Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorblades
why dont airlines allow lithium batteries?do they catch fire sometimes/
or is it the chemical reactionof lithium withaluminum. is there a safe container we could use to fly?
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These batteries do not catch fire, but not all lithium batteries are as safe, as there are different types of lithium chemistry styles in batteries.
Airlines lump all lithium batteries together, instead of dealing with each type of chemistry, each type of mixture and each level of safety. They made this particular rule with too broad a brush.
Also, airlines do allow lithium batteries, but only small ones. Ours in our segways have too much lithium, by the airline standards, to be safe to fly with...
While I do wish they would update their rules to reflect the safer newer style of batteries, I also understand their fears. The new Boeing was grounded for a long while because of on board lithium batteries that over heated and caused fires (not the safer chemistry like segway batteries) and there have been incidents and even crashes that were attributed to lithium batteries having fires that could not be put out on board (also not the safe chemistry that segway batteries use).
The most efficient and powerful lithium batteries seem to have a tendency or at least the capacity to over heat in the correct circumstances. Segway batteries do not have some of the high power output, or really fast charging times as some of these other lithium technologies, but it is also a very tough battery to make have any fire issues with. Much harder than most of its class.