Electric scooter inferno: Sattahip park blaze leaves metal carnage

[webfact]

A peaceful evening at Nong Takian Park in Sattahip turned into a fiery spectacle when an electric scooter exploded into flames on Sunday, September 29, leaving behind nothing but a pile of scorched metal. Firefighters swooped in to save the day, dousing the blaze before it could engulf the surrounding area.

 

The scooter’s owner, who had just returned from a routine market trip, described the terrifying moment.

 

“I heard a loud popping sound, and before I could react, flames started erupting from the scooter.”

 

In a desperate attempt to disconnect the battery, the owner was met with an uncontrollable fire, leaving the vehicle in ruins.

Local police are now investigating the cause, with early reports pointing to a potential battery malfunction as the culprit. Thankfully, no one was injured, but officials are sounding the alarm for all electric scooter users.

“This incident could have been much worse. Owners need to ensure their scooters are in good working order to avoid such disasters.”

With the rise of electric scooters, incidents like this are a harsh reminder of the risks involved if proper care isn’t taken. Police urge users to regularly inspect their scooters, especially the battery, to avoid future explosions, reported Pattaya Mail.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal
Photo courtesy of Pattaya Mail

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-10-02

 

 

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Local police are now investigating the cause, with early reports pointing to a potential battery malfunction as the culprit.

Genius.

[johng]

User's should also inspect pagers and walkie talkie devices !

[black tabby12345]

Electric scooter inferno: Sattahip park blaze leaves metal carnage

 

Another EV Ka-Boom.

Fresh causality  from  Chinese  Communist  Party's 

obsession for global dominance;

worldwide Electric Car Boom by their low-quality

exports.

[Purdey]

I don't often hear of battery fires starting in ICE cars but no doubt someone will point out there are incidents.

[impulse]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Local police are now investigating the cause, with early reports pointing to a potential battery malfunction as the culprit.

Genius.

 

I'd be curious whether the control unit was modified to make it go faster.  On a couple of my e-scooters, all that required was snipping one white wire.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

With the rise of electric scooters, incidents like this are a harsh reminder of the risks involved if proper care isn’t taken. Police urge users to regularly inspect their scooters, especially the battery, to avoid future explosions, reported Pattaya Mail.

Proper care is a good idea.

And quality manufacturing and quality control are also a good idea.

And obviously any substandard battery vehicles should not be sold, and it should be illegal to use them in public.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

18 minutes ago, impulse said:

I'd be curious whether the control unit was modified to make it go faster.  On a couple of my e-scooters, all that required was snipping one white wire.

 

And I always thought there must be at least one red wire be involved.

 

 

 

[Confuscious]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Local police are now investigating the cause, with early reports pointing to a potential battery malfunction as the culprit.

How many Thai Police Officers are needed to investigate the cause of a battery malfunction on a scooter?
Answer: The whole local Police corps.

[impulse]

17 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And I always thought there must be at least one red wire be involved.

 

For some reason, a lot of the brands seemed to standardize on a white wire.

 

I've been to about a dozen e-scooter factories in China, and quite a few trade shows where they sell all the components you'd need to start your own e-scooter company. Pick the components and just do assembly.  The internal parts for most of them are pretty much standard.  I decided against getting into the biz when the battery fires hit the news.  Too much liability for this boy, though the margins could be great.

 

Among the electric scooters you can remove the speed limiter by cutting the limiting wires is the Joyor brand scooters, Zero 8, Zero 9, and Zero 10X electric scooters. 

 

After you open up the deck casing, simply get a pincer and cut the white cables.

 

You can also remove the speed limiter on the Speedway Mini 4 Pro electric scooter by unplugging the white cable from the controller. 

 

https://www.ridester.com/how-to-remove-speed-limiter-on-electric-scooter/

 

If the white (or whatever color) wire on the OP scooter is cut or unplugged, that tells a story.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

22 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

For some reason, a lot of the brands seemed to standardize on a white wire.

 

I've been to about a dozen e-scooter factories in China, and quite a few trade shows where they sell all the components you'd need to start your own e-scooter company. Pick the components and just do assembly.  The internal parts for most of them are pretty much standard.  I decided against getting into the biz when the battery fires hit the news.  Too much liability for this boy, though the margins could be great.

 

Among the electric scooters you can remove the speed limiter by cutting the limiting wires is the Joyor brand scooters, Zero 8, Zero 9, and Zero 10X electric scooters. 

 

After you open up the deck casing, simply get a pincer and cut the white cables.

 

You can also remove the speed limiter on the Speedway Mini 4 Pro electric scooter by unplugging the white cable from the controller. 

 

https://www.ridester.com/how-to-remove-speed-limiter-on-electric-scooter/

 

If the white (or whatever color) wire on the OP scooter is cut or unplugged, that tells a story.

 

 

Maybe the police should regularly check these things.

If there is a cut wire, confiscate them, destroy them, and fine the users.

But obviously this will never happen in Thailand. 

[AndreasHG]

7 hours ago, Purdey said:

I don't often hear of battery fires starting in ICE cars but no doubt someone will point out there are incidents.

 

ICE powered vehicles are typically equipped with lead-acid batteries. Albeit lead-acid batteries produce hydrogen gas during charging, explosions are an extremely rare event. Additionally, short circuits or overheating due to overcharging can lead to thermal runaway, causing the battery to catch fire, just like any lithium-ion battery would.

EVs are generally equipped with lithium-ion batteries. These batteries become extremely dangerous when the lithium gets in contact with water. This may happen whenever the battery is not adequately sealed.

 

You may watch a couple of videos showing lithium batteries reacting to water:

 

 

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, Purdey said:

I don't often hear of battery fires starting in ICE cars but no doubt someone will point out there are incidents.

School bus burned down killing 23 kids ......... That was an ICE.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1339617-inferno-bus-in-use-for-54-years/

[chickenslegs]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

School bus burned down killing 23 kids ......... That was an ICE.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1339617-inferno-bus-in-use-for-54-years/

Looks like it was CNG, poorly installed.

 

[Jerry777]

15 hours ago, webfact said:

Police urge users to regularly inspect their scooters, especially the battery, to avoid future explosions, reported Pattaya Mail.

Ok, I will check my battery right now. Look for leaks strange odors, and especially smoke.

[impulse]

38 minutes ago, Jerry777 said:

Ok, I will check my battery right now. Look for leaks strange odors, and especially smoke.

 

All kidding aside, I'd suggest keeping the battery where it won't start the whole house on fire if it goes off.  And though I don't know if it would be adequate, buy a steel safe (with a fire rating) big enough to hold it, if you do have to keep it indoors.  At the very least, it'll give you and your loved ones some time to escape.

 

That's one of those low probability but catastrophic if it happens scenarios.

 

[billd766]

It seems to be confined to lithium batteries, and normal lead acid batteries seem to be unaffected in the same way.

[lordgrinz]

It's never good being a guinea pig, especially when it comes to dangerous new tech. 

[KhunLA]

No mention of make/model, or even what type of battery the scooter had; lead acid, gem, or lithium, and if so, what chemistry.  Apparently it was being charge, and no mention if any modifications were made to the scooter.

 

Guess we'll need to wait for the follow up report ... oh wait, that will never happen, especially if it wasn't a lithium battery.

[jacko45k]

20 hours ago, Purdey said:

I don't often hear of battery fires starting in ICE cars but no doubt someone will point out there are incidents.

There is still and underlying fear of Electric vehicle batteries with some parking restrictions applied to them. Suffice to say I am more relaxed about leaving my phone on charge overnight.