AT&T To Replace 17,000 Batteries

An anonymous reader writes "After four fires in two years — see earlier Slashdot discussions for background — AT&T is going against its own independent lab findings and declaring that the Avestor batteries powering its U-verse network aren't safe and need to be replaced. This is the network that SBC was building out prior to acquiring AT&T. Following the latest broadband equipment cabinet explosion in Wisconsin, the carrier says it will swap out 17,000 batteries deployed in several states across its network."

Comments

The Catch:

[Icarus1919]

AT&T will be replacing them with batteries that explode MORE often. The current frequency of explosion is unacceptable

Metric

[Stanistani]

"Sir, we've experienced an explosive growth in customer satisfaction!"

Houston incidents

[I8TheWorm]

Said one AT&T employee in Houston...

"I don't know nuthin' about fautly batteries. But Houston is dang hot, and it ain't no dry heat. Things just catch on fire all the time. It's hotter than a whore in Sunday church down here."

But... why?

[Amorymeltzer]

Maybe I just don't know, but why on Earth do these things explode? It seems to happen with alarming frequency given the ubiquitous nature of these things - how hard is to make batteries or wires that don't catch fire when using them? Something like this has been happening a few times a year, and recalls or replacements aren't enough - punishments are in due order for making shoddy, dangerous products.

Re:But... why?

[$RANDOMLUSER]

Because customers demand quick-charge batteries - it's a dicey proposition - you have to measure the current draw pretty carefully, or the battery temperature itself. Picture filling a bucket with a firehose without overflowing the bucket and you get the idea.

Re:But... why?

[dgatwood]

Any time you store that much power in a confined space, you're taking a risk. If anything shorts out one of those batteries, whatever shorts it out will go up in flames because the battery dumps so much current through it. Usually, these fires are caused by an internal short triggered by dendrite growth, random metal fragments, impact, or chemical breakdown of the separator. When this happens, the little bit of shorting metal gets extremely hot. This starts a chain reaction, known as a thermal runaway in which the increase in temperature causes an increase in the chemical reactions in the battery, which, in turn, causes an increase in temperature.

http://ecsmeet3.peerx-press.org/ms_files/ecsmeet3/2007/01/03/00002421/00/2421_0_art_0_jbbdol.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

Re:But... why?

[Locutus]

some have said that hot summer days were helping with the overheating of the batteries and the explosions. But, if you notice, the last explosion happened in late December in Wisconsin. Not likely to have been a very "hot" day. It could still be a heat issue if there's internal overheating do to "other" internal computer equipment, power supplies, and other equipment inside those boxes.

Don't expect AT&T to tell anybody what's really going on. After the dozens of images and stories that went out after the first explosion, AT&T is on top of these blown-up systems like white on rice.

Another interesting detail is that the company hired to examine the systems after the first two explosions said that the batteries and safety equipment were sound. They also said that they were likely better than most other batteries on the market. If this is the case, AT&T is going to have to start putting very large warning stickers on these boxes as they keep exploding. Maybe something like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pluckytree/2186452007/in/pool-stickfiguresinperil/

or a version of this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackloveinspace/494802125/in/pool-stickfiguresinperil/

LoB

Re:But... why?

[LWATCDR]

Except these are batteries in network cabinets. They are not in end user equipment. I doubt that they are quick charge batteries.

Re:But... why?

[Ignis Flatus]

several years ago, i had a job where we installed batteries in telecom shelters for Qwest, AT&T, etc. it was lead-acid batteries at the time. some of the guys were working on production, but even on hourly pay, there's still a lot of pressure to do the work in a timely manner. and invariably, the things get busted up. it may have happened during shipping, or during assembly. maybe the guys putting putting the connections on overtorqued them. maybe it was even a factory defect. but whoever is at fault, it inevitably happens. with lead-acid batteries, it's often pretty obvious. you get a crack in a case, and the thing leaks all over the floor. we always carried baking soda with us for this reason. maybe with a lithium battery, the defects are just not immediately evident. but from what i've heard wrt to lithium batteries on hybrid vehicles, lithium is just hard to deal with. too much energy density makes for more mishaps, i guess.

Re:But... why?

[nacturation]

Why wouldn't they be? Quick charge means they constantly (or nearly constantly) have maximum capacity available - which is the ideal state for a backup system (because it makes system performance predictable and maximizes uptime in the event of power outage). Think about what you're saying. These are backup batteries and will ideally never get used. What does it matter if your batteries charge in 30 minutes if they're only used two times a year? You could have batteries which take days to fully charge because at the time of an outage, what difference did it make that the batteries charged in 30 minutes and then sat there at full charge for half a year? Plus, quick charge batteries are likely more expensive, have shorter lifespans, and have worse performance.

Re:But... why?

[ScrappyLaptop]

Think about what you are saying. Think about your boss. Think about your boss making the decision of which batteries to purchase. Consider that he knows next to nothing about technology. Consider that he knows everyone under him knows *everything* about technology. Now tell me which ones he'll choose: The old-fashioned, slow ones or the faster ones labeled as 'advanced'? C'mon, everyone knows that when it comes to technology, faster is *always* better. The marketing folks (with whom your boss identifies more than with you) say so!

Re:But... why?

[nacturation]

What makes you think I didn't think about what I said? It was the contents of your post that indicate you didn't think it through. Yes, you're correct that having a system always charged is the best state to be in. However, having batteries fully charged is independent of how fast they get charged. If the power is going out so frequently that the only way to fully charge the batteries between outages is by having a quick charge battery, then I'll agree with you.

not a mention of the recycling details

[Locutus]

I wonder if anybody is watching to see what they do with all these batteries?

LoB

Re:not a mention of the recycling details

[calebt3]

what they do with all these batteries? Sell them to Sony.

Re:not a mention of the recycling details

[ScrewMaster]

I wonder if anybody is watching to see what they do with all these batteries?

Probably send them to Iraq. Just let the terrorists steal them to power their equipment.

There's nothing good hearted about this

[ip_freely_2000]

Call me a cynic, but I'm sure they put a formula into a spreadsheet and discovered the liability issues outweighed the "do nothing" option. I'm sure there's a Ford Pinto kind of memo on a AT&T server somewhere.

Re:There's nothing good hearted about this

[petermgreen]

which works fine until one of the cases actually hits court and this behaviour is disconvered during the case.......

Re:There's nothing good hearted about this

[ScrewMaster]

That and earning a lot of good PR. Most of us don't mind so much when companies make mistakes (we all recognize that, well, sometimes shit happens.) It is when a corporation goes into deny/ignore mode that we get pissed off. This will cost AT&T a bit of cash, sure, but they deserve that for buying crap batteries in the first place. Furthermore, imagine the hot water they'd be in if this started happening again. Somebody upstairs decided not to take the risk.

Smart move.

They're getting 17,000 new batteries?

[Chris Mattern]

No wonder my drugstore is out of AAs!

Chris Mattern

Another sign of VRAD overheating observed?

[Lauren Weinstein]

Out here in the West San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) -- and it can get *very* hot here during the summer -- where AT&T has widely deployed VRAD cabinets (though U-verse is not activated here yet), I've recently noticed another sign of possible overheating problems. On the side of the VRAD cabinets is apparently a large air intake with an exposed filter element. On several units I've observed recently, the filter element first vanished completely, and then was replaced shortly thereafter with what appear to be rather bulky external fan units. Interesting. --Lauren--

This is exactly why it is a bad idea

[neapolitan]

to offer 'integrated' batteries into devices.

Imagine what a recall of the iPod or Macbook Air battery would do to Apple's share price.

(Now smile to yourself, quietly.)