Inmotion V10 fire.

[Zeno74]

My serial is 126...we have no info here about such problems, according to your info should I also worry and start working to seal the battery etc?

[meepmeepmayer]

15 minutes ago, Zeno74 said:

My serial is 126...we have no info here about such problems, according to your info should I also worry and start working to seal the battery etc?

There are 3 cases (I believe):

• No plastic battery housing and bad sealing --> FIRE DANGER!!
• No plastic battery housing and good sealing --> They say it's ok, but personally, I would not trust the seal to last forever. If the seal fails, fire! I would not want to live with that danger
• Plastic battery housing --> Good

Ask your seller which case your 126... serial is. Maybe he will give you a battery housing if you annoy him enough.

Edited September 23, 2018 by meepmeepmayer

[Zeno74]

56 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

There are 3 cases (I believe):

• No plastic battery housing and bad sealing --> FIRE DANGER!!
• No plastic battery housing and good sealing --> They say it's ok, but personally, I would not trust the seal to last forever. If the seal fails, fire! I would not want to live with that danger
• Plastic battery housing --> Good

Ask your seller which case your 126... serial is. Maybe he will give you a battery housing if you annoy him enough.

As far as I’ve understood  I should be in the middle case but he told me i’m Ok...

[Mono]

18 hours ago, Harold Farrenkopf said:

I mean it is really thin, thinner and more flimsy than a milk jug container.   This is the kit I got. 

Meant to be like a plastic bag that can withstand 60ºC?

Edited September 23, 2018 by Mono

[Harold Farrenkopf]

5 hours ago, Mono said:

Meant to be like a plastic bag that can withstand 60ºC?

60C where?  Batteries get to 60C?

[Harold Farrenkopf]

9 hours ago, Elder Meat said:

I dunno. Tape has lots of seams that can fail and allow water to penetrate. At least this shell has only one. My only concern is if the plastic could abrade from vibrations (loose fit) and allow water intrusion that way. Maybe yes, maybe no, probably would take years for something like that to happen.

I have good quality 2” wide electrical tape that would overlap each turn by 1” and the another wrap at a different angle. No possibility of water getting through. 

[Mono]

7 hours ago, Harold Farrenkopf said:

60C where?  Batteries get to 60C?

I see regularly battery temperatures above 40ºC in the app, but can't remember the highest temperature I have seen. To my understanding, Li-Ion batteries can get warmer than 60ºC under high stress without suffering immediate damage. It would be up to the controller to prevent this to happen.

[Jason McNeil]

On 9/23/2018 at 3:48 PM, meepmeepmayer said:

There are 3 cases (I believe):

• No plastic battery housing and bad sealing --> FIRE DANGER!!
• No plastic battery housing and good sealing --> They say it's ok, but personally, I would not trust the seal to last forever. If the seal fails, fire! I would not want to live with that danger
• Plastic battery housing --> Good

Ask your seller which case your 126... serial is. Maybe he will give you a battery housing if you annoy him enough.

UPDATE 1st Oct: following some more experiments, we found that after applying the FlexSeal coating, there is no space to fit foam under the pack as well, the material is a synthetic rubber, is not really necessary to add both. 
The case solution will work as well, it is the approach that IM US have adopted. The purpose of this secondary protection is to add a barrier to the pack, if the wheel housing sealant were to be compromised. 

Raleigh, the Engineer who is managing the V10F refurbishment project at IM US has been doing stellar work. In the interests of public safety, sharing the body of evidence that's emerging:

1.  125xxx production: there is no sealant of any kind between the two shell halves! Furthermore, the battery pack is resting directly atop of the shell, with no strips of thin foam cushions applied underneath, as they are on the sides of the pack.
2. From normal usage, the direct contact with the shell, the blue wrapping suffers from abrasions & tears in the wrapping—this blue wrapping is not applied very well anyways... 
3. If the Wheel is ridden in the rain, there is an extremely high probability of water emanating into the battery chamber, eventually leading to corrosion on the cell caps
4. Eventually this will lead to a conductive pathway between the electrodes & a thermal runway chain reaction  

Now onto the question of whether the level of protection afforded on the 126xxx series is sufficient. Yes there is sealant now applied between the two shell halves, but is it enough? Observe the quality of the application in the photo below. Also bear in mind that the battery is still in direct contact with the top of shell, over time the blue wrapping is still going suffer from abrasion & tears. 

Recommendations: 

1. If you're planning on taking on this project, I would dispense with the battery case & use an application of Flexseal (or something similar) to seal up the battery pack, which will provide superior weather protection. Trying to install the battery case adds a lot of extra work, is  not well made, does not align with the wires... 
2. Add a couple strips of Urethane Foam Tape underneath the battery pack
3. Seal up the seam with a high quality sealant, Raleigh's suggests 3M Black Super Silicone Sealant or Kafuter 704B RVT

      

 

 

Transparent coating of Flexseal applied to the battery pack.

After applying a single coat of Flexseal with the brush.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2018 by Jason McNeil

[Mono]

@Jason McNeil, I can see only the last picture in your post. 

[meepmeepmayer]

@Jason McNeil Only the last picture of your above post shows for me (multiple browsers).

[Mono]

Could there be a potential problem with condensation water when sealing up the battery air tight?

[Rehab1]

47 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

In the interests of public safety, sharing the body of evidence that's emerging:

 

33 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@Jason McNeil Only the last picture of your above post shows for me (multiple browsers).

Jason as Mono mentioned only the last photo of your string is visible. 

[Jason McNeil]

37 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@Jason McNeil Only the last picture of your above post shows for me (multiple browsers).

Should be fixed now.

[Mono]

8 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

Should be fixed now.

It is, thanks!

Edited September 26, 2018 by Mono

[novazeus]

good to know flexseal is good for something after watching all those commercials. i had read bad reviews on the flex tape. 

ecodrift suggested the same thing i believe.

[Nic]

So basically the LG cells are poor construction/material quality as they corrode easily and will then short across the small gap between the two electrodes. Also, InMotion designed the V10F without a liner in the wheel well to prevent spray water from penetrating  and stop mud from being trapped in there, and the battery pack is not adequately protected. I wonder when we will see a EUC that can be used all year round regardless the weather, and with properly ruggedised shell that can take the inevitable knocks and falls. Manufacturers need to up their game.

[Cumulus Libre]

I am not able to any of the pictures ?

thx CL

2 hours ago, Jason McNeil said:

3 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@Jason McNeil Only the last picture of your above post shows for me (multiple browsers).

Should be fixed now.

 

[Elder Meat]

@Jason McNeil Instead of silicone sealant, what do you or Raleigh think of using helicopter tape? https://www.amazon.com/ISC-Racers-Tape-HT2614-Helicopter-OG-HD/dp/B000QC6H90/?th=1

Maybe a little less messy and easier to cut open and reseal if you need to open up the case again. Also why did you choose the clear flexseal, which is formulated differently than the opaque stuff?

[Rehab1]

6 minutes ago, Elder Meat said:

@Jason McNeil Instead of silicone sealant, what do you or Raleigh think of using helicopter tape? https://www.amazon.com/ISC-Racers-Tape-HT2614-Helicopter-OG-HD/dp/B000QC6H90/?th=1

Maybe a little less messy and easier to cut open and reseal if you need to open up the case again. Also why did you choose the clear flexseal, which is formulated differently than the opaque stuff?

Strong stuff. That tape is specifically designed to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades from nicks and abrasion as they spin at 300 mph. In my opinion the material is not applicable for this situation but who knows. 

[Harold Farrenkopf]

LOL. I guess my suggestion of using two wraps of 2” wide electrical tape isn’t a bad idea after all.  How many batteries showed water infiltration so far and what did INMOTION USA do about those batteries???  Are you replacing them???

[Gustesta]

I wish someone could make a step by step video.

[Harold Farrenkopf]

LOL again. Funny how I was mocked at by saying the battery case was too thin and as thin and cheap as a milk jug. So basically, I got nothing in my DIY repair kit that I’m going to use. BTW, where are the new pads that everyone else was getting when they sent their wheels in to INMOTION USA???  Did I get an incomplete kit?  

[Nic]

I wonder if using several layers of 'cling film' to wrap, seal and cushion the cells with an outer wrap of duct tape will do. I don't have a V10, but I am building a larger battery for my V8 so preventing battery fires due to corrosion is also something that concerns me.

[Harold Farrenkopf]

10 minutes ago, Nic said:

I wonder if using several layers of 'cling film' to wrap, seal and cushion the cells with an outer wrap of duct tape will do. I don't have a V10, but I am building a larger battery for my V8 so preventing battery fires due to corrosion is also something that concerns me.

I bought some good quality of 2” wide electrical tape almost 2 months ago waiting for the kit. I could have been riding a lot more on wet roads if I didn’t wait for this kit with the cheap poorly made case as reported by Raleigh. 

[FreeRide]

These batteries do need to be able to vent in the event of a cell failure.  Seems like venting at the top should be maintained or a release mechanism based on adhesive of the right type, but how can the release pressure be tested?