Apple ipod Speakers Exploded!

[ricker]

This is not a joke... We purchased the Sonic Impact i-Fusion for xmas and played it in the morning - that evening, my daughter removed her ipod from the speakers and shortly thereafter the unit's battery chassis began to smoke - I immediately unplugged it and moved it to our front porch - where within one minute it actually burst into flames. Not just little flames but at least a foot in height! It seemed to fuel itself with the battery - we took pictures! It took four glasses of water to put it out - I am an electrical engineer - and thought I had seen everything, but this takes the cake - I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if we were not awake at the time of this incident. I have four children and the baby's room was the adjacent wall! Please take my advice and return this item immediately - its not ready for prime time. The battery issue - I believe to be an unlikely isolated incident...

I tried to contact someone on Xmas day, but the lines were closed. Now that I think about it - it seemed to be a combination of plug in and remove the ipod from the unit while its still plugged in - without the ipod there to charge - the battery overheated to a super heated state - and being fueled with it own battery chemicals - burst into flames - like I said - it took four full glasses to put out the fire - the unit was determined to burn until every inch of that battery was incinerated... Man that was close - BTW the smoke from the unit was that thick black type that sticks to walls - we are going to have to repaint... both the liviing room wall and the porch...

SEE FOR YOURSELF: http://www.1esc.com/Applefusion.html

I notified Apple - have yet to hear from them...

 

[After G]

It's a good thing they don't make battery-powered headphones ...

But in all seriousness, that's just ... wow. Don't they test these things?

 

[dornoforpyros]

neat! However if I'm not mistaken apple didn't actually manufacture these speakers so I doubt there is much, if anything apple can do, well I guess you got it at the apple store so they should atleast refund it. Hey, you should light the iPod on fire now and take it back too! hehe

Sorry, I haven't really slept properly in a week with the xmas partying and I think it's caught up.

 

[mkrishnan]

I'm glad you and your children are okay, Rick!

I wonder...is there a government office that can be contacted in regards to this? Based on what you say, and the knowledgebase from which you say it, being an engineer yourself...if you are correct, and there may be other units susceptible to this, they need to be recalled, before someone else's baby *is* hurt by them.

 

[Sun Baked]

Li Ion batteries can burn quite hot if damaged, look at all the "My cellphone exploded and burned my ass" posts.

Device could simply have shorted or the battery was damage...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

Warning

Lithium-ion batteries can easily rupture, ignite, or explode when exposed to high temperatures or direct sunlight. Never store them inside of a car during hot weather. Short-circuiting a Li-ion battery can also cause it to ignite or explode. Never open a Li-ion battery's casing. Li-ion batteries contain safety devices that, if damaged, can cause the battery to ignite or explode.

 

[p0intblank]

WOW!!!!!!! Glad to hear everyone's okay. I smell a lawsuit! Seriously, sue the company who made that product. Apple is not the manufacturer, so don't go after them. :hides:

 

[maya]

It's a good thing they don't make battery-powered headphones ...

But in all seriousness, that's just ... wow. Don't they test these things?

What is, "Quality Control?"

Does such a thing exists?

 

[maya]

..."My cellphone exploded and burned my ass" ...

Device could simply have shorted or the battery was damage...

You have to stop using those attachments.

 

[EricNau]

Glad to hear you got it outside safely, and everyone is alright.

I'm sure Apple will give you your money back (or atleast a store gift card), but keep in mind, these speakers are in no way made by Apple, so don't blame them.

Sounds like an isolated case to me, it must have been a bad battery, (or faulty wiring). As for other people who have this, I wouldn't be too worried.

FYI: Next time you have a burning battery on your porch, I recommend using an ABC fire extinguisher, in some cases water will just make things worse.

 

[EricNau]

WOW!!!!!!! Glad to hear everyone's okay. I smell a lawsuit! Seriously, sue the company who made that product. Apple is not the manufacturer, so don't go after them. :hides:

You can't sue without any damages. Sorry.

 

[California]

Glad to hear you got it outside safely, and everyone is alright.

FYI: Next time you have a burning battery on your porch, I recommend using an ABC fire extinguisher, in some cases water will just make things worse.

Yeah, doesn't sound like Apple liability at all. And I think I remember from grammar school that baking soda puts out electrical fires, and water is ineffectual? Smother the electrical fire, douse the regular fire, or something like that. Anyway, sorry your Xmas was worrisome. But the iPod was saved?

 

[Laser47]

You can't sue without any damages. Sorry.

Set you ipod on fire and blame it on the speakers and then demand the company to buy you a new ipod, or if you really want tell the company you will sue them for emotional distress , say the fire freaked out you kids.

 

[EricNau]

Yeah, doesn't sound like Apple liability at all. And I think I remember from grammar school that baking soda puts out electrical fires, and water is ineffectual? Smother the electrical fire, douse the regular fire, or something like that. Anyway, sorry your Xmas was worrisome. But the iPod was saved?

You are right, but it's best just to use an ABC fire extinguisher. It will put out any type of fire.

 

[EricNau]

Set you ipod on fire and blame it on the speakers and then demand the company to buy you a new ipod, or if you really want tell the company you will sue them for emotional distress , say the fire freaked out you kids.

"Now my kids can't listen to music anymore, they're traumatized."
Ya, You'd loose.

 

[California]

Set you ipod on fire and blame it on the speakers and then demand the company to buy you a new ipod, or if you really want tell the company you will sue them for emotional distress , say the fire freaked out you kids.

The more we sue, the less R and D and the higher prices on crappy products so I'd say that this is really bad advice, even if a joke.

However, as a side-note, I'd love to sue some tv and film companies this holiday season for emotional distress (boredom, sheer waste of time, loud audience members, too many trailers, embarassingly vulgar scenes in front of family members, fatty popcorn, commercials at ear piercing volume, screenwriters and directors on acid, actors cardboarding it through badly written roles -- oh the agony!) but I think emotional distress is very hard to prove. Tangible damages anyone?

 

[randas]

It's a good thing they don't make battery-powered headphones ...

The scary thing is they do. Is it longtech that sells the wireless bluetooth headphones?

 

[aquajet]

Cool

You should bring it back to the Apple store, and watch everybody stare as you tell the employee what happened

 

[macEfan]

wow ! that must have sucked... The battary must have had some type of defect... glad everyone's ok~!

 

[ryannel2003]

What is, "Quality Control?"

Does such a thing exists?

I no longer think Quality Control exsists....

 

[super_kev]

ricker, wow man, looks pretty wild. I would have loved to see those things start on fire, but that's just me.

I took the liberty of preparing and compressing your JPEG's (makes the file size much smaller) the for the internet so they don't take forever to download for the few unlucky souls who are still on dialup. If you want, PM me your email and I'll send the images to you so you can replace the ones on your site.

 

[rdowns]

Damn, wish I had known about this before Christmas. I would have loved to give one of these to a few people on my list.

 

[EricNau]

Damn, wish I had known about this before Christmas. I would have loved to give one of these to a few people on my list.

 

[stevep]

You can't sue without any damages. Sorry.

He had damages - he's got to redecorate the porch and part of his living room. So he can justifiably ask for compensation.
Apple would be liable in the UK - not sure about the US, but the contract was between Apple and the customer (as he didn't buy the speakers from Sonic Impact). Apple have a duty of care towards all their customers, and that would include not selling them potentially dangerous products. They cannot shrug their shoulders. If Apple want to, in turn, claim compensation from Sonic Impact, then they have every right to do so.
I would say that Apple will be very helpful in this case. It will be interesting to see what they offer.
And maybe Sonic Impact should change their name to Pyro Impact?

 

[liquidh2o]

yowzas, glad no one was hurt!

 

[devilot]

ricker, I don't know where you live... but if you're in the States you should contact a few people/organizations.

If I were in your place, I'd write/email/call in to my local newspaper's "Action Line," a column devoted to helping consumers w/ all sorts of problems. That columnist would probably then direct me to: California Department of Consumer Affairs, the public DA, etc. to whom I'd lodge a complaint(s).

Hope you can turn this situation for the better and right it.