Dell laptop + ammo = no go

We'd think by now people might have heard about some of those Dell laptop mishaps, but it looks like a few boxes of ammo and a vintage Ford pickup are the latest casualties in an incident of laptops gone bad. While it's yet to be proved certainly that the Dell Inspiron 1300 in question did actually start the fire that blew up the ammo boxes of two outdoorsmen on a fishing trip (uh, who needs ammo on a fishing trip?) and overtook Jenny, the '66 F-250, we've little doubt that the laptop's, ammo's, and truck's owner Thomas Forqueran regrets ever placing the three within the vicinity of one another. ConsumerAffairs, from whom we sourced this story, did make mention of the Dell battery recall website some Engadget users have been tossing about -- you know, the launched in December of last year to take back some 22,000 batteries. Calls to Dell this week about the program went unreturned, but one thing is definitely for sure: if you've got a Dell laptop, do yourself (and your truck) a favor and still check and see if you can get it taken back, would you? We know you like your lap / desk / shoulder bag / car / plane in good working order.

Here's that Dell recall page one more time, keep it handy, would ya? http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/

[Thanks, Robert]

[Fozz @ Aug 3rd 2006 5:32AM]

This is getting stupid. There is nothing in that report which proves the laptop had anything to do with starting the fire.

"Oh damn, there goes my airshop and all becuase I took my laptop onboard" etc... http://tinyurl.com/oja8g

[Stymie @ Aug 3rd 2006 5:36AM]

Camping.

I pitched a tent.

[giveaphuk @ Aug 3rd 2006 5:45AM]

if i we're dell i wouldn't be just expecting my customers to find 1 single webpage before they realise just how explosive their batterys are.. i'd be calling them.. aren't they renowned for their customer service..

It is only a matter of time til some guys dell blows up on a plane..

[Roguemullet @ Aug 3rd 2006 6:00AM]

RedNecks have laptops?

[Gil @ Aug 3rd 2006 6:02AM]

I call bullshit. Actually I call insurance fraud.

Everybody has heard of the Dell laptop going boom and this guy is capitalising on the news the good old american way

[Mephistophelian @ Aug 3rd 2006 6:03AM]

"uh, who needs ammo on a fishing trip?"

Who needs a laptop?

[Keef @ Aug 3rd 2006 6:27AM]

i agree with Gil, a soon as i read this i thought, insurance scam....

fishing.... ammo....laptop.....wtf...

[Paul S @ Aug 3rd 2006 7:08AM]

I want these motherf%ckin' Dells off this motherf%ckin' plane!

[dan @ Aug 3rd 2006 7:11AM]

I doubt it's insurance fraud. I thought so too at first, before reading the article on it. These are just two old guys on a camping trip. They were going out for two days, and had brought stuff like cell phone, GPS, camera, rifle, and laptop. Plus, to them, the vintage truck was a family heirloom, so I'm not sure if someone would destroy it along with some other possessions to garner about $5k. On top of this, both of these old men had to sit in 110 degree heat for 8 hours, and one of them sufferred from heat exhaustion.

So no, I don't call bullshit on this one.

[Kingslasher @ Aug 3rd 2006 7:53AM]

"uh, who needs ammo on a fishing trip?"

It depends on where you fish. Bears, lions, tigers, crocodiles, alligators, water buffalo, jaguars, puma, and such occasionally appear while one is fishing.

[Mike @ Aug 3rd 2006 8:51AM]

Maybe you shouldn't leave your laptop in your car when it is 110 degrees outside.

[some guy. @ Aug 3rd 2006 9:53AM]

OMGZORS BULLETS IN CAR?!?! SCAM!!!

You people that live in the city need to get out more...

First of all, living in Montana, it is normal for some people to keep a stock of ammunition in their hunting vehicles all year round, even their rifle to go along with it.

Second of all, why would anyone try to scam an insurance company by setting their vintage original truck ablaze when one in original condition like it would be extremely hard to find?

Third, they are out in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting out except for their truck!!

Finally, I doubt two old men would have heard of any exploding laptops before theirs set ablaze. My family hasn't even heard about them until I told them about it. Engadget is not a mainstream news site and not a whole lot of people read it multiple times every day like some of us.

I say they are telling the truth.

[apple_box @ Aug 3rd 2006 10:21AM]

First off, not "everyone" has heard about the battery recall. I work in a Dell laptop filled office and no one heard about it. At work or at home. My company sent out some info but that went largely un-read as the recall was to be processed by the individual employee. The fact of the matter is Dell has not published the info on their homepage nor has made it available to the general public. They have HIDDEN it. If you know about the recall then you know to look for it. If not, THEY ARE NOT MAKING IT EASY TO FIND AND CORRECT. Its quite dirty of them. Period.

[Pinkerton @ Aug 3rd 2006 11:42AM]

Some guy,

Well put, you beat me to it.

While it is possible that something other than the laptop caused the fire, I seriously doubt it was intentional.

Mephistophelian, you pose a valid philosophical question :)

[Chris @ Aug 3rd 2006 12:17PM]

Uh oh. Now 3rd world countries at war are going to use laptops as weapons. "Today in news, So and so dropped a Dell bomb on so and so, Killing hundreds". Yikes.

[Matt @ Aug 3rd 2006 1:30PM]

My Dell laptop apparently uses a Sony battery. I assume those don't go up in flames as easily?

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:16PM]

I'm sorry, but i don't believe for a second a Dell Laptop was the involve in this fire. Just look the surroundings. an old Ford F-150, ammo stock, a rural zone= Rednecks. These people are troglodites, they can't even talk right much less know how to use a computer. This is cleary insurance fraud like someone above mentioned.

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:16PM]

I'm sorry, but i don't believe for a second a Dell Laptop was the involve in this fire. Just look the surroundings. an old Ford F-150, ammo stock, a rural zone= Rednecks. These people are troglodytes, they can't even talk right much less know how to use a computer. This is cleary insurance fraud like someone above mentioned.

[Dubious at best @ Aug 3rd 2006 6:46PM]

OK, I normally just lurk, however this is ridiculous. Look closely at the truck. The bed of the truck is damaged and extremely rusted. The cab and engine compartment are damaged, however not as extensively as the bed. does anyone have a picture of this "vintage" truck that is these two old men's pride and joy BEFORE the alleged fire? I have to say this looks to be insurance fraud. Why would you put your laptop and ammo in the bed of the truck? Beside each other? Exposed to the elements? Having grown up in rural areas, you keep your ammo in the CAB, just in case someone needs shootin'. And no way am I putting my laptop in the bed of any truck in 110 degree heat. Both of these variables would cause the CAB and FRONT of the vehicle to be damaged more than the bed. Not to mention that "a few boxes of ammo" in a fire make a BIG BOOM and would have ripped the hell out of that vehicle!

I submit that this wonderful "vintage" POS truck has been sitting in the backyard behind Jethro's double-wide for the past 15 years.

Flame me if you like, but this is a hoax, imo.

[Nathan @ Aug 3rd 2006 9:14PM]

Dick: Da George I blew up my truck accidental like, I was shooting at some senator and he jumped in the truck so I shot at him and hit the ammo I done left in the tray and it done blew it up. I don't thank I can claims it on my automobile insurance.

Jeb: I did travelled those highways on the internets the yesterday and I saw these laptops keep getting blowed up. Why don't you say you had one of those in the back and it blewed up all over the place you'll get a new automobile and new fangled puters you can put on your legs when you sit down.

[RacetrackOwner @ Aug 4th 2006 8:52AM]

Perrey Z: "These people are troglodytes, they can't even talk right much less know how to use a computer."

That's a lot to infer from a couple of old guys going fishing.

Dubious at best: "Why would you put your laptop and ammo in the bed of the truck? Beside each other? Exposed to the elements?"

Nobody said "exposed to the elements" except you. The gear could have easily been stashed in a duffel bag or something along those lines. An old truck like that doesn't have much room up front -- virtually everything was probably thrown in the back.

But then, most of the people commenting probably consider the outdoors as "that big room I walk through to get to the subway" -- on those rare occasions you actually leave your mom's basement.

[Joe @ Aug 4th 2006 10:58AM]

Those of you who are commenting and CLEARLY not reading the full article on ConsumerAffairs.Com need to stop commenting.

First, why would this guy blow up his truck for less than $5,000? The truck has way more sentimental value than 5,000 will ever bring.

Second, the laptop was in the cab of the truck. Why did you people start saying the bed?

Third, If you would actually read the original article on the host sight, you would see a recent photo of the truck in its original form.

[SLIP @ Aug 8th 2006 8:32PM]

VINTAGE 1966 Ford F-250 ? Vs DELL

I think someone is barking up the wrong tree. . . Why try to blame/sue DELL when the blame is clearly on the FORD MOTOR COMPANY for not having the vehicle protected with a NFSS (Nitrogen Fire Supression System). Also, FORD should have had the proper armor plating in the bed area, which would have protected the gas tank and cab from the explosion. If I were DELL, I'd say; Go to Hell ! :c)

[Gilbert @ Aug 17th 2006 12:07AM]

I commented in the other thread about this, but this just irks me.

This guy put his computer inside the cab of his old truck in 110 degree weather at 1pm? Possibly the battery caught fire because of the temperature? Li-ion batteries have warnings against storing in hot areas, such as an old truck sitting in the sun in 110 degree weather.

I thought this was interesting:
http://www.ultralifebatteries.com/documents/whitepapers/UBM-5112_Li-ion_Li-Poly_Precautions.pdf

Note point number 3 on page 3. "Do not place the battery in direct sunlight, or use or store the battery inside cars in hot weather. Doing so may cause the battery to generate heat, explode or ignite."

[Diacritical @ Feb 20th 2007 6:45PM]

This just his Cringley again today.. my e-mail to him:

How does this still get any press? A two minute look at the record, and you would not have had to dip this far into the past to find something to fill your column. Thomas Forqueran had an Dell Inspiron 1300/B130 ( It was the cheapest of the cheap). It was not subject to the recall and did not have the batteries that had problems.You'll even see that it was burned on one corner (right front) while the battery was in the right rear edge of the laptop.

In short, the burn was no where near a battery that was not in the recall list. It looks like the gentleman bought the cheapest Dell he could find, then torched his truck -- perhaps to make a few bucks off of a "big company" that would pay him an inflated value.

He should have checked the recall list first, and made sure the laptop burned somewhere near the battery second.