Battery Fires

[Woosh]

This means just 0.011% of bikes and scooters on the market set on fire that year.

That seems to be about the right estimate. Here is a story that happened to someone I know a couple of weeks ago. I needed someone with a tractor to help me with some work I need to do in my garden. A friendly local farmer came with his tractor. There was a strong smell of sulfur emanating from his engine. As there was a small breeze, nobody wanted to fuss about it, he arrived directly from his farm. The following day, I learned that his tractor could have exploded while he was working in my garden. A fault in the alternator caused the battery to overcharge and the mechanic said that his battery was about to explode. Liquid sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) is broken down by the excess electrical current and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is released.
Apparently, battery fires are quite frequent with lead acid batteries.

 

[chris_n]

That seems to be about the right estimate. Here is a story that happened to someone I know a couple of weeks ago. I needed someone with a tractor to help me with some work I need to do in my garden. A friendly local farmer came with his tractor. There was a strong smell of sulfur emanating from his engine. As there was a small breeze, nobody wanted to fuss about it, he arrived directly from his farm. The following day, I learned that his tractor could have exploded while he was working in my garden. A fault in the alternator caused the battery to overcharge and the mechanic said that his battery was about to explode. Liquid sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) is broken down by the excess electrical current and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is released.
Apparently, battery fires are quite frequent with lead acid batteries.

I have seen the aftermath of an explosion with lead acid batteries, they go off with quite a bang.

 

[Ghost1951]

That seems to be about the right estimate. Here is a story that happened to someone I know a couple of weeks ago. I needed someone with a tractor to help me with some work I need to do in my garden. A friendly local farmer came with his tractor. There was a strong smell of sulfur emanating from his engine. As there was a small breeze, nobody wanted to fuss about it, he arrived directly from his farm. The following day, I learned that his tractor could have exploded while he was working in my garden. A fault in the alternator caused the battery to overcharge and the mechanic said that his battery was about to explode. Liquid sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) is broken down by the excess electrical current and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is released.
Apparently, battery fires are quite frequent with lead acid batteries.

Failed regulator.

The alternator's output is monitored for voltage and current output and the regulator circuit should then vary the current in the alternator's field coils. This varies the output, so that voltage and current output are controlled.

Its a good job the battery didn't explode and throw sulphuric acid all over the place.

 

[lenny]

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service launches battery safety video
The service has launched a video so that owners can avoid fires emanating from E-bike and mobility scooter batteries.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service launches battery safety video

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a video so that owners can avoid fires emanating from E-bike and mobility scooter batteries.

dorsetview.co.uk

 

[Nealh]

Liberian regertered ship off Alaska on fire , cargo 3000 hybrid and EV's.
Crew have abandoned ship.
One does wonder if the salty air is a factor in causing these fires.

 

[Nealh]

The ship sank today .

 

[MikelBikel]

 

[MikelBikel]

Why park them packed together unless they were supposed to all go up? Mm, strange! :-/

 

[saneagle]

Why park them packed together unless they were supposed to all go up? Mm, strange! :-/

They couldn't do anything with those buses. They were an embarrassment to everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if that fire had a little help to get started.

 

[lenny]

Record number of ebike fires in UK prompts renewed risk warnings
Fire services responded to 211 ebike and e-scooter fires in 2024 as London film brigade warns of growing risk

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jun/05/record-number-of-ebike-fires-in-uk-prompts-renewed-risk-warnings

 

[Ghost1951]

Record number of ebike fires in UK prompts renewed risk warnings
Fire services responded to 211 ebike and e-scooter fires in 2024 as London film brigade warns of growing risk

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jun/05/record-number-of-ebike-fires-in-uk-prompts-renewed-risk-warnings

In the year ending March 2024, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) attended a total of 600,324 fires. Let's keep harping on about 211 of them.

When will we see some judgement about whether these stories are pointless nonsense or something worth reading?

211 bike fires out of 600,000 fire call outs in London suggests that e-bikes are pretty safe.

LFB attended approximately 1500 fires caused by smoking last year.

In last December they attended in one month 236 separate fires caused by portable heaters like fan heaters.

The LFB attended 2430 arson incidents in London in 2024.

LFB attended 18365 road vehicle fires in 2024.

Interestingly only 219 of these vehicle fires involved an electric car battery fire. That means that about 18500 vehicle fires in London were NOT involving electric car batteries. Some people here might be interested in that.

Get your head on Lenny. Ebikes are safe.

 

[saneagle]

I've been thinking about battery fires. 12 years ago, I used to do a lot of battery repairs. The quality of the batteries and cells then was terrible. It was very common to see batteries with swollen pouch cells, leaking 18650s, no BMS and badly routed wiring. I myself , friends and forum members used to run two batteries in parallel with no diodes, booster batteries, mixed cells, recycled cells and things like that, but nobody had any fires.

Since then, the quality of ebike batteries and cells has improved massively, but in the last few years, the number of recorded fires is increasing. I can understand that it's partly due to there being a lot more ebikes and scooters in use, but the increase in battery fires seems to be faster than the rate of increase of batteries, so there must be other causes.

 

[Woosh]

the increase in battery fires seems to be faster than the rate of increase of batteries, so there must be other causes.

Poor quality chargers, use wrong chargers, use wrong wire gauge, wires not properly crimped, poor contacts between battery and controller, potholes causing the battery to jolt.

 

[Ghost1951]

I've been thinking about battery fires. 12 years ago, I used to do a lot of battery repairs. The quality of the batteries and cells then was terrible. It was very common to see batteries with swollen pouch cells, leaking 18650s, no BMS and badly routed wiring. I myself , friends and forum members used to run two batteries in parallel with no diodes, booster batteries, mixed cells, recycled cells and things like that, but nobody had any fires.

Since then, the quality of ebike batteries and cells has improved massively, but in the last few years, the number of recorded fires is increasing. I can understand that it's partly due to there being a lot more ebikes and scooters in use, but the increase in battery fires seems to be faster than the rate of increase of batteries, so there must be other causes.

It might be that back when you were doing these experiments, the population of people doing them, had an understanding of the technology and its limitations and safety issues, and that they took account of them. Now every toerag in the country is tearing about on an over powered e-bike, stressing the cells out and then charging them with a highly inappropriate fast charger in a passage near the front door and going to bed while the charging is happening. That kind of treatment, along with badly cobbled together packs and we will see some fires and some casualties.

Can you remember when we had petrol powered pump up lamps and stoves and blow lamps? I bet they caused some hairy moments. Well I know they did, I had some myself.

Putting many everyday technologies into the hands of morons can lead to problems.

Petrol anyone?

 

[flecc]

the increase in battery fires seems to be faster than the rate of increase of batteries, so there must be other causes.

Dendrites?
.

 

[saneagle]

Dendrites?
.

You devil!

 

[Ghost1951]

For Lenny from Chat Gpt:

It also has a rear hub motor for Saneagle.

 

[AntonyC]

I've been thinking about battery fires. 12 years ago, I used to do a lot of [...] the increase in battery fires seems to be faster than the rate of increase of batteries, so there must be other causes.

Stock in circulation represents around 6 to 10 times annual sales figures so that's a good point.

Poor quality chargers, use wrong chargers, use wrong wire gauge, wires not properly crimped, poor contacts between battery and controller, potholes causing the battery to jolt.

We need to be clear that those are a few of many plausible suggestions but not established. Fire service reports have been noting 'on charge at the time' which is a bit like saying 'deceased died in their sleep' and doesn't get us much nearer to a cause, especially if we keep pointing to the charger at one end of the lead and absolving the battery at the other.

London has about 80 times the number of ebike fire callouts per head of population than the rest of the country - I really wish I could find corresponding figures for ownership.

 

[flash]

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service launches battery safety video
The service has launched a video so that owners can avoid fires emanating from E-bike and mobility scooter batteries.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service launches battery safety video

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a video so that owners can avoid fires emanating from E-bike and mobility scooter batteries.

dorsetview.co.uk

Good advice

 

[saneagle]

Stock in circulation represents around 6 to 10 times annual sales figures so that's a good point.



We need to be clear that those are a few of many plausible suggestions but not established. Fire service reports have been noting 'on charge at the time' which is a bit like saying 'deceased died in their sleep' and doesn't get us much nearer to a cause, especially if we keep pointing to the charger at one end of the lead and absolving the battery at the other.

London has about 80 times the number of ebike fire callouts per head of population than the rest of the country - I really wish I could find corresponding figures for ownership.

I have no evidence, but I have a strong feeling that it's all linked to the increase in ebikes being used for deliveries and drug dealing, and the way they're adjusted for that purpose.