ebikes on the Shore

Posted by: craw

But what does that mean for consumers?

Some owners are putting their EUCs/e-bike/scooter batteries in metal cabinets [think gun safe or something like that]. Better than nothing, but unless it's on concrete you'll likely still get a fire going and the toxic smoke will not be contained. That said at least they are thinking about battery fires and are doing something about it. There is a lot of head in the sand stuff going on and people get shocked when there is a dangerous fire.

After a bunch of fires Gotway/Begode put out a set of safety recommendations [shown above] for owners. No particularly practical for most owners....more a cover-your-ass move by the company.

With the prospect of soon having an e-bike battery charging overnight in our home I'm trying to assess the real world risk.

Is it the bigger the battery, the higher the risk of spontaneous combustion?

I mean, we already have tons of batteries in our home: laptops, phones, bluetooth speakers, etc. I've never worried about them up to this point.

Posted by: [email protected]

With the prospect of soon having an e-bike battery charging overnight in our home I'm trying to assess the real world risk.

Is it the bigger the battery, the higher the risk of spontaneous combustion?

I mean, we already have tons of batteries in our home: laptops, phones, bluetooth speakers, etc. I've never worried about them up to this point.

The higher power PEV batteries have the challenge of packing a lot of power into a small volume and doing it at a low cost. Batteries are a big chunk of the cost of a PEV so saving there is helpful to lowering the market price. PEV power draws are much much higher than a phone or other small consumer device. That leads to higher heat and the potential for failures. The aim for lower cost and tighter packaging leads to risks of internal short circuits.

I don't think an e-bike battery is certain death or anything, but I wouldn't ignore the fire risk either.

You could do some reasonable stuff like:

1. Only charge when someone is home.
2. If the battery is not charging normally or shows any sign of damage stop using it. Store it outside until you can get it inspected/disposed of.
3. Have a plan for what to do if a fire starts. [ie. charger setup near door to balcony so you can throw it out if needed]
4. Store it in the least dangerous place you can [ie. garage on the bike vs. in an apartment closet] when not charging.

Posted by: Vikb

Some owners are putting their EUCs/e-bike/scooter batteries in metal cabinets [think gun safe or something like that]. Better than nothing, but unless it's on concrete you'll likely still get a fire going and the toxic smoke will not be contained. That said at least they are thinking about battery fires and are doing something about it. There is a lot of head in the sand stuff going on and people get shocked when there is a dangerous fire.

After a bunch of fires Gotway/Begode put out a set of safety recommendations [shown above] for owners. No particularly practical for most owners....more a cover-your-ass move by the company.

#5 - great.  So along with being a fire danger, they are going to create even MORE waste by having people replace the batteries more frequently.  Cool.

What does battery recycling actually look like? Does that mean we ship them to the Phillipines and they stay in a container at port the way our plastic recycling does? How much waste is their in battery recycling and how dirty is it? 

My pedal bike is starting to look pretty good right now. Maybe I just keep expending physical energy and eat a bit more rather than this whole mess.

Posted by: RAHrider

What does battery recycling actually look like? Does that mean we ship them to the Phillipines and they stay in a container at port the way our plastic recycling does? How much waste is their in battery recycling and how dirty is it? 

My pedal bike is starting to look pretty good right now. Maybe I just keep expending physical energy and eat a bit more rather than this whole mess.

Pretty much where I am at now.  Just seems to add unnecessary complication, expense and waste to my life.

and a thousand bucks a battery.....  no sale.

With the prices sought for some of these ebikes, wouldn’t in be cheaper to hire a big lad to just carry you around?

One wonders at what point will we have an electric powered vehicle on our trails cause a fire on the trail.

The only reason I bring this up is the user of said electric unicycle we spoke with only had time to talk because his unit was over heating and needing to stop to let it cool down.

So now you monitor your own effort, food and hydration as well as how much battery you have left and now battery temperature as well? I have a hard enough time keeping myself from blowing up on a long hot ride. My bike would definitely explode!!!! 🔥 📛 👩‍🚒 🚒 🧯 🎆 🔥

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

But what does that mean for consumers?

Some owners are putting their EUCs/e-bike/scooter batteries in metal cabinets [think gun safe or something like that]. Better than nothing, but unless it's on concrete you'll likely still get a fire going and the toxic smoke will not be contained. That said at least they are thinking about battery fires and are doing something about it. There is a lot of head in the sand stuff going on and people get shocked when there is a dangerous fire.

After a bunch of fires Gotway/Begode put out a set of safety recommendations [shown above] for owners. No particularly practical for most owners....more a cover-your-ass move by the company.

dont buy chinese shit? how about that? the whole discussion is a non issue over here, because people buy from respectable(read: GERMAN or JAPANESE) brands.

Posted by: Sethimus

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

But what does that mean for consumers?

Some owners are putting their EUCs/e-bike/scooter batteries in metal cabinets [think gun safe or something like that]. Better than nothing, but unless it's on concrete you'll likely still get a fire going and the toxic smoke will not be contained. That said at least they are thinking about battery fires and are doing something about it. There is a lot of head in the sand stuff going on and people get shocked when there is a dangerous fire.

After a bunch of fires Gotway/Begode put out a set of safety recommendations [shown above] for owners. No particularly practical for most owners....more a cover-your-ass move by the company.

dont buy chinese shit? how about that? the whole discussion is a non issue over here, because people buy from respectable(read: GERMAN or JAPANESE) brands.

Which companies use German-made or Japanese-made batteries?

Posted by: craw

Which companies use German-made or Japanese-made batteries?

The major PEV brands [like the fire video/photos] that I am aware of use quality batteries from Sanyo, Samsung, LG and such. Sanyo is Japanese as is Shimano, but it's hard to know where a battery cell is made as both companies have facilities/vendors is a range of countries. Bosch is a German company and doesn't use batteries made in Germany as far as I know. So the whole question is hard to answer.

Posted by: craw

Posted by: Sethimus

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

But what does that mean for consumers?

Some owners are putting their EUCs/e-bike/scooter batteries in metal cabinets [think gun safe or something like that]. Better than nothing, but unless it's on concrete you'll likely still get a fire going and the toxic smoke will not be contained. That said at least they are thinking about battery fires and are doing something about it. There is a lot of head in the sand stuff going on and people get shocked when there is a dangerous fire.

After a bunch of fires Gotway/Begode put out a set of safety recommendations [shown above] for owners. No particularly practical for most owners....more a cover-your-ass move by the company.

dont buy chinese shit? how about that? the whole discussion is a non issue over here, because people buy from respectable(read: GERMAN or JAPANESE) brands.

Which companies use German-made or Japanese-made batteries?

those brands are under a mandatory 2 year warranty, by law. weeds out a lot of the shit sold on your continent. if you hear about battery fires those are usually scooters etc