Consumer Reports: Ebike Fires

[kevinmccune]

No they are not bad to use. I still buy and use corded. Lawnmower, String Trimer, poll saw, and blower. Not only are they a fraction of the cost of battery power, they are all more powerful than battery power and I won't have to spend a pile of money to replace batteries (assuming they are still available) when they fail.

more powerful,are you sure? I have many Ryobi plus tools that seem to be at least equal to some of their corded counterparts,the 40 volt blower and string trimmer seem to have plenty of oomph,the drills(18 volt have never failed me the impact drivers are a lesson in convenience.

 

[kevinmccune]

Here is an Orbea battery that is 36V, 5.777Ah and 208Wh. It is made in a large Chinese factory that makes many other batteries and it lists for $649. It is proprietary and brand named like Gucci socks. There is nothing special about it. It is like Hormel Vs Store brand canned Chili.

X35 RANGE EXTENDER KIT

X35 Range Extender Kit

www.orbea.com

canned chili?

 

[kevinmccune]

Just that I generally have on my person, I usually have 4 or 5 such devices all the time. My overall list would be at least as long as those already posted, and generally very similar. Never had a fire or anything close. Knock on wood. The thing is, store-bought, name brand rechargeable batteries are very safe. Can they cause problems? Yes, but mostly in theory. There are probably dozens of at least as risky things we deal with every day. Now, DIY batteries, or bargain batteries from China or EBay, are something more to worry about.

As for 120v electric lawn mowers, I'd be afraid I run over the cord and electrocute myself. I'm sure some would argue that's an unreasonable fear. The point remains, with all of the dozens of rechargeable batteries we each have and the billions of batteries out there, these batteries are very safe.

I guess some people won't get close to a Tesla or a Prius. They are relatively atomic compared to a bike battery. And yes, they do catch fire occasionally. So do gasoline automobiles....
hot
I'm sure I have unfounded fears, and even unfounded confidence in some things. I'll continue to use normal care and precautions with batteries. That's what I do when I handle my chainsaw, my letter opener, and when taking a shower....

TT

I know this(from experience) end of life ni-cad cells get very hot when attempting to charge.dont know if the extremely poisonous cadmium can burn under normal conditions or not,nickle either-as I understand it most light metals can combust rather spectacurly,metal fires get extremely ( magnesium fires used to burn the wings off of B-29 bombers) due to valence issues atoms hungry for electrons readily combine with oxygen, One dude informed me the lithium in cells cannot combust due to the fact"its lithium ions man!" so much for basic metallurgical skills.Chemistry is a fascinating world,when we delve into all the forces and waves that construct particles it really gets deep as the hadron collider has taught us there is more to learn,compounds and molecules are very interesting( left handed and right handed molecules make your head spin) does anyone here own a current "handbook of chemistry and physics? when you delve everything is not apparent-I digress by this time there has to have been a few trillion rechargeable cells made and the failures in context are not great given standard care and precaution( its crazy to see the video of a vape exploding in someones pocket,yada,yada."Nuff said" in the words of the immortal Stan Lee.

 

[kevinmccune]

This is easy to fix.

The problem is with junk cells. Simply require UL certification for all ebike battery packs. Limits for over and under-voltage, shorts, and temperature extremes. And apartment complexes will include in their leases that only UL certified ebikes and other mobility devices will be allowed, either indoors or on the property.

Ever considered the enormous amount of energy there is in a 5-gallon container of gasoline? Yet fires are extremely rare because the risk has been engineered out and gasoline storage is not allowed in non-certified containers. Same thing needs to happen with ebikes.

yep gasoline has more energy per gallon then several sticks of standard 1 1/4 40 percent dynamite( used to have load the bore holes)

 

[kevinmccune]

I never said that at all. Antilock brakes aren't going to help someone who makes the decision to drive in a blizzard or the guy who decided to have loaded gun in his car and was killed when his dog stepped on the trigger.

we had a beloved young trooper die when an old rednecks loaded shotgun went off during a stop or recovery( if you don't carry a firearm you probably will never get a firearm charge carry the "steel cobra" guaranteed to remove perps ear) or sap or shillelagh-one reason I don't mess with guns or knives,the knife will cut me and the gun will eventually go off,my daughters English friend has a great time when we to the shooting range. In my opinion anti lock brakes are a joke,people do not understand their true purpose( originally developed in the thirties to keep aircraft on the runway)

 

[kevinmccune]

I only charge when I can see the battery, seems to take about four hours so either right when whe I get home from work or at the office. This is one of my wife’s biggest hang ups about a Tesla is she doesn’t want it charging in the garage and starting our house on fire, not sure how real the risk is but I’ve never been worried my ice car will start on fire in the garage.

you should be very afraid,the older mopars were good at self combusting,I have never seen a battery fire,oth ICE fires were fairly common. Not necessarily Mopars fault,cars in the domoicile were frowned upon in attached garages I believe some building codes forbade it.

 

[kevinmccune]

Outside the box folks, outside the box

View attachment 210364best use for one of those things!

 

[kevinmccune]

Alas the entire Lipo/EV-O-sphere is full of false marketing and pet delusion. The Toyota dealer told my sister her Petrol Hybrid recharged by regenerative braking where in fact the motor reverts to a generator when running on fuel and recharges the battery. Oh there is regen in there but it's negligible. Lies Lies Lies. GreenWashing basically.

For political and balance of trade reasons our federal government has allowed untold BYD EV to flood the country at super cheap prices. I feel sorry for all the people that bought them. All they had to do was go to the reputable aussie site productreview and read the accounts of customers. It's a living nightmare. All the 5-star reviews are basically people who just bought one and haven't driven it yet. And a lot of Chinese astroturfers with fake reviews no doubt. That is very prevalent now. 2.2, only Banks get lower reviews

BYD Australia reviews

BYD Australia (Car Dealership): 2.1 out of 5 stars from 195 genuine reviews on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au.

www.productreview.com.au

don't trust salesman or dealers

 

[Stefan Mikes]

When anyone proudly reports having owned a cheap e-bike, I have an urge to ask the person how good their fire insurance is.
The man in question could not afford a new battery for a rubbish e-bike yet lost most family because....

All I say is a 950 pound sterling traditional pedal bike is still close to the rubbish level. And an e-bike?