FZ5 battery bulged - time to change battery?

[miniz]

Hi,

I went to a shop with my FZ5 original batter (GSA-S002E) to buy new one. I was told that the old battery has bulged and is at its end of life. I checked and indeed the surface has slightly bulged (not visible to eyes but can feel in hands). It can be now rotated on table because of the bulging center part.

Is it true that when battery bulges, it is time to change?


I was also told that the bulging battery can get stuck in the camera. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks for your comments.

[Simon_84]

now that you mentioned it, i do see a little bulge in my batt as well.
and i noticed the lifespan of the batt is slowly decreasing even though i seldom used the cam during these last 2 years since being in ns.
to be safe buy a new batt and take the batt out of the cam whenever not in use.

[sethkoo]

Yeah, if the battery has a buldge, means it is time to change. Having such characteristic happens on Lithium Batteries.

Probably the buldge size will be bigger if not because of the hard plastic casing...

[ExplorerZ]

try to see if a brand new battery has one or not?

[miniz]

yea, the life span of the old battery is shorter now.

well, the brand new battery does not have bulging surface, it is perferctly flat... so it won't rotate on table.

[Simon_84]

Originally Posted by miniz yea, the life span of the old battery is shorter now. well, the brand new battery does not have bulging surface, it is perferctly flat... so it won't rotate on table.

looks like i'm going to spin my batt as well...to test.

[zcf]

mine 3rd party one can spin also

[saggice]

My battery also budging and bloated.
Looks scary....

[benleong84]

Bloated batteries are very dangerous.
I used to fly RC planes that run on lipo batteries.
Once they bloat up, it probably means you're drawing too much current from the batt.
and its about time to get a new one...
Otherwise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQjudHKh-bI

For every 1 cell inside the battery, it will explode once.
So assuming u have a 3 cell, you will have 3 explosions.

I'm not sure how that relates to your situation, but i'll be very careful about that.

Hope this helps!

[saggice]

Thanks BenLeong... looks like i got to throw the bloated battery away.
Safety more impt.

[benleong84]

Remember to dispose it carefully and responsibly!

[jlpk007]

my two FZ5 "Camera devices" branded battery is bloated.One got stucked inside the battery compartment and i had to use a small screw driver to dig it out..

Any one knows how much is the original Panasonic battery?