EV's -Tesla

[frank rabbets]

I dread to think of the cost and complications of "scrapping" or recycling a car lithium battery. Perhaps Elon can send them to pollute another planet.

 

[karl2000]

So if the gov is supporting Tata's new battery factory, why did they let British Volt go to the wall only a matter of weeks ago?

 

[chadr]

Not enough kickbacks, probably.

 

[flint]

Not suggesting any impropriety or bias, just thought it interesting that Sunaks mother in law apparently used to work for Tata.

More funding needed to keep steel going: uk-government-must-give-funding-27350784

 

[Bat21]

So if the gov is supporting Tata's new battery factory, why did they let British Volt go to the wall only a matter of weeks ago?

Our government are simply doing what they are told by those who actually run the world.... they are not in place to serve and/or protect us, they are there to keep us under control and oppress us.

 

[Rob Cowell]

British Volt seemed to be a big (over) spending start up who were good at throwing their VC money around. Possibly only so much good will your nationality buys you when looking for government funding. Whereas Tata would look much less like going bust a la Delorean.

 

[Raj]

Is the fire risk that big or are councils and others just preparing for potential risks? Prius or Lexus uses the same batteries as Tesla and we have them on the road for long enough. I read more fire incidents from ICE RRs than any Prius or Lexus.
Tesla’s battery management system might be much more advanced than Toyota or Lexus so they might be safe

 

[Dave_S]

Hi Raj - based on recent analysis you are correct, there is a higher risk of fire from an ICE than a modern BEV, BUT... when a BEV does go up in flames (a) it takes a hell of a lot longer to get it under control and (b) if it spreads to other nearby BEVs (e.g. if you have a lot of them lined up and charging) you have a major incident on your hands. I believe that's what's scaring the crap out of local councils etc.

 

[chadr]

Can't remember where (probably YT) but I saw a demo of a fire "blanket" designed for BEVs and it was basically a fireproof car cover, which encased the whole car.

However even after the blanket had been on the BEV for several hours, as soon as you took it off the fire started again.

 

[karl2000]

Tesla’s battery management system might be much more advanced than Toyota or Lexus so they might be safe

Theyre safe until they're not. ie something doesnt quite work as anticipated in the design, or there is some sort of physical damage

 

[Towpack]

The fact that Lithium Ion batteries use a highly flammable electrolyte and produce oxygen when they heat up and enter thermal runaway making a fire difficult to extinguish is the "problem" in a nutshell. Correct charging and discharging can be managed with electronics, which can fail of course but the main worry for me is the fact that physical damage can easily result in a fire. If I was driving an EV and was involved in even a relatively minor RTA I'd want to be out of there as quickly as possible. Having said all that, the advantages that Lithium formulated batteries offer cannot be denied and has made battery powered vehicles and other devices far more practical.

 

[GeekOKent]

Recommend hydration for a Tesla 3 on fire is 10k ltr of water. Usual fire appliance in the UK carry 1.8k

The actual safety part is interesting though. All our phones and laptops have the same battery tech.

 

[David]

Recommend hydration for a Tesla 3 on fire is 10k ltr of water. Usual fire appliance in the UK carry 1.8k

The actual safety part is interesting though. All our phones and laptops have the same battery tech.

Problem with that is you should not use water

 

[GeekOKent]

From First Responders | Tesla UK - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

Remember that a hv battery fire is not the same as an electric fire.

 

[Towpack]

The fire "triangle" of fuel + heat + oxygen is not so easy to break in a fire that is generating all three.

 

[GeekOKent]

I think that's it. The water is essentially just cooling things

 

[karl2000]

The actual safety part is interesting though. All our phones and laptops have the same battery tech.

Good point that, I hate the fact that modern laptops and phones have the batteries hidden away so you cant even inspect them.

I remember opening up an apple laptop years ago only to find that the battery had expanded and literally pushed the last few screws out of the case when I was opening it. Would never have known that the battery was deformed had I not opened the computer for something else.

Plus most of our tool batteries are the same tech these days, and they get knocked about and dropped from ladders and all sorts....

 

[Towpack]

A cynical view (my view) of bespoke battery packs is it's so you have to buy the manufacturers part at an inflated price. It's true that you can get cheaper unbranded packs for some popular laptops etc but they will all contain commercially available individual cells. I replaced the cells (18650's) in a Panasonic drill pack a while back at a fraction of the price of a Panasonic replacement. Breaking the pack open in a manner that could be resealed was the hardest bit. 40 odd years ago in the days of NiCad and NiMh batteries, Sony wanted £45 for a Video 8 camera battery pack so I split it open and replaced the individual cells (with cells of a higher capacity in actual fact) for under £10 from Bardwells, a local electronics stockist, sadly now long gone.

 

[frank rabbets]

I have some sort of rechargeable batteries in the siren box in my 1995 80. There are 5 in all. I've replaced them 3 times now. They are soldered together. Would the originals be lithium ones ?

 

[Towpack]

The originals will be NiCads. I changed the faulty siren on the TVSS3B alarm on mine with a used unit from an Avensis of the same era and it still had the original NiCads which were knackered so I swapped them for some NiMh. That was around 10 years ago. If they require changing again I won't be using Lithium batteries as they require a different charging regime.