Make Sure To Check In On Your Old Portable Consoles For Swollen Batteries

Older console maintenance is a must-do habit for collectors to keep on playing their favorite games. From more difficult tasks like soddering in circuits to exponentially easier ones like replacing a battery, it’s all part of keeping consoles up and running. The latter though, is something becoming more prominent over the last few years, especially with portable consoles using lithium batteries.

Earlier in October, some Twitter users found out that lithium batteries tend to swell up after a few years, potentially causing serious trouble. Now, this is not the first time this sort of incident has come up. The Playstation Vita had a similar situation, and even people reported PSP issues a few years ago.

“If you own any lipo battery I recommend buying yourself a lipo safe bag that is fire and explosion proof. I own a few of these and you never know when your batteries will burst due to swelling,” one poster suggested. “You may just save your home from a fire or worse by spending an extra $15-$20.”

So while some gamers might be experiencing this for the first time, it’s hardly some new or sudden threat. This is a wise practice to periodically follow as your devices continue to age. When you notice it, it’s not always an immediate threat, but something to make sure gets replaced.

“Swelling certainly isn’t good, and it’s an indicator of decreased performance,” said David Mitlin, a battery researcher and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, in an interview with the Washington Post about the subject. “But it doesn’t instantly mean the battery is going to catch on fire.”

The condition is caused by the gases created lithium ions flow from one end to the other, moving in the opposite direction when the battery is being used to power something. Those ions move through something called the electrolyte. As you keep charging and discharging the battery over time, the electrolyte begins to decompose and produce gases as a byproduct.

Mitlin continued with the fact that that not all rechargeable batteries are equal. Some big name companies invest even bigger money into researching and developing batteries that stall this decay. In the meantime, there are a few things to keep an eye on such as if the battery gets too hot and what the charge percentage is.