eWheels Tucson Service Center Fire, Site Destroyed

[GothamMike]

On 11/4/2021 at 4:55 AM, Mango said:

A Gotway MSP HT burned down somebody’s house yesterday in Sweden. Apparently the second MSP HT in a month to catch fire.

I don’t follow Gotway products too closely because I think they are junk wheels, but what packs are in these MSPs? Is it possible we’ll be seeing more fire incidents as these packs age and become a higher fire risk. Statistically, these packs will burn up, not if but when.

Don’t say that! The Begode boys will say mean things about you! And Begode will have to change their name again.

[GothamMike]

If this keeps up, we will see bans.

[mike_bike_kite]

On 11/4/2021 at 8:55 AM, Mango said:

A Gotway MSP HT burned down somebody’s house yesterday in Sweden. Apparently the second MSP HT in a month to catch fire.

Weirdly I can't find anything about this on google, nor anything on the Swedish EUC forum and nor have you supplied any link proving that either of these things happened.  Did either of these events actually happen or did it all come to you in a dream?

[Paul A]

 

On 11/4/2021 at 7:45 PM, Mango said:

There is a report of an euc fire yesterday in a house involving a MSP HT in Sweden.

Not yet verified, but source seems legit.

I can confirm from a local chat group.
I'll check later if the person affected is willing to share information (for now I sense that maybe not)

[StefanBRO]

21 hours ago, mhpr262 said:

It seems almost incredible to me that that wasnt already implemented  a long time ago. In R/C sports with lipo batteries that has always been standard, from the very beginning, and I had no idea other methods even existed. I mean, what is the purpose?!

I remember some of my oldest lipo charges let you "fast charge" ie. not balance haha. I assume it's a little more difficult with the higher cell count packs. Bit easier to balance 8 or less cells vs 20 or 24. Certainly not impossible but I'm sure it's for "pricing reasons".

[VikB]

2 hours ago, mike_bike_kite said:

Weirdly I can't find anything about this on google, nor anything on the Swedish EUC forum and nor have you supplied any link proving that either of these things happened.  Did either of these events actually happen or did it all come to you in a dream?

Mike talks about two EUC fires in Sweden at the start of this video around the 1:20min mark.

Edited November 7, 2021 by VikB

[.....]

So... did the e-wheels fire wind up conclusive that it was a battery fire? Or are people simply just running with that narrative? Perhaps there should be a thread around here, about battery fires? I'd be willing to bet big, that there is more than one already. If we condensed all the topics related to how fire is bad and gearing up like a soldier is good, this place would be pretty empty.

Edited November 7, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[mike_bike_kite]

35 minutes ago, VikB said:

Mike talks about two EUC fires in Sweden at the start of this video around the 1:20min mark.

Thanks for that. Are there any real details anywhere of what wheels went up? Their condition? Were they charging at the time? 

[Paul A]

A house and an apartment totally destroyed, a cat was also killed.

One wheel was an MSP HT, no confirmed details yet on the other wheel.

[div]

16 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

So... did the e-wheels fire wind up conclusive that it was a battery fire? Or are people simply just running with that narrative? Perhaps there should be a thread around here, about battery fires? I'd be willing to bet big, that there is more than one already. If we condensed all the topics related to how fire is bad and gearing up like a soldier is good, this place would be pretty empty.

Yes I would vote for moving the discussion of fires who are not related to e-wheels to the smoke and fire thread (who in turn should be split between fried boards avec actual battery fires)

[That Guy]

11 hours ago, GothamMike said:

to change their name again

FireWheel? HellWay? BePhoenix?... 

[EUCandME]

9 hours ago, That Guy said:

FireWheel? HellWay? BePhoenix?... 

Nahh its just a new feature! As a celebration of Cop26 the wheels have decided to "safley" dispose of themselves so you dont have to worry about recycling! True green power! 

[No1up]

You have a sparkling career waiting for you at CNN..

[Mango]

On 11/7/2021 at 5:31 PM, ShanesPlanet said:

So... did the e-wheels fire wind up conclusive that it was a battery fire? 

Yes.

[Bizra6ot]

@Jason McNeil did you get an update about the fire start inquiry? because on reddit youtube and forums people overreact by quoting your store experience and transforming your words

"At the time the battery packs were stored large industrial refrigeration units, signs are that the fire did not originate there. The evidence from the security footage is that the fire started in a generic parts stoage area, foul-play is a possibility, which is being investigated" + "it's too early to say what the cause of fire was, but ruling out external factors, those packs are certainly the prime suspects."

becomes "it's begode batteries packs causing fire"

[.....]

2 hours ago, Mango said:

Yes.

Well that sucks. I had assumed he (Jason) would have said something here, but last I read was what @Bizra6ot quoted. I kind of wish it had been foul play, as there's not as many people like that in every euc household as their are batteries.

[Paul A]

Adam Wrong Way has uploaded a YouTube video of another recent Gotway fire.

Along with the two fires in Stockholm, seems there is a historical/current perception of Gotway as unsafe.

[Mango]

4 hours ago, Bizra6ot said:

becomes "it's begode batteries packs causing fire"

and concludes with “The fire that wiped out our service center last week was almost certainly the result of one of these
compromised battery packs. A full battery recall is going to a necessary, monumental undertaking.”

The battery packs in question - https://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/25541-begode-900wh-battery-recall-options/?tab=comments#comment-392497

[.....]

16 minutes ago, Mango said:

and concludes with “The fire that wiped out our service center last week was almost certainly the result of one of these
compromised battery packs. A full battery recall is going to a necessary, monumental undertaking.”

The battery packs in question - https://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/25541-begode-900wh-battery-recall-options/?tab=comments#comment-392497

That recall was already underway before this happened. Its easy to assume that they are the culprit. I still havent located any statements from Jason saying it was IN FACT a battery that started the fire. Of course we suspect it was, but there was mention of other possibilities. Unless stated otherwise, I will simply assume its likely this started with batteries, but i wont assume it was for certain. Hell, we may neve know for SURE, as fire investigation isnt an exact science anyhow. Maybe someone does know for certain, but they don't want to make statements that could negatively effect a brand, more than already has. Suonds like my 67v mten just become more valuable...

So @Jason McNeil, to the best of your knowledge, has the investigation concluded that it was in fact batteries? Maybe its concluded that it LIKELY started with batteries? Maybe conclusions are inconclusive? It only matters as we can be even more nervous about the batteries in question. Regardless, I do hope you bounce back or find your next plan to be a good thing in the long run.

Edited November 9, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Paul A]

Release of fire investigation report would be useful.

[Paul A]

If origin of fire was determined to be the refrigerated, low humidity storage area of the isolated Gotway/Begode batteries, that would seem to be strong evidence of cause of fire.

Being separately stored helps to eliminate other causes.

[Circuitmage]

Wow, right around Halloween? That's some unholy $#!^ . : (

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Circuitmage

[Roadpower]

Sorry about the fire Jason. I trust you will recover from this over time. Be well.

[GothamMike]

On 11/8/2021 at 5:05 PM, Mango said:

Yes.

Battery? Battery wires! MoBoard? 
WrongWay! Posted that BeFired allows the Amps to go above what many consider a safe threshold. You may get a few extra KPH, but you reduce battery life and increase the risk of fire. 
SOME builders only care about listing top speed, and the Begode Boyz, eagerly plunk their deposits down to go a bit faster. 
BG knows their audience, and knows how to sell to them, safety be damned.

[Flying W]

I still think going to a 4p setup with the LGs was just to save money/try to avoid battery shortages....but mostly money. 

I'd pretty sure my RSHT would have the same performance with less votage drop with the MSXs 6p 18650s, just slightly less range. 

I was always leary about the batter set setup before getting the this wheel. Being cooler running and pushing through way less wind from being slower than high speed version taxes the batteries less but I got it for the torque which when getting used I'm sure is still pulling more than the pack wants too. The damn wheel climbs things that my mcm5 over leans on. 

If I was confident in battery pack building capacity of love to ditch the speakers and the RS logo light that looks like speakers to make space for a 5p setup and take some burden off the individual cells. 

I would spend 4k plus on a wheel if I could get one that performed exactly the same, just with over built electronics that could handle it. Non of us should wonder if we are going to wake up to fire works from riding hard.