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A day after he bought electric scooter, man killed in battery explosion
- reirob 4y agoFires from electric vehicles getting more and more often. Few days ago Paris decided to withdraw 149 electric buses [1] after two have catch fire. [1]: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/paris-withdraws-149-electric-buses-after-two-catch-fire/vi-AAWJZZm https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/paris-withdraws-149-ele...
- bombcar 5y ago“ Boom Corbett 14 ” That scooter brand has an unfortunate name. We collectively have nearly a hundred years of learning how to deal with the hazards of gasoline, we will need to learn the hazards of batteries the same painful way.
- KSPAtlas 5y agoThe Boom CarBattery 14
- ghaff 5y agoI don't know what the real level of danger is but most of us probably have dozens of rechargeable batteries in our homes including in old electronics we don't use any longer. I've found a couple of old pieces of Apple gear with very swollen batteries. The number of batteries will only increase as a lot of outdoor gear (lawn mowers and the like) are increasingly practical to have cordless electric versions of--to say nothing of cars. (Of course, this decreases the need to store gasoline at home.)
- voakbasda 5y agoI’d rather have gas. Bumping an old can or machine full of it will never cause it to self-immolate.
- ghaff 5y agoThe maintenance of gas-powered lawn equipment is sort of a pain though. I replaced my weed whacker a couple years ago with a cordless electric one and it's a lot easier. Quieter and less polluting as well.
- eqvinox 5y agoAt a comparable "age of development" (i.e. early 20th century), gasoline cars started using leaded fuel. I'd say there's quite a bunch of battery fires left before it's getting into "similar" damage impact. Tech needs time to mature, everything's just moving so much faster these days that it's easy to mistakenly assume the maturation would happen equally quick.
- Ancapistani 5y agoIt can if it’s bumped and spills onto fabric, like old rags.
- bombcar 5y agoOil soaked rags spontaneously combusting is like cat batteries giving off hydrogen when charging - few know about it but if it happens you remember it.
- lupire 5y agoIt's well known how to make safe batteries. But there is a corner cutting corporation born every minute. Car models have unsafe design flaws too.
- dharmab 5y agoRight, every few years there's a recall for a potential fire issue from a major car manufacturer. GM had a recall in 2015 after they made a million cars across various brands which could leak oil onto a hot exhaust manifold, starting a fire while parked.
- philliphaydon 5y agoThere has been sooooo many fires in singapore caused by these e-scooters. They should be banned or heavily regulated because it’s a bit ridiculous how many fires there are.
- juanani 5y agoAt least require them to watch a sped up 5min video of a lithium battery bursting on fire. With attempts at extinguishing the flames. Make the user realize it will not be a normal fire. A lot of people wouldnt imagine a small solid device to act that way.
- cevaboyz 5y agoa name, a guarantee: "charging his Boom Corbett 14 scooter"
- sva_ 5y agoThere are many videos of escooter battery fires, but the following is probably one of the most dramatic ones (not related to OP): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBUGEFErXxA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBUGEFErXxA It's crazy how quickly shit goes south.
- Fuhrer01 5y agoCars as well
- temp8964 5y agoWould a blanket help? Covering it with blankets will be my first thought.
- wrboyce 5y agoLithium-ion battery fires are self-oxidising, so I don’t think a blanket would have much effect.
- kayodelycaon 5y agoSelf-oxygenating metal fires usually require you to dump the device into a big container of water.
- endisneigh 5y agoWhat’s the best way to put out the fire in that video? I assume a regular fire extinguisher isn’t equipped to resolve an electrical fire
- rasz 5y agoYou dont even try putting it out. Your best bet is some kind of cover (metal bucket) and throwing it outside as fast as possible. Or you know, dont keep Chinese scooters indoors. Apple has a policy of keeping a container filled with sand close by when working with batteries.
- 5y ago
- tyingq 5y agoDepending on whether it was the "Boom Corbett 14" or "Boom Corbett 14-EX", it had either a 2.3KWh or 4.6KWh battery. That's a lot of hazardous material in your living room either way. Probably 25-50lbs (11-22 kilos) of it?
- muxator 5y agoAs battery tech improves, by definition we are going to reach ever increasing energy densities, ideally on the order of magnitde of hydrocarbons'. Moreover, people will want for devices to charge fast. This implies a lot of waste heath, which negatively impacts energy efficiency and requires smart electronics to keep temperatures under control (I suspect this second aspect is what failed in this case). However, once we get to high densities, we'll have to consider safety seriously: who would want to sleep close to all that energy stored in a small space, with zero activation energy to protect from a runaway?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mdb31 5y agoYes, there really needs to be some form of certification for lithium-ion (and other...) batteries used in personal transportation devices. The recipe is really simple: insufficient structural integrity of the entire product leading to flexing the battery pack, leading to a short-circuit in one or more cells, leading to a violent-and-very-smokey fire. The previous scare was with "hoverboards", where kids burnt down their parents' houses after bumping into something. And now it's apparently e-scooters, which are a bit more difficult to dismiss as "just a fad toy"... In any case: safety markings are not just rent-seeking behavior. In some cases, certification (and subsequent enforcement of the presence of authentic markings) are literal life-savers.
- reportingsjr 5y agoThere has been certification for energy dense batteries for decades. Clearly nobody looks at these certifications and just buys whatever is cheap.
- ericd 5y agoSeems like we should mandate the slapping of big “not certified” stickers on any battery of sufficient danger that’s not certified. And maybe subsidize and streamline testing to make sure it’s not too stifling for small startup entrants to the industry. Maybe wishful thinking, looking at our history with that kind of thing.
- sokoloff 5y ago> safety markings are not just rent-seeking behavior This makes me wonder if society should subsidize safety and compliance testing to reduce the incentive to skip it.
- spicybright 5y agoOr we can require companies to do compliance testing under external supervision if they want to sell these products to people.
- Fuhrer01 5y agoAn opportunity to improve fire stations across the world to handle battery fires. Also pretty sad that beta adopters of new tech like this get hit with shit like this. I wonder if batteries are going to get demonized like nuclear energy.
- andrewingram 5y agoThese kinds of vehicles are completely banned on the London public transport network (TFL) because of the danger of battery fires and explosions.
- bluescrn 5y agoThe UK needs to hurry up and decriminalise e-scooters, so they can start to regulate them and actually improve safety.
- idlemind 5y agoThe problem is people buying cheap devices that skirt or fake existing battery quality regulations. There would surely be a higher number of people making that kind of purchase if they were to be allowed on UK public roads. I can’t see how anyone would be made safer by decriminalising scooters - either charging them at home or out on the roads.
- thematrixturtle 5y agoThere was a veritable epidemic of these in Singapore, with many fires and some deaths. Almost all were attributable to no-brand Chinese manufacturers that skimp on everything they can, including forging certifications. The government since instituted a UL2272 certification requirement and offered free disposal of non-compliant devices. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-1700-pmds-disposed-of-since-fatal-woodlands-lift-fire https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-1700-pmds-dispos...
- namecheapTA 5y agoI've heard people say recently that electric vehicles catch fire at the same rate as gas vehicles. Proof that they're basically safe enough. Except that has vehicles catch fire after an accident, or after 200k miles when someone let's an oil leak go on for way too long. Electric vehicles are catching fire while basically new, and while being used in standard ways like being parked and charging in your garage. It's not common at all for newish gas cars to catch fire while parked.
- space_rock 5y agoNewer electric vehicles are moving to LFP batteries which are very resistant to fire after shorting or puncture
- rilindo 5y agoGiven the topic, if I want to get a reasonably reliable and safe e-scooter, which would you recommend?
- dharmab 5y agoIf you want one backed by a reputable company's warranty and consumer safety, Segway sells a good one. Other reputable brands include Apollo, Unagi and Razor.
- throwaway693 5y agowho is the manufacturer of the bike?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- hiyer 5y agoAther, one of the first e-scooter makers in India, had claimed that imported Li-ion batteries aren't suited for Indian weather, so they designed their own. Many parts of India easily hit 40C and more in the summer. Given the spate of e-scooter fires here recently, they may have been right. (I'm not associated with Ather in any way.)
- phendrenad2 5y agoHonesty it's truly amazing that we haven't had a huge surge in house fires, since every single electronic device is holding this kind of energy.
- kylehotchkiss 5y agoThis situation is tragic. Why isn’t there a better setup to keep bikes outside at night? Even having a petrol bike in the house isn’t ideal so close to where people are sleeping.