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Gasoline cars can catch fire too, but the EV problem is that the fires do not go out using traditional techniques and the fire can re-ignite over and over even
by sn_master 4y ago
Gasoline cars can catch fire too, but the EV problem is that the fires do not go out using traditional techniques and the fire can re-ignite over and over even several days after being put off.
- lylejantzi3rd 4y agoGasoline cars don't catch themselves on fire overnight while you're sleeping. They do it while you're standing there, usually within reach of a fire extinguisher. And, yes, they're easier to put out.
- lazide 4y agoUh, they do sometimes catch fire while you’re not paying attention? Or were you being sarcastic?
- lylejantzi3rd 4y agoElectric cars or gas cars? Electric cars charge overnight. Improperly balanced packs can overcharge a cell, leading to a fire.
- dgacmu 4y agoWe had a gas-powered bmw self-immolate in the parking garage under one of my buildings at cmu. Made for a slightly exciting afternoon and the most horrible smoke I've ever smelled. Don't think they ever learned why it burned.
- Klinky 4y agoFord had some fire-related recalls recently[1]. Interestingly one of them was for hybrids, but not due to the battery. It was due to the heat shielding placement and that there was a decent chance of fire in the event of an engine failure from combustible fluids hitting hot parts. Also I wouldn't say the car being in motion is a convenient time to have a fire. You're often not just standing there with a fire extinguisher handy. 1. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-issues-new-fire-risk-recall-expands-earlier-call-back-2022-07-08/ https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-i...
- lazide 4y agoGas cars catch on fire with surprising frequency. Fuel leaks, electrical shorts, you name it. A lot more frequently than EVs too. It’s why garages are required to have auto closing fire doors.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- dangus 4y agoHow many EV batteries have caught fire in the manner in which you described per 100,000 vehicles sold, and how does that compare to gasoline vehicles? I’m not a fan of speculation for things so easily measurable. https://electrek.co/2022/01/12/government-data-shows-gasoline-vehicles-are-significantly-more-prone-to-fires-than-evs/ https://electrek.co/2022/01/12/government-data-shows-gasolin...
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- sn_master 4y agoI am not sure what's your point? There's far less EVs now, and a negligible percentage of them are over 10 years and badly maintained. Also, the nature of fires is still very different. With gasoline you can put it off using water, while for EVs water will actually make the fire worse and you'll need special compounds to turn it off.
- dangus 4y agoThis data is per 100,000 vehicles, which takes into account the proportional number of vehicles sold. An analogy: if a Cessna is more survivable in a crash than a jumbo jet but the jumbo jet crashes 100x less, you still want to be flying on the jumbo jet.
- wtallis 4y agoThe point you're missing is that even after normalizing for the number of vehicles, you still need to also normalize for the age of the vehicles: the rapid growth of EV sales means most EVs on the road are relatively new.
- ben-schaaf 4y ago> With gasoline you can put it off using water, while for EVs water will actually make the fire worse Water is perfectly fine to use on lithium-ion battery fires. It cools down the battery eventually stopping thermal runaway. A strategy I've seen is to submerge the battery pack in water. There's also water additives that help dissolve some of the chemicals in lithium-ion batteries. Note that lithium-ion (and similar) batteries only contain a small amount of polymerized lithium, unlike lithium batteries which contain raw lithium and thus react with water.
- BenjiWiebe 4y agoThey are still very difficult to put out. I've been to several vehicle fires (I'm on the volunteer fire department here) and they burn very thoroughly and quickly and hot. And if the magnesium catches on fire you can't use water on it.
- xeromal 4y agoJust an anecdote, but my friend's dad's jaguar spontaneously combusted one night and they had to call the fire department. He swore off jaguars after that lol
- vel0city 4y agoI've had multiple ICE cars which have had "don't park in your garage" recalls precisely because they would catch fire overnight while you're sleeping.
- themitigating 4y agoSome agency in the UK tested a blanket that contains the combustion, not sure if it puts it out but if your house is protected the EV can be moved. Youtube search "bridgehill fire blanet"
- sn_master 4y agoEVs are being sold all over. Even if this blanket actually works, it needs to be cheap and easy enough to deploy to everywhere with EVs, or become mandatory to include with EV purchases, otherwise it becomes another gimmick nobody can benefit from.