Fire in RV from ebike charger and battery

[EnergyDoug]

Wow. What a morning.

Have an ebike just purchased in January 2022. Would not recharge using built-in charger after a couple of months sitting in our enclosed trailer.

Had to purchase an external charger from the manufacturer, which we just received yesterday.

Plugged it in last night for a couple of hours, all seemed fine but charging was not complete when we decided to go to bed.

THANK GOD I decided to unplug it overnight.

This morning plugged it in again and after a couple of hours, it literally exploded…not just once, but dozens of times. Each cel exploding was like a shotgun shell going off, sending flaming or glowing chunks of shrapnel flying with great force. This happened several dozen times, each time re-starting the fire, and starting more smaller fires all over again.

Thank goodness we were up and able to respond immediately. One of the first things I did was rip the plug out of the wall.

It just kept going. We kept extinguishing it, then it would blow again. I have never seen a fire like this. Now I know why fire fighters just stand back with lithium fires, and prevent it from spreading, not try to extinguish it.

It is a miracle we got ourselves and our animals out, and were able to empty three extinguishers onto it, followed by some water, without being injured by any of the explosions. I have no idea how we managed that. Even managed to mostly avoid smoke inhalation while getting all three vent vans running to clear it out once the fire finally stopped.

The battery and charger were sitting on the floor under the dining table. I guess that helped contain the spread of both fire and projectiles. Luckily the three large bottles of booze right next to it did not break or explode, as that obviously would have made things a LOT worse.

We are full time; this is our home. Needless to say no matter what this is going to be a royal pain and substantial inconvenience to deal with.

Still not feeling like I did anything wrong or careless, but I hope I can save others some grief.

If at all possible, PLEASE charge your lithium powered devices OUTSIDE of your RV. However small the fire risk may be, it is real and nobody needs to deal with what we now need to address.

Photos here:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/067jnv5H_fXYrjXThbBpwv22Q

Doug, Trish, Oreo and Squidge

2008 Newmar Mountain Aire 4528

[HarryStone]

Pretty scarey.

[bigb56]

Be sure to file a report with the CPSC https://www.saferproducts.gov/IncidentReporting
Glad no one was injured.

[Hittntheroad]

I flew electric RC planes for awhile. I used some pretty hefty batteries. Had one blow up in my garage when I was getting about to go to bed. Just happened to look in the garage before going to bed and the whole counter outside was on fire. After that, I started charging in a metal container designed for charging batteries.

[TandW]

Does this suggest that a gullible and trusting public is buying and then riding on top of IED's?

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by TandW

Does this suggest that a gullible and trusting public is buying and then riding on top of IED's?

Similar issues here in Canada , most, if not all E bike battery charging explosions; trace back to knock off batteries from an unknown / uncertified source .

[MacDaddy1111]

Originally Posted by EnergyDoug

Wow. What a morning.

Have an ebike just purchased in January 2022. Would not recharge using built-in charger after a couple of months sitting in our enclosed trailer.

what ebike brand/type?

[EnergyDoug]

Hi,

FWIW, we are Canadian, but bought this bike in the USA. It is a reputable, higher end bike bought in Jan 2022 from a bricks and mortar dealer. For reference, paid well over $3k. It is definitely NOT a ‘cheap knock-off’, or whatever term you want to use.

Just making the point that a lot of care and attention went into researching this purchase, placing quality and value WAY ahead of price.

[EnergyDoug]

For now, I will refrain from mentioning the brand. Lots of things to sort out still. Just wanted to give a friendly general warning to all.

[dbircky]

Sounds like an asbestos wrapped conex box would be the safest garage to have for these lithium powered vehicles.

[SergioP]

Boy that sure cooked those cabinet doors, chairs and table. And cleaning all that extinguisher powder. I guess insurance will cover it? But the hassle of having it repaired. I wonder if any of the AC electrical got damaged, other than the outlet.

Seems like the safest way to charge those batteries is to have them in a fireproof metal(?) box so if something happens it’s contained. Of course that would mean pulling the battery out of the Ebike. Or charge it outside, but then it risks getting stolen.

Electric scooter fires on YouTube are pretty scary. Glad you all are OK.

[chaostactics]

What brand bike?

[Alpine36]

Scary thing is these are coming soon to nearly every apartment, dorm, garage and living room in America. Defective lithium batteries and/or chargers pose a substantial fire risk.

[F4Gary]

Recharging the bike inside the RV?
No outside outlet?