MEATengines 2022...

Posted by: earleb

Ordered one of them lipo fireproof bags to start using to charge our two e-bike batteries. For $40 it's cheap insurance to start using that to help contain an event.

Watching the youtubes for the testing of these makes me never want to change any of my batteries in the house again 😳

Been listening for a while but first time poster.

RE: battery fire and wildfires.

This is/was my first thought when I saw this shared. There’s a good chance it could be what burns down our town.

But then I remember the two 512w 40A Valence LiFePo batteries I ordered from batteryhookup.com for our camping trailer over a year ago. I think if it’s not a broped battery that starts the next big mega-fire, then soon enough it’ll be the comfort of an electric camping power setup, if it’s not the hubris of having a bonfire during red flag conditions. There’s a lot of safety that is easy to ignore when dealing with high capacity batteries, and many people are just carefree and clueless.

*disclaimer: I’m an overly cautious nerd when it comes to handling batteries and any fuel in general.

My concern with BroPed batteries in particular is those machines are smashed and crashed regularly [frequently in wet conditions] more so than a commuter e-bike or other high capacity battery application I can think of.

Posted by: Vikb

My concern with BroPed batteries in particular is those machines are smashed and crashed regularly [frequently in wet conditions] more so than a commuter e-bike or other high capacity battery application I can think of.

This...really should make shop owners cautious, esp regarding insurance. I work in industrial sales and most power tool companies refuse batteries being sent to their service centers now, presumably for the same use/abuse risk factors.

Just some context for the bike shop bike fire thing.

The fire started after the shop closed April 9. The culpable bike, shop owner Mauricio Orozco said, was manufactured about two years ago and was sold last December, but was returned by the customer two days later when the battery wouldn't charge. The shop sent the battery to a company in Nevada to be rebuilt. Upon receiving the rebuilt battery, the shop left the battery to charge overnight. Instead of properly charging, it caught fire.

Posted by: syncro

Just some context for the bike shop bike fire thing.

1) There’s a link to the Pinkbike article, and the NSNews article on North Van’s first e-bike “battery explosion” in my MEATengines piece about bike shop insurance.

2) I don’t think this context adds any value to this discussion. Especially the way some people are using it to make this seem like an outlier event. Shops working on e-bikes are always working on them without a complete context. Did the rider fall into Digger’s Pond on Ladies Only last week? Do they hose down their bike after every ride? Shops need to be insured (and setup) with the assumption that a battery fire is a real possibility.

Further, I wouldn’t be giving any assumption of quality to the low-bidder OE battery factory over having a one-off built at a local battery place. The warranty rate on some brands e-bike batteries is mind boggling.

Was the North Van fire a home job e-bike conversion, cheap e-powered BSO, or high-end e-MTB? I’d love to know but I don’t think it makes any difference to the discussion. All those types of machines are everywhere.

Posted by: syncro

Just some context for the bike shop bike fire thing.

The fire started after the shop closed April 9. The culpable bike, shop owner Mauricio Orozco said, was manufactured about two years ago and was sold last December, but was returned by the customer two days later when the battery wouldn't charge. The shop sent the battery to a company in Nevada to be rebuilt. Upon receiving the rebuilt battery, the shop left the battery to charge overnight. Instead of properly charging, it caught fire.

Can you take your e-bike love someplace else, as was said/asked earlier in this thread, no one wants to hear it, everyone is capable of clicking a link and reading it.

Posted by: Lynx 

Can you take your e-bike love someplace else…

I think when it comes to JAQ’ers or, as in this case, ‘context’ being dumped without any context it’s important to take the time to break down what’s being said and hold a poster accountable.

Yelling at the sky doesn’t make clouds go away. You either have to stay inside and ignore them or grab your umbrella and go about your business.

I addressed the ‘context’ above.

That quote is pulled directly from the PB article that was previously mentioned here and it seems that info wasn't considered in some of the comments. I'm not doubting the potential of a fire with a high capacity Li based battery, but it seems that info wasn't considered in the comments. There are safety standards that ebikes are supposed to meet, but like you say  that doesn't mean their foolproof and it doesn't mean that a home job cooked up in someone's basement isn't a threat either. If ebikes should be banned from the forest due to the fire risk with the batteries, then should night-riding also get banned considering the example in the article on your page? 

Whatever the solution is, it's probably not going to come from these pages but from council/board meetings held by land managers that are either aware of the potential issues and risks or by user groups that petition and/or present these risks to the appropriate people.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

I addressed the ‘context’ above.

Part of the context is that these failures/fires seem to be happening due to charging failures.

Posted by: syncro

…

I see a bunch of words that don’t address my post at all. 

Who other than you in this thread is talking about “banning” MAMBs from anywhere? 

I’m not a windmill, Don.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: AndrewMajor

I addressed the ‘context’ above.

Part of the context is that these failures/fires seem to be happening due to charging failures.

No shit. We’re specifically talking about batteries being charged at home or in bike shops.

What do you think the extra insurance is for? Bike mechanics losing their minds because they have to disassemble a whole bike to change a dropper cable?

Posted by: Lynx

Can you take your e-bike love someplace else, as was said/asked earlier in this thread, no one wants to hear it, everyone is capable of clicking a link and reading it.

I don't have any "ebike love". I have zero plans to get an ebike, either for commuting or mtb'ing. However I do think the hate and painting all users with the same brush is over the top. Likewise I think proper context is important. If there is a notable level of risk from an ebike battery spontaneously  combusting on the trails then I'd support a ban on that basis as I don't want to see our local trails burned down either.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: AndrewMajor

I addressed the ‘context’ above.

Part of the context is that these failures/fires seem to be happening due to charging failures.

No shit. We’re specifically talking about batteries being charged at home or in bike shops.

What do you think the extra insurance is for? Bike mechanics losing their minds because they have to disassemble a whole bike to change a dropper cable?

Yes, but much of the concern being expressed (here) is that an ebike is going to burn down the forest.