Especially for those who have e-bikes or scooters for the kids…
E-bike lithium-ion batteries have already ignited 25 fires within New York City limits this year, killing at least two and injuring 36. According to officials, that was quadruple the number of fires sparked by these batteries over the same timeframe last year.
Full article, HERE from PJ Media.
And a Twitter feed from that same article showing how quickly one of these things goes up!
Per FDNY Fire Marshals, the cause of today’s 5-alarm fire at 2096 Grand Concourse in the Bronx was a lithium-ion battery which powered a scooter. pic.twitter.com/HTifRojiJo
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 5, 2023
If you have one of these, you ‘might’ want to think about keeping it outside rather than inside your house.
Sigh…
OBTW, it’s also the Ides of March. Ware Caesar…
Environmentally friendly math quiz: What do you get when you combine hi-rise apartment buildings with multiple Li-ion powered devices? Answer: Towering inferno. Considering the difficulty fire departments have in extinguishing these battery fires on the ground, I doubt any building fire suppression system will be adequate.
Good point!
But the kids need their “e-bikes”! Otherwise they’d have to pedal and exert themselves, and that would be difficult, given how fat they’ve become.
Fire Department Chronicles has a hot take on electric car fires… https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tp0FFY4oBsg
Though I live in a reasonably civilized area, I’ll keep my eye peeled for any potential assassins.
Which makes me wonder about all the Li-ion batteries in flashlights, recharger packs, etc.
And all the RVers that have installed them in their homes on wheels.
I’ve seen this article a few places.
Cannot figure out the brand? Any clues?
Reason I ask is I have a Rad e-bike so my not so healthy wife can ride with me in hilly NH. Happily, she chooses not to leave me behind too often.
Cheaper e-bikes are cheaper for a reason, cut corner manufacturing is common. I’ve seen copies of my Rad that cost less than half what I paid. The finish looks pretty good so I wonder about the guts and battery of the copycat.
Even my electric razor has a Lithium battery. A small hot fire is a hazard even in such a small package.
Don’t forget that most e bikes have strict limits on temperature exposure for their batteries, so you pretty much have to bring at least the battery inside in both cold and hot weather.
Also, many people in apartments don’t have anywhere else to store stuff…
x2
My first job out of college was doing synthesis chemistry using lithium, sodium and magnesium. We had lots of fires and everyone was pretty good at using CO2 and Class D fire extinguishers. Using water is a big No Go on these types of metals.
My last job was for a company that made field portable analytical instruments. We used Li-ion battery packs as an energy source. Part of the safety testing was cracking the cases and throwing them in water. Big disappointment, nothing happened.
I think Michael has hit on the reason. Cheap manufactured and poorly designed circuits short and fail catastrophically. Those well designed with safety in mind do not.
There are also plenty of videos of vaping pens and cell phones catching fire. The vaping pens are usually because they are cheap Chinese junk, most likely the same reason for the e-bikes and scooters. Cell phones are built to higher standards, but can still catch fire if the battery gets damaged.
I ride an Electra brand “townie” bicycle( pedal powered), they also make electric bikes. I asked around on a couple “townie” sites about electric fires and the consensus was that the vast majority of fires come from the cheap bikes and scooters. The company itself chimed in with the claim that they dont have fires because they use all quality bosch components. The electric bikes are becoming very popular with us senior and disabled folks and most of us dont have secure outside storage protected from extremes in temperature.
E-bikes and scooters are a great way for urbanites to work their way from mugging to mugging. I watched them in Philly and Lancaster, and they rock.
Agreed, the big problem is safely charging the Chinese fire-bomb batteries. The thing is, leaving something outside while it charges means it won’t be there in a few hours.
All- Thanks for the comments, and concur, ‘quality’ does matter, especially in this case!
My son has an electric bike, but he built his own, using purchased items from the internet when he was living in California. He used all quality parts, motor, and batteries.
He moved back to Michigan quite a few years ago, he disliked California. He left Michigan a liberal, but became a conservative and had to get out of California.
I was just at PJ Media and read that Miles O’Keefe was starting his own news group called O’Keefe Media Group, with other like minded journalists who stuck with him. There is a video of him, announcing his new venture. I wish him well, he is a special man, who fills an important and needed role in our country.
Pigpen- Probably better built that 90% of the stuff out there!
Bitch, Bitch,Bitch!
It’s GREEN technology.. The mining done by children, the unrecyclable crap, the fires none of that matters! Just pointing it Out is Hate! It Sounds good, whether it works or not is immaterial.
Just like the corn juice in the gas,,
My take on the subject is to always charge it in the bike, with the bike positioned as close to an outside door as possible, and pointed at the door with no obstacles in front of it.
You are not putting that fire out. Don’t waste any time attempting that, just open the door and roll it outside RFN!
Hmm, wonder how soon people glom onto the idea that these bikes may make an excellent fire starter for a total loss insurance claim?