UPP Batteries Warning

lenny

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Electric cars occupy second place in the ‘league table’ for the most common vehicle involved in a battery fire. With 118 fires recorded in 2022-2023, cars were overtaken by electric bikes, which caused 160 fires

The OPSS has identified significant safety concerns with UPP e-bike batteries, including substandard welding and insufficient overheating protections, which have been linked to several fire incidents.
 

Sturmey

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Jan 26, 2018
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Performed surgery on my UPP battery today. Confirmed authentic Panasonic NCR18650BD cells in the pack
https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/comments/ciyo53
What sort of thermal device was fitted to your battery? The reason I ask is because I repaired a joycube/phylion battery lately. It had two thermistors embedded into the cells with white thermal goo and also a thermal fuse on the charging circuit also similarly embedded. I cant see any detail of thermistors fitted on your photos.
I am just wondering what the norm is or what should be expected here, as the lack of a temperature sensor is one of the major criticisms (in the report) of these batteries.
 
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Nealh

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UPP have been known for some years of having poor battery build techniques.
 

Saracen

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Aug 24, 2023
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Gosh! another Chinese cheap supplier, no surprise there then only that idiots buy them
 

saneagle

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Gosh! another Chinese cheap supplier, no surprise there then only that idiots buy them
There have probably been more recalls from prestige brands than Chinese ones. Brompton, Cube and Specialized all did battery recalls.
 

Ocsid

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"Recalls" though are always more likely to be initiated by responsible venders/makers than the others, surely?
 
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saneagle

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"Recalls" though are always more likely to be initiated by responsible venders/makers than the others, surely?
They're normally done after someone has a problem, and they don't get satisfaction from the vendor, so they complain to Trading Standards or equivalent. Trading Standards investigate and ask the vendor what's the extent of the problem and what they're going to do about it. It's nothing to do with responsible vendors. They all try to cover up their mistakes.
 

steveoshima

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 21, 2023
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Tempted to open up my UUP batteries, I bought some of the bottle batteries. It seems to be well made from the outside. I'm wondering if it has the Sanyo battery cells? I store the batteries in a fireproof bag and they stay there whilst charging.

Is there a reason why the UPP store has pretty much no listings for their main products??

Update: I see UPP via Aliexpress is not shipping to UK any more?! Shipping to Germany mainland europe looks ok. What changed? Does the UK not have a trade agreement with China?
 
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steveoshima

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 21, 2023
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Very bad idea. Bag won't stop the fire and it might increase overheating.
So it's a specialist battery fireproof bag, recommended to hold large lithium batteries. I could build a metal box and insulate it with fire-retardant material. Better than leaving batteries out in the shed in sub-zero temperatures and extreme summer heat.
Charging the batteries never gets hot to touch, I only use the charger that outputs the correct voltage and amps. I guess this is where things start to go wrong when people dont consider the correct amps and voltages. Also setting up the ebike motor to consume more amps and stress the batteries is another silly reason for fires. But let's face batteries can fail. Look at some of the big car manufacturers and crazy fires seen in public car parks!
 

guerney

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Sep 7, 2021
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I'm starting to wonder if this UPP warning has spooked, or starting to spook the likes of Eleglide and Yose - because I'm not in the ebike business, I assume there are not all that many battery integrators in China capable of assembling large volumes of these generic batteries, and that the same innards UPP use are packaged and branded in many different guises. Time'll tell I guess.
 

lenny

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May 3, 2023
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So it's a specialist battery fireproof bag, recommended to hold large lithium batteries. I could build a metal box and insulate it with fire-retardant material. Better than leaving batteries out in the shed in sub-zero temperatures and extreme summer heat.
Charging the batteries never gets hot to touch, I only use the charger that outputs the correct voltage and amps. I guess this is where things start to go wrong when people dont consider the correct amps and voltages. Also setting up the ebike motor to consume more amps and stress the batteries is another silly reason for fires. But let's face batteries can fail. Look at some of the big car manufacturers and crazy fires seen in public car parks!
UPP have been known for some years of having poor battery build techniques.
 

Az.

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Apr 27, 2022
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So it's a specialist battery fireproof bag, recommended to hold large lithium batteries.
Somebody sold you a false sense of security. There is no way a bag or any other container can hold fire and toxic fumes (which are flammable BTW).


I could build a metal box and insulate it with fire-retardant material.
It won't stop battery fire. I wish it was possible. In case of fire, smoke is real killer, not flames.
 

guerney

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Sep 7, 2021
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So it's a specialist battery fireproof bag, recommended to hold large lithium batteries.
Is it "tiny, unguided metal rocket" proof?


"Jets of flaming gas venting from the tops of cells in lithium-ion battery packs turned each into a tiny, unguided metal rocket.
"Ejected from the battery pack by the explosion of neighbouring cells ... these loose cells ricocheted around the room, igniting new fires and spreading the blaze rapidly and erratically."


Vancouver woman sues e-bike, battery companies over fire that killed spouse
 

saneagle

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Oct 10, 2010
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So it's a specialist battery fireproof bag, recommended to hold large lithium batteries. I could build a metal box and insulate it with fire-retardant material. Better than leaving batteries out in the shed in sub-zero temperatures and extreme summer heat.
Charging the batteries never gets hot to touch, I only use the charger that outputs the correct voltage and amps. I guess this is where things start to go wrong when people dont consider the correct amps and voltages. Also setting up the ebike motor to consume more amps and stress the batteries is another silly reason for fires. But let's face batteries can fail. Look at some of the big car manufacturers and crazy fires seen in public car parks!
I'm no expert, but i have watched a video of an expert explaining about lithium battery fires. He demonstrated the battery emitting poisonous and explosive vapour. My thoughts after that is that it might be better to let the battery burn in the open air than try to contain it otherwise the vapour will spread and potentially blow the roof of the garage if it ignites. Something about it here from 30:00. The guy narating is the one who made the shorter video that I watched, which I think was linked on this forum a few datys ago.


Here's the original:
 
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