Mini 0805 - What are the chances of it exploding?

shiffles

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Location
Windsor, ON
Country
Canada
Dash Cam
A118C; Mini 0805 (x2); G1W-C
I kind of may have ordered a Mini 0805 and the tracking info shows it's already in Canada (Richmond, BC) and it should be at my location on the east coast in a week or two or three. I feel like it's time to graduate from my G1W as it's kind of coming apart and the case itself bent a little because of heat I believe.

I know the 0805 has a battery and based on what I heard with the G1W-xx models that have a battery, I'm worried that it might explode and take my car along with it if I leave it in the sun. I know, pretty stupid not to worry before buying.

I'm always in Michigan and Ontario so I get my fair share of snow and the cold. Only worry I have is during the summer season when it gets hot. I always try my best to park under the shade or indoors. Only time I park outside in the sun is when I'm at home and maybe when I can't find decent parking.

So, what is the likelihood of the 0805 spontaneously combusting? Has there been any reports of the battery in it exploding? I've did some search but I came up empty.

I do have the habit of just taking off the camera as soon as I park to deter people from breaking into my car so I'm only worried for that one day I forget and it happens to be a really hot day and I parked in the sun.
 
So, what is the likelihood of the 0805 spontaneously combusting? Has there been any reports of the battery in it exploding? I've did some search but I came up empty.
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if you wanted to power the cam while parked in the sun that's an issue, if it's just there and not running there is a much lower risk of anything going wrong
 
if you wanted to power the cam while parked in the sun that's an issue, if it's just there and not running there is a much lower risk of anything going wrong
Yeah. I have no plans of having parking mode or hardwiring.
 
Dashcams and action cams use LiPo batteries which are safer than Lithium-Ion. LiIon can "vent with flames" and rarely "explodes" but either is disastrous. It is a lot harder to cause LiPo to do this so it almost never happens, although it is still possible. The normal failure mode for LiPo is swelling or 'puffing' of the bag which contains the battery itself which may damage the cam but is not inherently dangerous. It is not something you need to be worried about unless you've been unlucky enough to have been struck by lightning several times alredy- only with luck which is that bad should you be worried about a cam battery ;)

And even LiIon can withstand higher temperatures than most think without venting or exploding. A friend on another forum tested this with a gas torch, and I had one in my car when it burned up (not caused by the LiIon cell). By the time a LiIon's critical heat level is reached other more flammable substances around it will already be burning so it's not the big issue it's made out to be.

Phil
 
agreed. LiPo batteries are pretty safe in most uses. I have seen isolated, rare cases on the radio control model forums that I frequent. but you have to keep in mind that they're in scale vehicles that owners put through a lot of abuse while "bashing".

not that I'm making a blanket recommendation to do so but I've personally have not had any problems using my mini 0805 in 24/7 motion detect mode in very, very hot places.
 
I personally would stay clear of dash cams featuring an internal backup battery, for the following reasons:

1. The point of such a battery is usually to have enough juice to run the camera for say upto 30 minutes after the car is turned off, i.e. in park mode. So if you're having a short commute, or you do a dash down to the school a few streets down, drop the kids off, then get back in the car again, do a bit of shopping here and there, each time draining the camera's internal battery during the car stoppage time, but not giving it enough charge back between each of the short trips. Result: the battery ends up not having enough charge to do its job as intended.

2. The temperature inside the dash cam's housing is of big importance for its reliable operation. Most products are using commercial grade components which usually are rated to pack up if it rises above 60 Celsius. So in summer your parked car has already 50+ Celsius ambient inside the cabin, now the electronics of the camera gets to work and warms up even more before the air-con brings the temperature down (writing to memory generates heat, charging the battery generates yet more heat). Clearly, this does not help in making a dash cam function reliably at hot ambient temperatures.

3. Even though LiPo batteries are not prone to the thermal run-away as recently witnessed with Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 battery disaster, they do wear out over time, and do so secretly and stealthily. Most dash cams give out a warning when the memory card needs new formatting or replacing, but don't tell you that the battery is down on charging capacity (not to be confused with being low on charge). So if you have a crash and the car power cuts out, your cam is supposed to record the last few seconds and cleanly close all open files. If the battery is charged enough, no problem. Hopefully! With a super capacitor this is much less likely to be a problem, and they also improve the general operation condition for the dash cam in the points raised above.

4. If I wanted a dash cam to run in park mode, I would use one without internal battery but use a battery voltage monitor switch to cut supply to the car battery once it drops below a reasonable value (12.2 volts seems a safe bet, 11.8 volts is already quite low). Alternatively, I would use an electronic timer switch (settable in minutes or hours) after which it disconnects the dash cam from the car battery.
 
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