Ever since my cheap ebay charger blew up three weeks ago I’ve been literally losing sleep over my fear that something else bad will happen. There are a lot of sub-optimal places in your home to charge your batteries, but none as safe as the inside of a wood stove. Some people charge them outside inside a Barbeque grill, but in the winter time that is just not going to fly. Others keep them inside their oven which will probably keep their house from burning down, but everything will be destroyed by the smoke. Lithium battery smoke is some of the most toxic smoke you will ever huff, and once your home has been exposed to it, you will probably just want to move. The woodstove is fireproof and has a built-in venting system in case everything does go up in smoke it will all just go out the chimney and destroy the environment, something that humans really excel at.

I spent about 30 minutes cleaning out my woodstove and removing the ashes and wiping all the surfaces down with a variety of rough sponges. After about three 5 gallon buckets of water, I just stopped even though the sponge was still black every time I wiped it. Next I grabbed some left over hardy backer board I had laying around and spent 5 minutes cutting up pieces for the bottom, both sides and the back. The hardy backer makes sure that your expensive batteries and chargers do not touch the yucky inside of your woodstove. Then I just threw my charger and brand new Lunacycle 30Q monster pack in the stove, shut the door and let it charge.

Lithium batteries are most at risk of fire when they are manhandled, charging improperly or when they are discharging too quickly. It is incredibly rare for a dormant still lithium battery that is not charging to just spontaneously combust (although it has happened).

If you have a woodstove that you are not using, then it might make a really safe place to charge your batteries. I’ve had friends that have had their houses burn down, but none of them have ever said that they were glad it happened or that they came out ahead after battling with the insurance companies.

An ounce of prevention…

Blah, blah, blah, I sound like my old man.

Ride On.