NSFW / disturbing content : man dies when E-bike battery explodes in a lift

saneagle

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Oct 10, 2010
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Here's is what I mean. This is a well-made one that has a proper plastic support at the bottom of the cell-pack to separate it from the terminals in the detached bottom piece. Most don't have that.

The full weight of the cell-pack goes on that white foam rubber, and even in this case, the red wire was squished under there. It didn't come out so well in the photo, but there's a groove in the white stuff where the red wire was. In other ones, I've seen both wires trapped under there, and even crossed over. There is sufficient room to tuck them out the way, but that's something you need to look out for if ever you take that bottom piece off.

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guerney

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Sep 7, 2021
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Second pic: looks like wire has broken the foam? There must billions of sliding batteries like that in use, if what you suggest is the cause, surely there'd be oodles of blazes all over the place - perhaps they are in China, which we never hear about?


"Last year, the National Fire and Rescue Bureau reported 21,000 fire incidents related to electric bicycles, a 17 percent rise from the previous year. In Shanghai, bicycle fires rose by about a third to 1,020, resulting in seven deaths and 23 injuries, according to the city's Fire and Rescue Brigade."

 

Ghost1951

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Jun 2, 2024
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I reckon he was drawing 22A from a tiny inadequate Chinese celled battery pack inside that case with his 48V rear hub motored ebike, and it overheated during his hilly journey home... he didn't notice holding it by the plastic handle, thinking pleasant thoughts about what to have for dinner, until tragedy suddenly struck.
I wonder how many Amps this idiot was drawing when I snapped him on my dashcam yesterday. If this had gone on fire, I'd have been very pleased to see it (unlike the poor fellow on the video up top).

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Ghost1951

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Jun 2, 2024
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The answer my friends is blowing in the wind....

LiFePO4
 

lenny

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May 3, 2023
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"Hello!

This is the official support team of the ENGWE brand!
Recently, we have discovered that other brands on the market have had
battery safety accidents. As a conscientious environmental protection
enterprise, we are also always paying attention to safety issues in
the industry. For this reason, we have organized internal technical
experts and supply chain partners to conduct detailed inspections on
the products currently sold within the company. The final analysis
results are:
A small number of our battery packs may have safety hazards. Because
of extreme reasons such as excessive temperatures in some areas, the
battery temperature rises too quickly and the battery will overheat.
Long-term overheating may cause internal short circuits in the

battery."

https://endless-sphere.com/sphere/threads/grins-perspective-of-ebike-fires.123098/post-1816027
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
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I wonder how many Amps this idiot was drawing when I snapped him on my dashcam yesterday.
About 3 times more than @saneagle's hub drive motor controller?


If this had gone on fire, I'd have been very pleased to see it (unlike the poor fellow on the video up top).
You would have taken pity to pee over him if he was lit up screaming "HELP ME HELP ME AAARRRGGGHH I'M BURNING IT HURTS!!! SO MUCH PAIN AAARRRGGGHH!!!" etc.

What's impressive is that poor guy survived for 29 days. There wasn't enough sustained heat to cook him through.
 
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Ghost1951

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Jun 2, 2024
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What's impressive is that poor guy survived for 29 days. There wasn't enough sustained heat to cook him through.
That makes it much worse - poor fellow. Must have been horrific for him. It could not have happened in a worse place - totally confined.
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
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That makes it much worse - poor fellow. Must have been horrific for him. It could not have happened in a worse place - totally confined.
I wonder how long his lift journey was, and how long he was trapped choking and burning in a small hot and dark confined space filled with thick toxic smoke, after the big fireball. High rises tend to be higher in China. There doesn't appear to be much smoke visible as the lift doors opened. He might have been in there for many minutes.
 
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