Hardware I put my Switch in the fridge

[thewannacryguy]

Lithium batteries wear out more quickly when stored at higher temperatures. It's summer right now where I live and some days are incredibly hot.

I thought that the optimal way to store a Switch would be on sleep mode in frost free fridge enclosed in a protective case. Lithium battery wear and tear can be reduced by storing it discharged in a cool environment. Frost free fridges dry the air so water doesn't condense on the circuitry. The battery should be fully charged and discharged once a month.

The other day I wrapped my Switch in a towel then put it in the fridge, when I took it out moisture started condensing on the screen after a few seconds. I thought to myself "oh, shit," and immediately put it back in the fridge. At the time of writing my Switch still works.

I did some searching online, apparently you shouldn't put electronics in the fridge for two reasons. The first is expansion and contraction, the second is condensation.

The websites I read which warned about expansion and contraction were warning users about cooling overheated electronics in the fridge. I assume they were regarding electronics which are about 60 C. In my case, my Switch was about 25 C when I put it in the fridge so this should mitigate the destructive effects of rapid contraction.

I don't know if moisture is an issue when the Switch is first placed in the fridge. The Switch does have air vents so the outside air can get out, but the vents might be too small for the air to adequately circulate while the Switch is cooling down, the storage case can also reduce air circulation.

Taking the Switch out the fridge is a big problem. Currently I believe the best course of action is to put the Switch in an airtight container with the lid slightly ajar in the fridge. On a cooler evening, close the lid fully to lock in the dry air then take the Switch out the fridge to warm to room temperature. From there is should be safe to remove it from the container. Is there anything I overlooked here?

 

[IncredulousP]

Rather than discharged, keep the battery level between 60-80%. Also DO NOT put electronics in the fridge without an airtight enclosure. Or at all, really. Especially anything not a battery or HDD.

The benefits you are getting from the battery, if any, are going to pale in comparison to the wear you are putting on the electronic components and traces. I can imagine the LCD screen being especially sensitive to expansion/contraction, moisture, as well as extreme temperature ranges. But I wouldn't know, I never put my consoles in the fridge.

Why don't you just take out the battery and put it in the fridge? Or just accept the fact that batteries have a limited amount of life and by the time you need a replacement, Nintendo will already have launched their next console.

 

[Chocola]

Next post: Need help repairing my Switch, it didn't turn on after put it on the fridge

 

[Deleted User]

Never store an LCD in a fridge.

 

[Mario119]

Okay so I maybe possibly perhaps might've did something similar with my old overheating Nexus 5 when I was younger. Thought it'd help cool it down or something. Long story short, LCDs and extreme temperature changes don't mix well.

If you want to optimally condition your battery, they say to only charge it up to 90% or so and to never let it discharge past 20%. Forgot the technical reason for this, but I've read it in quite a few places.

Sent from my HD1905 using Tapatalk

 

[isoboy]

I can't even...

 

[ghjfdtg]

Leaving the battery in the Switch drawing a small standby current while it's near freezing temp does the exact oppoosite. You need to charge it to about ~60%/3.7V and take the battery out. Lithium batteries don't like to be used in cold environments and lose capacity.

 

[isoboy]

I will say I've used my ipad at work since around 2012, seven hours each day, five days a week and it doesn't seem to want to lose it's charge which I do find somewhat odd but..alright.

 

[Bladexdsl]

i don't even

 

[teamlocust]

I mean wtf? But on a serious note putting a flimsy product like switch in a fridge is a big no no

 

[gamesquest1]

cool story bro

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Lithium batteries wear out more quickly when stored at higher temperatures. It's summer right now where I live and some days are incredibly hot.

I thought that the optimal way to store a Switch would be on sleep mode in frost free fridge enclosed in a protective case. Lithium battery wear and tear can be reduced by storing it discharged in a cool environment. Frost free fridges dry the air so water doesn't condense on the circuitry. The battery should be fully charged and discharged once a month.

The other day I wrapped my Switch in a towel then put it in the fridge, when I took it out moisture started condensing on the screen after a few seconds. I thought to myself "oh, shit," and immediately put it back in the fridge. At the time of writing my Switch still works.

I did some searching online, apparently you shouldn't put electronics in the fridge for two reasons. The first is expansion and contraction, the second is condensation.

The websites I read which warned about expansion and contraction were warning users about cooling overheated electronics in the fridge. I assume they were regarding electronics which are about 60 C. In my case, my Switch was about 25 C when I put it in the fridge so this should mitigate the destructive effects of rapid contraction.

I don't know if moisture is an issue when the Switch is first placed in the fridge. The Switch does have air vents so the outside air can get out, but the vents might be too small for the air to adequately circulate while the Switch is cooling down, the storage case can also reduce air circulation.

Taking the Switch out the fridge is a big problem. Currently I believe the best course of action is to put the Switch in an airtight container with the lid slightly ajar in the fridge. On a cooler evening, close the lid fully to lock in the dry air then take the Switch out the fridge to warm to room temperature. From there is should be safe to remove it from the container. Is there anything I overlooked here?

Actually, that's perfectly normal. It's the same thing that happens when you wear swimming goggles in cold water and they fog up when you get them wet.
The air around is cooled down because the Switch is cold, which means the air can no longer hold as much moisture, and the moisture simply falls out of the air, no longer able to stay suspended.
The moisture should not be able to get inside the Switch, as long as you don't turn it on while it's cold making the fan spin up. I don't see anything really wrong with keeping it in the fridge other than in not so sure that it's as dry inside there as you think and you opening the fridge and letting warm air in will also let more moisture in that will condensate.

I would not keep it on in sleep mode though. Sleep mode wastes battery cycles, since it depletes the battery by like 10% a day, and you only have a finite amount of those (like 500-600) before the battery reaches the 70% capacity point, after which battery capacity starts going down rapidly.
Moreover, lithium batteries don't like cold, and don't work efficiently in the cold, which is less of a problem if you keep it turned off, but if it's on, it will only exacerbate the problem.

 

[AutumnWolf]

cool story bro

*da bum tss*

 

[bootaholic]

Here's your solution. Take it out of the fridge and put it in the oven, lithium batteries and all. Do 20 min in the over then back to the fridge for 20, maybe 10 or 11 times...

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[ignare]

I cooked my Switch in the oven.
Get it? Funny joke.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

this reminds me of back in the early 80's a Seagate St506 5mb HDD (yes 5mb ) stopped working in a CP/M computer my brother gave me, he put it in the fridge for a bit and it worked, can't remember how long it was in the fridge for or how long it worked for. I think overheating could be a common fault.

 

[thewannacryguy]

I took my Switch out of the fridge on a cold morning. I kept it on the system menu so the fan would be running on low to stop condensation from lingering on the motherboard. I wont do this again because the damage done to the LCD is not worth the wear and tear saved on the battery (if any). It still works perfectly; this was a near miss.

According to table 2 in the link below, lithium batteries are best stored in cold conditions. After making this post, I checked other websites which claim that 15°C is the optimal storage temperature.
https://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries

In the winter the temperature can drop as low as -2°C in the night, making it colder than the fridge. None of my screens have ever mysteriously cracked during the night. I assume this is because the air temperature drops over the course of a few hours, while placing something in the fridge causes a sudden drop in the air temperature.

 

[Bladexdsl]