esaj Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Although this was a hoverboard, I believe they use similar batteries as our wheels. Just a "friendly" reminder to everyone to be careful. Although, I suspect that these were either some very cheap chinese knock-off -cells and/or the BMS or charger was faulty, and/or the packs were badly assembled and short circuited. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3299538/Exploding-hoverboard-did-25-000-damage-kitchen-Grandfather-charges-Christmas-present-goes-like-bomb.html And now it's nice to think that about 1.5 meters behind my back, there's a pile of packs with about 960Wh 1032Wh (2 * 132Wh + 4 * 192Wh) in total, out of which one is cut open with the BMS and all wiring out in the open... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Dorigo Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 My brother actually has one of these, but after about two months or so it started cutting off while riding it; I guess because of the BMS. So when you're looking to buy one of these, don't go with the cheapest chinese one The weird thing is, this even happends when basicly standing still, or moving really slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 35 minutes ago, esaj said: Although this was a hoverboard, I believe they use similar batteries as our wheels. Just a "friendly" reminder to everyone to be careful. Although, I suspect that these were either some very cheap chinese knock-off -cells and/or the BMS or charger was faulty, and/or the packs were badly assembled and short circuited. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3299538/Exploding-hoverboard-did-25-000-damage-kitchen-Grandfather-charges-Christmas-present-goes-like-bomb.html And now it's nice to think that about 1.5 meters behind my back, there's a pile of packs with about 960Wh 1032Wh (2 * 132Wh + 4 * 192Wh) in total, out of which one is cut open with the BMS and all wiring out in the open... Geez! Feeling bad for that family. After reading articles like that always makes me remember that old quote, "You get what you pay for." If it's cheap to buy, it was very likely cheap to make. Still very sad story especially so close to Christmas. @esaj thanks for sharing and never let down your guard with those batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Feel bad for that family. Hope it doesn't happen this way when Walmart begins to sell them in droves. One incident like this and Walmart will be a toast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 the best line was "The explosion came without any warning." remarkably, after having "met with flames leaping from the battery pack of the hoverboard" and "heard the hoverboard fizzing in the flames", LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 I still love the phrase "Cheap Chinese knock-offs" as quality products are also made in China too. Just really depends on how much you are willing to spend. For example... You can approach a factory in China and ask them to make a 3.7v x16 cell battery pack for 25USD and they will make that for you. They will likely not brand the item as they will skimp on the materials in order to fit your budget and don't want such a crass product linked back to them. However if you approached the same factory ordering the same battery pack and are willing to pay 150USD. They are going to make damn sure you get the best battery they can make, which will meet and often exceed current safety standards. They will brand the battery with their company name because they will be proud to let everyone know who manufactured it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 11 hours ago, Chuts said: I still love the phrase "Cheap Chinese knock-offs" as quality products are also made in China too. Just really depends on how much you are willing to spend. For example... You can approach a factory in China and ask them to make a 3.7v x16 cell battery pack for 25USD and they will make that for you. They will likely not brand the item as they will skimp on the materials in order to fit your budget and don't want such a crass product linked back to them. However if you approached the same factory ordering the same battery pack and are willing to pay 150USD. They are going to make damn sure you get the best battery they can make, which will meet and often exceed current safety standards. They will brand the battery with their company name because they will be proud to let everyone know who manufactured it. True, but on the other hand, I think all the cell-brands that are deemed "high quality" are not Chinese... Sony, Sanyo & Panasonic are Japanese, Samsung and LG are South Korean. Although out of those, I recall reading somewhere that at least Sony stopped making the cells themselves a number of years ago, and use subcontractors nowadays? So while the Chinese can and will build high quality products, if the price is right, the high quality cells are always imported from outside of China? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 @esaj Although I'm not just meaning batteries I'm meaning all kinds of products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 6 minutes ago, Chuts said: @esaj Although I'm not just meaning batteries I'm meaning all kinds of products. Sad to admit it. But almost almost all of our EUC's are made in China and we still continue to buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 13 minutes ago, Chuts said: @esaj Although I'm not just meaning batteries I'm meaning all kinds of products. To be fair esaj did say "cheap chinese knock-off -cells" specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanne Pasewalk Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 @Chuts: unfortunately many large sellers don't understand what a BMS is and how all this battery stuff works. So even if they don't pay the lowest price they might get some surprises. For the Hovers typical problems that happen more often than many think are: 1) Claim that the batteries they used are imported brands, but they are some random cheap crap Ultrafire etc. 2) Some hovers even don't have the full set of batteries. This is even more dangerous. Often the factories don't cheat on every unit, but just on a certain share to lower their average costs. Unfortunately, there are no clear criteria a normal buyer can distinguish crap from good quality. Best is to buy from a trusted source with return option and local aftersales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Looking at the article, It seems that the units bought by the unlucky couple are the more expensive model of hover boards. The manufacturer might have tried to save on battery cost or might have not checked the BMS if it is fully functional before sending. It then comes to the question of quality control. I also have a cheap hover board which I bought locally but was surprised to see LG batteries inside. Hmm.. maybe imitation batteries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 1 hour ago, John Eucist said: To be fair esaj did say "cheap chinese knock-off -cells" specifically. I'm simply stating the focus in the phrase is used automatically with anything which is crappy made. When it is a poorly manufactured product its always "Cheap Chinese Knock-offs", but when it is a really well made product people will tend to think it was made somewhere else or not ever think "Excellent quality product from China". When it all comes down to what I outlined earlier. Even with EUs... Raise your hand if you have honestly said something along the lines of:- "Gotway / Solowheel / Kingsong / Ninebot what a quality product made from China." I'm inclined to think that no one has, yet they are considered quality products in EU circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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