4 ms·

Florida's CFO and Fire Marshal: Ian disabled EVs which are catching on fire

26 points by svggrfgovgf 4y ago

svggrfgovgf 4y ago
Apparently, EV batteries waterlogged by hurricane Ian are corroding and catching on fire.
- bombcar 4y ago
  I’m honestly kind of surprised they’re not required to be rated for submersion for a few days. Not that the car has to work anymore, but that the battery can be flooded and not later burst into flame.
  - kylehotchkiss 4y ago
    Saltwater corrosion resistance is a bit above and beyond what a car needs to be designed for. Even boats need to be cleaned out well after a day in saltwater! It corrodes nearly everything it touches.
    - hulitu 4y ago
      > Saltwater corrosion resistance is a bit above and beyond what a car needs to be designed for. Even boats need to be cleaned out well after a day in saltwater! It corrodes nearly everything it touches. Saltwater corrosion resistance is a standard test in automotive for all ECUs.
      - kylehotchkiss 4y ago
        Submersion or air exposure though?
thechao 4y ago
One EV? 1000 EVs? I like the PSA part: disconnect the battery. I'm not as enamored with the weasel wording on count.
- AftHurrahWinch 4y ago
  I'm curious about scale of this too! Florida might have 58000 Teslas (https://michiganstopsmartmeters.com/how-many-teslas-are-in-florida/ https://michiganstopsmartmeters.com/how-many-teslas-are-in-f...). If 1% were submerged in a given year, and 100% later caught fire, that's 580 potentially horrific structure fires. If it's 1%... then it's 5. Florida has about 50,000 structure fires per year (https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/ffirs/sfm2020ar.pdf https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/ffirs/sfm2020ar.pd...).
- svggrfgovgf 4y ago
  I agree - the twitter thread didn't really have any details. How many EVs are we talking about? I searched around a bit but couldn't find any other details. The interesting thing to me is the whole idea that these battery packs (whether in an EV or as power wall or as a utility level reserve) can catch on fire if they get wet enough and that leads to the right kind of corrosion. It seems like this has implications for how power walls and utility reserve banks are protected from flooding.
- aaron695 4y ago
  Four - https://www.westernjournal.com/fl-firefighters-face-major-ev-nightmare-hurricane-ian-tesla-catches-fire-salt-water/ https://www.westernjournal.com/fl-firefighters-face-major-ev... It's not a big deal, but it's good to know I guess.
infamouscow 4y ago
This also created a major environmental disaster. Some of those EVs were damaged from debris and leaked all kinds of hazardous materials into the flooded areas. Nobody is talking about this yet.
- EdwardDiego 4y ago
  EVs created a major environmental disaster? Bigger than the regular environmental disaster that happens when industrial areas are flooded with water? Citation. Really. Needed.
  - TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
    Lithium is toxic and soluble in water [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_toxicity
    - EdwardDiego 4y ago
      I don't disagree. But the alleged scale seemed, well, somewhat exaggerated.

26 points by svggrfgovgf 4y ago

svggrfgovgf 4y ago

Apparently, EV batteries waterlogged by hurricane Ian are corroding and catching on fire.

bombcar 4y ago
I’m honestly kind of surprised they’re not required to be rated for submersion for a few days. Not that the car has to work anymore, but that the battery can be flooded and not later burst into flame.
- kylehotchkiss 4y ago
  Saltwater corrosion resistance is a bit above and beyond what a car needs to be designed for. Even boats need to be cleaned out well after a day in saltwater! It corrodes nearly everything it touches.
  - hulitu 4y ago
    > Saltwater corrosion resistance is a bit above and beyond what a car needs to be designed for. Even boats need to be cleaned out well after a day in saltwater! It corrodes nearly everything it touches. Saltwater corrosion resistance is a standard test in automotive for all ECUs.
    - kylehotchkiss 4y ago
      Submersion or air exposure though?

thechao 4y ago

One EV? 1000 EVs? I like the PSA part: disconnect the battery. I'm not as enamored with the weasel wording on count.

AftHurrahWinch 4y ago
I'm curious about scale of this too! Florida might have 58000 Teslas (https://michiganstopsmartmeters.com/how-many-teslas-are-in-florida/ https://michiganstopsmartmeters.com/how-many-teslas-are-in-f...). If 1% were submerged in a given year, and 100% later caught fire, that's 580 potentially horrific structure fires. If it's 1%... then it's 5. Florida has about 50,000 structure fires per year (https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/ffirs/sfm2020ar.pdf https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/ffirs/sfm2020ar.pd...).
svggrfgovgf 4y ago
I agree - the twitter thread didn't really have any details. How many EVs are we talking about? I searched around a bit but couldn't find any other details. The interesting thing to me is the whole idea that these battery packs (whether in an EV or as power wall or as a utility level reserve) can catch on fire if they get wet enough and that leads to the right kind of corrosion. It seems like this has implications for how power walls and utility reserve banks are protected from flooding.
aaron695 4y ago
Four - https://www.westernjournal.com/fl-firefighters-face-major-ev-nightmare-hurricane-ian-tesla-catches-fire-salt-water/ https://www.westernjournal.com/fl-firefighters-face-major-ev... It's not a big deal, but it's good to know I guess.

infamouscow 4y ago

This also created a major environmental disaster. Some of those EVs were damaged from debris and leaked all kinds of hazardous materials into the flooded areas. Nobody is talking about this yet.

EdwardDiego 4y ago
EVs created a major environmental disaster? Bigger than the regular environmental disaster that happens when industrial areas are flooded with water? Citation. Really. Needed.
- TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
  Lithium is toxic and soluble in water [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_toxicity
  - EdwardDiego 4y ago
    I don't disagree. But the alleged scale seemed, well, somewhat exaggerated.