Glubux's Powerwall (2016)

Fire Risk and Safety Concerns

• Many commenters see a massive DIY pack of mixed old 18650s as a serious fire hazard, especially in a wooden shed, with talk of “campfire-like” arrangements of cells.
• Housing the pack ~50m away from the house is widely seen as the key mitigation: losing the shed is acceptable; preventing spread to dwelling and vegetation is the real goal. Some suggest gravel or paving, cinderblock construction, sand beds, or even burying the structure.
• Lithium fires are described as self‑oxidizing and hard to extinguish; the realistic plan is often “let it burn while protecting surroundings.” A small extinguisher is viewed as useful only for very early-stage, non‑battery ignition—and currently badly placed in photos.
• Several first‑hand anecdotes (electric skateboard, 400V pack, factory-like fires) reinforce how violent runaway can be and how long heat and smoke persist.

Battery Chemistry and Technology Choices

• Multiple commenters contrast volatile NMC laptop cells with safer chemistries like LiFePO₄, which have lower energy density but far better thermal behavior for stationary storage.
• Discussion notes that 18650s in metal cans don’t balloon visibly like pouch cells but can still swell at terminals and fail catastrophically.
• Some point out that commercial home batteries use prismatic or large LFP cells with robust BMS, fusing, thermal paths, and sometimes fire arrestors—very different “trenchcoats” than DIY packs of random laptop cells.

DIY vs Commercial Systems and Economics

• Strong split: admiration for the ingenuity, persistence, and community around DIY powerwalls vs arguments that a modern LFP rack pack is cheaper, faster, safer, and more compact per kWh today.
• Several commenters run rough numbers: in 2016 DIY reuse looked more rational; by 2025, ~15 kWh of new LFP cells plus enclosure is cited in the low-thousands of dollars, with hours of assembly instead of hundreds of hours of cell sorting and welding.
• Others argue labor opportunity cost, insurance issues, and liability (no vendor to sue) make large DIY packs unsuitable for “normal” homeowners, but worth it for hobbyists who value the learning.

Recycling, Second-Life Cells, and Scalability

• Philosophical divide: some celebrate extending life of laptop cells and avoiding landfill; others note that used EV or industrial packs, or direct materials recycling, may be more efficient at scale.
• Automation of cell testing/sorting is often requested but questioned on economics and safety: mismatched impedances, parasitic charging, and liability make “repacked random cells” a tough commercial product.
• Observations that many commercial packs (including EVs) are “lots of 18650s in a trenchcoat,” but with heavy engineering around binning, cooling, fusing, and monitoring.

Risk Perception and Comparisons

• One camp stresses that random lithium fires are statistically rare, citing well-known phone incidents as tiny fractions of deployments.
• Others reply that a hand‑wired shed full of mixed second‑hand cells is not comparable to a single phone pack, and the consequence profile (house, livelihood) justifies much more caution.
• Broader debate touches on why high‑energy Li‑ion remains common in consumer electronics vs safer but less dense chemistries; several note society routinely accepts far riskier technologies (cars, gas stoves) with managed risk.

Article, Source, and AI-Writing Discussion

• Multiple commenters dislike the secondary article that originally linked this project: it’s seen as light on technical detail, mislinked, and possibly LLM‑generated, with telltale vague phrasing and hedging (“likely required manual labor”).
• The original forum build log is widely recommended as “the real content,” showing the full evolution, photos, and the surrounding DIY community.
• Some meta‑discussion unfolds about how to recognize AI‑written prose, whether that matters, and frustration that mediocre AI rewrites are being used for SEO and ad clicks.

Alternative Storage and Backup Ideas

• Suggestions range from “just buy LFP prismatic packs” to sodium‑ion home systems, gravity or mechanical storage, and pumped‑hydro‑like concepts—though commenters concede practicality and cost issues.
• A side thread discusses more conventional backup: generators, automatic transfer switches, interlock kits, and subpanels—repeatedly emphasizing the need for licensed electricians when tying into mains.