The London Fire Bridge was referred to as out to 104 fires involving lithium batteries last year, consisting of 44 e-bikes, 28 e-scooters and 32 different incidents involving cell phones, laptops and different instances.
Figures obtained by the Evening Standard, present this to be a four-fold improve from 2020, wherein 26 lithium battery fires had been recorded. Already in 2022, there have been 29 lithium battery fires, 17 of which have concerned e-bikes.
Although e-bikes and different units that use lithium ion batteries are very secure when purchased through respected distributors and used with the right charging cable, shopping for from disreputable sellers and utilizing incorrect cables does expose you to the chance of fires.
A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman stated: “Many of the fires we are seeing involve batteries which have been sourced on the internet, which may not meet the correct safety standards.
“We know that lithium-ion batteries are susceptible to failure if incorrect chargers are used, so it’s important to always use the correct charger for the product and buy an official one from a reputable seller.
“The brigade has already issued several urgent safety warnings over concerns about a spike in fires involving electric bikes and private e-scooters and regularly highlights incidents and issues safety advice to keep people safe if they own one.”
(Image credit score: London Fire Brigade)
When it comes to e-bike battery security, not solely is it necessary to be sure that the battery and charging gear is up to customary, you additionally want to perceive the perfect practices and the way to cost the batteries safely.
The smartest thing you are able to do to be sure to’re getting respected gear – and proper route in how to use it – is by shopping for through a longtime e-bike seller.
“With e-bikes, it does really depend on the battery and the manufacturer,” stated Mathew Silvester, an worker of the impartial Electric Bikes Guildford store, “we specialise in Bosch e-bike systems which do have a really good reputation – I’ve never come across a single issue with any battery fires in all my time working here.
“We always make sure our customers understand how to charge their batteries and where to store them. When people buy them just off the internet without any sort of advice then that’s when, unfortunately, these sort of things can happen.”
To learn extra about e-bikes, together with explainers all of the technical phrases – resembling what precisely ‘torque’ actually is – you’ll find our information to every little thing you want to know proper right here.
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