Lithium Battery Fire

[Cattwg]

I have just taken this quote from a North Wales newspaper.

 “Mr Monnan claimed a lithium battery on an electric bike used for food deliveries caused the fire. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) confirmed the source of the fire was a lithium-ion battery.”

 The precautions listed below were posted on this forum a couple of years ago.

  How to Prevent E-Bike Fires

·        Use only the manufacturer-supplied charger.

·        Don’t leave a charging e-bike unattended, and don’t charge it near other flammable objects.

·        Don’t store e-bike batteries with a full charge for an extended period of time. More charge means more fuel for the chemical reaction that causes fire.

·        Don’t use e-bike batteries that have been dropped, punctured, crashed, or otherwise damaged in any way. They may look alright, but internal damage can cause the cells to contact each other, overheat, and ignite.

·        Don’t modify your e-bike’s drive system if you’re not an expert. The e-bikes that catch fire mid-ride tend to be DIY contraptions. (A safer DIY approach might involve buying a full conversion kit, with components meant to work together.

·        Use water and an A B C fire extinguisher (the most common type) to put out a lithium-ion battery fire. However, the fire and fumes from a lithium-ion battery fire can be extremely dangerous, so unless you can extinguish the reaction early and safely get out!

A timely reminder as many of use dust off our electric bikes for the summer.

Cattwg  🙂

[spirou]

I would add another warning,: don't charge your (ebike) batteries when it's below about 5°C.

I'm pretty sure frequency of battery fires goes up in winter as people try charging cold bikes in cold garages.

[malc d]

A timely reminder. Thanks.

I found the article on-line and it seems likely that this fire was caused by a battery being overcharged.

Maybe if it was 'firms ' bike it was left on charge overnight - and unattended ?

I see from a Bosch site that they recommend that any battery stored for any length of time should not be stored fully charged - preferably only 60%.

They are clearly not as harmless as they look  🙂

[Hans]

Nice comments about lithium batts.Have now two 1ooAH under the front Chairs of my Vw t6 campervan. Replacing two former 90 Ah AGM. The only warning given was when on hook cut it out when loaded. And now it comes in case of zero amp use.