Request to Discharge the Third-Party Battery Packs for Cordless Vacuum Cleaners from Sumitomo Shoten and Rowa Japan by Running the Vacuum Cleaners (Call for Stopping Use was Announced on October 29, 2021)

1. Discharging by running the vacuum cleaner

• NITE inspection results confirmed that the battery pack can be discharged by running the vacuum cleaner and go into a safe state without leading to a fire.
• It has also been confirmed that running the vacuum cleaner does not increase the risk of a fire.
• Please refer to the attachment (NITE materials in Japanese)(PDF:1,581KB)  for details on the current estimated mechanisms of an accident and safeness of discharging by running the vacuum cleaner.

Please follow the steps below specifically to discharge your battery pack.
(If your battery pack could possibly be wet [e.g., if it has been stored outdoors], do not discharge the battery pack by running the vacuum cleaner. In this case, or if you do not have the vacuum cleaner, follow the method described in Note 2.)

Note 1:

If you notice any of the following abnormalities during the above procedure, turn off the vacuum cleaner immediately, take out the battery pack, and put it into the bucket of water. Examples of abnormal reactions include:

• Smoke (would likely emit from the power button or fixing screw holes)
• Odor (burning smell)
• Abnormal rise in temperature (usually around 40°C) Please be careful not to burn yourself.

In these cases, the battery may not be fully discharged.
To continue discharging safely, take the following actions (Saltwater treatment):

1. Without removing the battery pack from the water, add approximately 120 grams of salt* (about eight tablespoons) to the water and stir it lightly to dissolve.
   *Keep the saline concentration around 3%.
2. Leave the battery pack in that state. It will be fully discharged after approximately four days.
   (Perform the operation above in a well-ventilated area, such as outdoors. Also, because the water will become sewage containing corroded metal, please wear rubber gloves when removing the battery pack from the water and disposing of the waste water and sediment. Do not touch any of it with your bare hands.)

Note 2:

If the battery pack is wet and cannot be discharged by running vacuum cleaner, or if you do not have the vacuum cleaner, please do the same as in Note 1: add four liters of water (room temperature) containing 120 grams of salt* to a plastic bucket and put the battery pack in, and keep it submerged for about four days to discharge it.

2. Measures to be taken after discharging

When discharging by the above methods is complete, please do the following:

• If you have Sumitomo Shoten's battery packs: because the company has already gone bankrupt, please dispose of those which are used at home according to your local municipalities’ disposal methods. As for battery packs used in business activities, since they are classified as industrial waste, please dispose of them as such.
• If you have Rowa Japan's battery packs: the company will collect them. A video confirming the battery is fully discharged (flashing light) is required when the company collects it, so please record it and follow the instructions in the email sent by the company.

Link to Rowa Japan

Email address: info@rowa.co.jp

→When the battery is fully discharged, please follow up by disposing of it, etc.

Reference 2: Products in question

If your battery pack is the model found to have caused fires, the name of the importer (Orange Line DC60 or ROWA JAPAN DC62) should be written as shown below.

Photos of the products in question

<Sumitomo Shoten's battery packs>

<Rowa Japan's battery packs>

Related materials

• Method of Discharging Third-Party Battery Packs for Cordless Vacuum Cleaners, etc. (from METI's October 29 Call for Attention) (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

Product Accident Information and Analysis Office, Product Safety Division, Industrial and Product Safety Policy Group