Posted on 02/09/2023 7:55:57 PM PST by BenLurkin
With the number of fires caused by lithium batteries soaring across the U.S., firefighters and other experts say the training needed to fight them effectively is lagging in many places. Firefighters and city officials are also imploring the manufacturers to redesign the batteries so that, when they fail, the resulting fires can be put down more easily.
Kerber said his team has run tests on lithium-ion batteries in which it took only 15 seconds from the first sign of smoke to the windows being blown out in a house. In a traditional fire, it typically takes about three minutes for a room to be engulfed, he said.
The rise of electric scooters in cities has led to a massive spike in battery fires.
Lithium-ion batteries sparked more than 200 fires in New York City last year alone, killing six people and injuring nearly 150. That’s double the amount of battery fires in 2021, according to the New York City Fire Department.
So far this year, electric bike batteries have been identified as the cause of three fires in New York.
The most recent blaze broke out inside a building in the Inwood section of Manhattan on Feb. 5. Three people were hospitalized in critical condition, officials said. Last week, an e-bike battery sparked a fire at a day care center in Queens that injured nearly 20 children.
Some fire departments in Arizona and elsewhere have added a new tool to fight these kinds of fires: a chemical additive specially designed to absorb heat and put down certain kinds of blazes.
The product, known as F-500 Encapsulator Agent, has shown in early tests to be effective at putting out the stubborn fires created by lithium-ion batteries.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Not true. They need to be labeled properly and only are moved around on ground vehicles.
“... Tesla was moving to a nickel based battery with a higher density ...”
Higher density means more powerful combustion per cubic inch or pound of battery.
Electric propulsion is great but the required batteries are a tough problem.
Watched a video of a train ride through the alps. It was electricly powered using overhead lines for power. That’s a great, as well as old, idea.
I used to leave my devices to charge overnight...but now I only charge them during the day...while I’m home...and while I’m awake. I’m a huge fan of airplane crash documentaries and there have been at least a coupe that are known to have been caused by lithium batteries catching fire.
I don’t know how I never read of that before.
Thanks for posting!
Because the batteries keep generating heat until full internal failure - you can extinguish the fire multiple times before it stops regenerating.
Remember the Ford Pinto recalls for safety - that ain’t happening anymore.
I just read this article to my husband. He is picking up his new EV bike this morning.
I have an EV trike that I **love**love**love!
When I finished reading he said, “Don’t read me articles about things I can’t fix!” :)
Don’t be “confounded”. Just do an Internet search ... There’s likely more than one YouTube video on how to extinguish a lithium battery fire. (Meant as a joke ... because there’s an element of truth here.)
I know they always ask you if there are lithium batteries in the package you are sending, and just to be sure before I posted my comment, I searched last night using the term: Can you mail lithium batteries through the US postal service, and the response came up NO. After seeing your response just now, I did the same search, and got the answer YES. Thanks for pointing it out.
It’s all good. :)
I recently shipped some cordless tools. i told fed ex about the batteries and they said “uh huh.” then they shipped them
I know with usps, it doesnt matter what level you ship them at, 1st class or priority, they all get sent ground. Fedex may have different standards in terms of how big a lithium batter has to be bedore it goes ground only, and sometimes it makes a difference if the battery is by itself/tool battery, versus it already being inside an electronic item, like a fitbit. The size of the battery changes how they ship and whether or not its a standalone battery versus being inside something, makes a difference.
I looked up what I needed to do and did it. It was a set of cordless tools with several batteries.
They didn’t seem to care. So I didn’t worry as much for the return delivery.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.