Lithium battery fired at sea

[Captain Ralph]

Do your research.

As Scott said, LiPO4 is the safest of the more than half dozen "lithium" chemistries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

DAN

I'm sorry my friend, I have to differ a bit here.

Not a lot of confidence in that web lead.
Opens with; Chemistry, performance, cost and safety characteristics vary across types of lithium-ion batteries

The only comment on LiPO4; High safety compared to Cobalt / Manganese systems
Your comment; the safest of the more than half dozen "lithium" chemistries

I have already had enough power tool battery issues NOT Lithium.

If there is a risk of anything past the issues already with a flooded battery, I would consider a higher safety factor to be; Not on board my boat until they are way safer than more than a half dozen other "lithium" chemistries

There are still two ships out there adrift with car fires on board. Maybe 3000 brand new battery cars on Da Ace Including Bentleys? Don't think there would be any cheap batteries in a Bentley.
. No way to put these fires out. VW or Bentley.
There is a hint to be had there.

[zigzag930]

Here is a pretty decent evaluation of the fire risks for varying lithium battery compositions:

https://www.fire.tc.faa.gov/pdf/TC-16-17.pdf

[Captain Ralph]

Here is a pretty decent evaluation of the fire risks for varying lithium battery compositions:

https://www.fire.tc.faa.gov/pdf/TC-16-17.pdf

Much better reading.

In general, of all of the lithium-ion cells that were tested, LiFePO4 would be considered the safest cathode material because of the relatively low temperature rise and the resulting low likelihood for thermal runaway to propagate. LiCoO2 and LiMnNi would be considered the most hazardous because of the relatively large temperature rise and high probability for propagation of thermal runaway to adjacent battery cells.

Thank you but still a long way off for my personal use.

[drburke]

Much better reading.

Thank you but still a long way off for my personal use.

One of the great things about the forum is the thoughtful exchange of ideas.

I agree that FLA is proven and safe technology; got several myself! :-)

In contemplation of future upgrades, always good to review pros and cons--thanks all.

DAN

[rustybucket]

I'm very much a lithium ion battery fan. I just recently converted a hunting buggy from lead acid to lipol (Lithium Polymer) using reclaimed cells. Couldn't be happier with the results so far.

Lion is a great technology and has come a long ways in a very short period of time... that being said it's still a technology in it's infancy in terms of global adoption/adaptation.

The fires, although very rare, are quite an issue due to the fact that they are basically in-extinguishable.

I do feel that these batteries (some of them at least) belong on 'certain' boats, but I'm really leaning against them in our boats. That being said, I have about 10-15 Lion batteries on my boat at any given time. And I'd bet most of the people on this board also have lion batteries in various places about their boat.

Here is a list of lion batteries I know for a fact are on my boat right now.
Milwaukee m12 drill/driver/scraper/light
Multiple rechargeable light headsets
Wireless coms headsets (think I got 8 batteries?)
Ipad and android tablets
Epirb & plb's (each have one battery)

So, my battery count is probably closer to 20+ lion batteries on the boat.

So, while we are all quick to swear off lions for our boats, let's be honest, we all have some laying around. Most of the fires are caused by small battery packs, not onboard lion operating batteries, which generally have more robust failover systems in place.

I'm not saying putting banks of lions on your boat is a good idea, I researched it and chose NOT to do it on my boat. But everyone here swearing off lions needs to take a look around the boat. If you really feel that strongly about their safety risk you prolly need to get all of them off your boat.

[dar636]

Great reminder, and true. Thanks-

[Pascal]

Another close call. Container burned up on the way to port

https://gcaptain.com/container-lithium-battery-fire/

[oscarvan]

Another close call. Container burned up on the way to port

https://gcaptain.com/container-lithium-battery-fire/

That's insane to throw batteries with varying state of charge in a pile like that. Things WILL be touching. And that has nothing to do with what chemistry they are. And yes, a lot of those batteries are still live.

For giggles I did an autopsy on a battery pack for a medical device. I THOUGHT I had the series?parallel thing figured out, but the sparking and smoke at the tip of my cutters told me different. No harm done, but under the right (wrong) circumstances a prolonged short like that would easily start a fire.

Ended up with a nice supply of perfectly good 18650's for in flashlights etc. It was 4 bad ones that took the whole pack down.

[Pascal]

I think they were packed but the packing material burned up

[spartonboat1]

Another close call. Container burned up on the way to port

https://gcaptain.com/container-lithium-battery-fire/

This was a major update for me: The Felicity Ace SANK- news to me!
Many potential owners, esp. of Porsche's, had been waiting for their car for close to a year!
=============================
March 1, 2022

The Felicity Ace car carrier has sunk in the Atlantic Ocean.

The ship’s manager, MOL Ship Management (Singapore), confirmed that the vessel sank around 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday approximately 220 nautical miles off the Azores Islands, citing initial reports from the on-site salvage team.

Salvage vessels will remain in the area to monitor the situation.

The sinking of the Felicity Ace comes nearly two weeks after a fire broke out in the ship’s cargo area.

Reporting has indicated Felicity Ace was carrying around 4,000 vehicles, including some luxury brands like Porsches, Bentleys, and Lamborghinis, along with VW and Audis. The value of the cargo has been estimated to be over $400 million.

The fire on the Panama-flagged ship started Wednesday, February 16, approximately 90 nautical miles southwest of the Azores as the ship was underway from Embden, Germany, where Volkswagen AG has a manufacturing plant, to the U.S. East Coast.

All 22 crew members abandoned ship and brought to safety.
================================