Hank Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Will these battery-related concerns spill over to EUCs? More than 15,000 unsafe hoverboards - otherwise known as self-balancing scooters - have been seized at ports and airports around the UK. Trading Standards officers said the boards were in danger of overheating, exploding or catching fire. Hoverboards, which are popular with celebrities including Lilly Allen, are expected to be big Christmas sellers. The London Fire Brigade said at least three house fires were caused by such devices over 10 days in October. Many have plugs without fuses, faulty cables or chargers that can burst into flames, according to Trading Standards. It said that 88% of the hoverboards it seized around the UK were found to be defective. Most were discovered at the Suffolk port of Felixstowe, but others arrived at East Midlands airport and in Glasgow. Full article: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34975178 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 "We only use best quality imported Samsung/LG/Panasonic cells... " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Those fakes look very close to the 'real' versions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 The lack of any leading brand or manufacturer has caused the 'scare' with boards. With no entity to pin the blame on for the ones that explode, the only safe route for authorities to take is to assume all boards are potentially dangerous. EUCs are slightly better in this regard because there are several big brands and manufacturers creating them, so any bad press can be directed at the brand rather than the device itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colestien Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Fake and real, its sad that the fake looks that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmyers Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I highly doubt that '88%' of hoverboard batteries were found to be defective. I also highly doubt that they have even checked many at all. I have many friends with them, and they haven't had any problems; if the statistic was truly so high then they would have set off the fire alarm several times by now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 2 hours ago, Tom said: EUCs are slightly better in this regard because there are several big brands and manufacturers creating them, so any bad press can be directed at the brand rather than the device itself. Unfortunately I don't have any faith in the inspectors being able to distinguish batteries in hoverboards vs batteries in EUCs when the containers arrive from China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wright Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 There was a story last night on TV here in Melbourne about "exploding hoverboards", it should a bumbling reporter skiddishly trying to balance on one, and another one on fire. No mention at all of the "one wheeled EUC" though..... I think over xmas many kids will get the Hoverboards and as such a definite "line in the sand" will be drawn between the kids toy and people transportation units in EUC's. I personally seen quite a few Hoverboards in Melb, but only 2-3 EUC's. Gotta be a safer mode of transport too, wheel size and getting over and through holes and bumps one encounters during a ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizardmech Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Anyone know a good source of high quality chargers for the hoverboards and EUCs? People could probably make a good business supplying proper chargers and locally produced battery packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulandjacquelyn Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Same here in US...."Hot Christmas Toy...Fire Hazard!"....... EUCs are a different thing in my opinion. Everyone thinks I'm on a strange hoverboard because it's what they know currently. So i think if a cheap euc catches fire...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Yeah, it would be really hard to recognize a similar looking fake cell from a real cell, unless you got a real cell to compare with. Not to mention that you have to take the whole thing apart and open the battery pack before you can inspect the cells. But here's something to think about: If a manufacturer could get high-quality cells for $2-3 a piece when buying in bulk (note that they could cost $5-10 a piece when buying in smaller amounts, like "only" 20 at a time), the cells alone for a 20-cell packs (I think I saw somewhere that hoverboards usually have 36V = 10S packs, with capacity usually around 4Ah = probably two 10S-packs with 2000mAh cells) would cost $40-60 + another maybe $10-20 for BMSs + manufacturing costs (welding & soldering & shrink wrapping). Then on top of that, all the other parts (motors could probably be about as much as the batteries, plastic casing, tire & electronics are probably fairly cheap), so just for the sake of argument, let's say $50 for batteries, another $50 for motors, and $30 for other parts = $130 just for the parts. You can pretty easily deduce from here, that a board that costs $200 with shipping in retail simply cannot have high quality parts, as after the cost of parts, manufacturing labor & shipping it, there would be little to no margin left..? Of course I'm pulling these numbers out of my a$$, but you get the picture. EDIT: Oh, and the wheel also comes with charger of course, so add that to the original costs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donafello Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 7 minutes ago, esaj said: Yeah, it would be really hard to recognize a similar looking fake cell from a real cell, unless you got a real cell to compare with. Not to mention that you have to take the whole thing apart and open the battery pack before you can inspect the cells. But here's something to think about: If a manufacturer could get high-quality cells for $2-3 a piece when buying in bulk (note that they could cost $5-10 a piece when buying in smaller amounts, like "only" 20 at a time), the cells alone for a 20-cell packs (I think I saw somewhere that hoverboards usually have 36V = 10S packs, with capacity usually around 4Ah = probably two 10S-packs with 2000mAh cells) would cost $40-60 + another maybe $10-20 for BMSs + manufacturing costs (welding & soldering & shrink wrapping). Then on top of that, all the other parts (motors could probably be about as much as the batteries, plastic casing, tire & electronics are probably fairly cheap), so just for the sake of argument, let's say $50 for batteries, another $50 for motors, and $30 for other parts = $130 just for the parts. You can pretty easily deduce from here, that a board that costs $200 with shipping in retail simply cannot have high quality parts, as after the cost of parts, manufacturing labor & shipping it, there would be little to no margin left..? Of course I'm pulling these numbers out of my a$$, but you get the picture. What batteries does the msuper 850wh use. Should I worry about possible fakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 9 minutes ago, Donafello said: What batteries does the msuper 850wh use. Should I worry about possible fakes? @zlymex had opened up his 680Wh packs and says they were Panasonic NCR18650PF: http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/233-gotway-msuper-18-inch-high-speed-latest-review-april-2015/?do=findComment&comment=15253 At least Panasonic, LG and Samsung (and usually Sony, although I think I read somewhere that they don't make the cells themselves anymore, but use subcontracting?) are generally known as reliable and high quality manufacturers. Even though the wheel-manufacturers may use different cells between different batches of wheels, I'd expect a "high-profile" manufacturer like Gotway to only use authentic high-quality cells. Using cheap cells that can't really handle big loads would probably show up pretty fast with a powerhouse like the MSupers' 1000W/3000W motor Here's the specs & tests from dampfakkus for those cells: http://www.dampfakkus.de/akkutest.php?id=498 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donafello Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 10 minutes ago, esaj said: @zlymex had opened up his 680Wh packs and says they were Panasonic NCR18650PF: http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/233-gotway-msuper-18-inch-high-speed-latest-review-april-2015/?do=findComment&comment=15253 At least Panasonic, LG and Samsung (and usually Sony, although I think I read somewhere that they don't make the cells themselves anymore, but use subcontracting?) are generally known as reliable and high quality manufacturers. Even though the wheel-manufacturers may use different cells between different batches of wheels, I'd expect a "high-profile" manufacturer like Gotway to only use authentic high-quality cells. Using cheap cells that can't really handle big loads would probably show up pretty fast with a powerhouse like the MSupers' 1000W/3000W motor Here's the specs & tests from dampfakkus for those cells: http://www.dampfakkus.de/akkutest.php?id=498 As always thanks esaj. Im so happy with my 850wh HS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 On 03/12/2015, 22:27:39, Hank said: Unfortunately I don't have any faith in the inspectors being able to distinguish batteries in hoverboards vs batteries in EUCs when the containers arrive from China. You are correct it seems! Here in Manchester this photo was posted about "hoverboad" seizures and it shows an MCM4 alongside the generic boards Why do plebs always have control over this stuff? Full article: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/fire-safety-concerns-prompt-seizure-10551069 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villac Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 On 12/5/2015, 2:04:19, Tom said: You are correct it seems! Here in Manchester this photo was posted about "hoverboad" seizures and it shows an MCM4 alongside the generic boards Why do plebs always have control over this stuff? Full article: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/fire-safety-concerns-prompt-seizure-10551069 Maybe the EU was the inspector's ride to work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverH Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 As far as I know the MCM4 in the picture has CE label. On which base do they "collect" the EUs/ Balance boards? This will hopefully give a cleanup of manufacturers. But finally we need products developed with different skills as of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSport Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 I just Love how the Government decides to protect us from ourselves. If they would stop doing that, there would be fewer stupid people in the world. But no, Seriously, I'm pretty tired of some idiotic Bureaucrat deciding what is safe and what is not, even though they have ZERO experience in these things. They are the kids of yesterday that were teased in school and are now trying to get even with anything that is cool or fun. I mean, look at the woman in the photo above. Does she look like someone who is into fun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgen Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 A 15yo died colliding with a bus. Horrible, just the idea. No idea what caused it, reckless driving/riding or malfunction. This will not improve perception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSport Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 1 hour ago, Jurgen said: A 15yo died colliding with a bus. Horrible, just the idea. No idea what caused it, reckless driving/riding or malfunction. This will not improve perception. That is awful, an indescribable amount of pain for the family. I have kids and grand-kids, so it hurts to hear. But again, probably many more of these occurrences on bikes, motorcycles, walking, etc... But I'm sure there will be new laws enacted, or Bans, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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