that get bashed around a lot in fire proof cases/containers as I've had a few old / compromised / bloated lipo batteries burst into flames.

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