Quick Question Traveling with Lipo's
Brian Carpenter
Posts: 728
I am leaving Orlando where i got a 4 cell 3300 lipo and i am headed home on a plane in the morning. Can this battery go in my checked luggage?
Comments
its hit and miss
the last I looked the TSA was going by Watt Hours ...
http://safetravel.dot.gov/larger_batt.html
They say 300 Watt-htrs. That is a very large battery!
The largest Lithium pack I have is a 11.1V 3s10,000mAh which would be 111 Watt-Hrs, and it weighs about 25 ounces.
In Tokyo, I was not allowed to board with an unopened tube a wasbi and an unopened bottle of soy sauce, even though these were very small size. My guess is that they feared the makings of a terrorist bomb.
And another flight through Hong Kong, my luggage got snagged as my electric watch had died and I included an running electric alarm clock in my luggage without thinking that the airlines might catch the tick-tick. I arrived in San Francisco to find that my luggage was not with the plane and I had to wait another day for it to catch up.
On the other hand, I went to Thailand with a complete microcomputer set up to be an automated starter for a pig farm that ran in bio-methane, with a relay board and nobody cared. Even though the Red Shirts were shooting up Bangkok and martial law was declared just after I arrived.
Lithium batteries of a certain Watt-hour rating? Can these inspectors handle the maths... I doubt it.
- Lithium/Metal is the big scare, but you only find those in big pro/semi-pro video equipment so shouldn't affect you.
- Airliners actually want you to bring the batteries as hand luggage because if there's a short and a fire it's better that it happens inside the cabin than in the luggage section of the plane
- Any battery that is not installed inside its equipment must be not be carried loose, but packed inside a battery carrier of some type, to avoid accidental shorts. For small camera type batteries, for example, those small battery plastic transport cases some of them come with when buying spare ones are good.
That's what I remember anyway - it was outlined some two-three years ago I think. I'm sure there's a link to the regulations somewhere - there used to be, at least.
-Tor
I wanted to use US postal first class since the order was small and inexpensive.
DigiKey told me it would have to ship UPS or Fedex Ground because lithium batteries were prohibited in any possible plane shipments.
Seems a bit ridiculous. The shipping would be over $8 (more than twice the price of the 4 batteries)!
Excerpt from USPS "Publication 52 - Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail" pertaining to lithium batteries.
349.22 Mailable Class 9 Materials
349.221 Primary Lithium (Nonrechargeable) Cells and Batteries
For domestic mailings only, small consumer-type primary lithium cells or batteries (lithium metal or lithium alloy) like those used to power cameras and flashlights are mailable domestically under the following conditions. See 622 or IMM 136 when mailing batteries internationally or to APO, FPO, or DPO destinations.
General.
The following restrictions apply to the mailability of all primary lithium (nonrechargeable) cells and batteries:
Each cell must contain no more than 1.0 gram (g) of lithium content per cell.
Each battery must contain no more than 2.0 g aggregate lithium content per battery.
Each cell or battery must meet the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, part III, and subsection 38.3 as referenced in DOT’s hazardous materials regulation at 49 CFR 171.7.
All outer packages must have a complete delivery and return address.
Installed in Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of primary cells or batteries properly installed in the equipment they operate:
The batteries installed in the equipment must be protected from damage and short circuit.
The equipment must be equipped with an effective means of preventing it from being turned on or activated.
The equipment must be cushioned to prevent movement or damage and be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail.
The mailpiece must not exceed 11 pounds.
Mailed With Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of primary cells or batteries shipped with (but not installed in) the device or equipment being mailed:
The shipment cannot contain more batteries than the number needed to operate the device.
The primary lithium cells and batteries must be packaged separately and cushioned to prevent movement or damage.
The shipment must be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail.
The outside of the package must be marked on the address side “Package Contains Primary Lithium Batteries.”
The mailpiece must not exceed 11 pounds.
Mailed Without Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of primary cells or batteries without equipment (individual batteries):
The primary lithium cells and batteries must be mailed in “the originally sealed packaging.”
The sealed packages of batteries must be separated and cushioned to prevent short circuit, movement, or damage.
The shipment must be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail.
They may only be sent via surface transportation.
The outside of the package must be marked on the address side “Surface Mail Only, Primary Lithium Batteries—Forbidden for Transportation Aboard Passenger Aircraft.”
The mailpiece must not exceed 5 pounds.
349.222 Secondary Lithium-ion (Rechargeable) Cells and Batteries
For domestic mailings only, small consumer-type lithium-ion cells and batteries like those used to power cell phones and laptop computers are mailable domestically under the following conditions. See 622 or IMM 136 when mailing batteries internationally or to and from APO, FPO, or DPO destinations.
General.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailability of all secondary (rechargeable) lithium-ion cells and batteries:
The lithium content must not exceed 20 Wh (Watt-hour rating) per cell.
The total aggregate lithium content must not exceed 100 Wh per battery.
Each cell or battery must meet the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, part III, and subsection 38.3 as referenced in DOT’s hazardous materials regulation at 49 CFR 171.7.
The mailpiece must not contain more than three batteries.
All outer packages must have a complete delivery and return address.
Installed in Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of secondary cells or batteries properly installed in equipment they operate:
The batteries installed in the equipment must be protected from damage and short circuit.
The equipment must be equipped with an effective means of preventing it from being turned on or activated.
The equipment must be cushioned to prevent movement or damage and be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail. The shipment must be mailed in a strong outer package.
Mailed With Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of secondary cells or batteries shipped with (but not installed in) the device or equipment being mailed:
The shipment cannot contain more batteries than the number needed to operate the device up to three batteries.
The secondary lithium cells and batteries must be packaged separately and cushioned to prevent movement or damage.
The shipment must be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail.
The outside of the package must be marked on the address side “Package Contains Lithium-ion Batteries (no lithium metal).”
Mailed Without Equipment.
The following additional restrictions apply to the mailing of secondary cells or batteries without equipment (individual batteries):
The secondary lithium cells and batteries must be mailed in “the originally sealed packaging”, and the package may contain no more than three batteries.
The sealed packages of batteries must be separated and cushioned to prevent short circuit, movement, or damage.
The shipment must be contained in a strong enough sealed package to prevent crushing of the package or exposure of the contents during normal handling in the mail.
The outside of the package must be marked on the address side “Package Contains Lithium-ion Batteries (no lithium metal).”
Have you a link to that publication?
Here is a similar item frm Mouser Coin Cell Battery 3V 120mAh and they specifically say "Available in USA only. Must ship UPS or FedEx Ground."
Edit - I found a direct link http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub52/pub52c3_024.htm pertaining to lithium batteries.
Here is the Class 9 specific section:
http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_024.htm
Here is the Publication 52 table of contents:
http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/welcome.htm
Be aware their navigation within the document is not entirely obvious, you have to use the "buttons" at the top of each page.
Thanks - I found it before I saw your response.
I'll bet DigiKey, Mouser, etc decided not to bother with keeping up with the restrictions and just require ground shipping...
EDIT: I sent a Sales Inquiry email to DigiKey with the first link. I hope they respond.
Odd, since USPS Publication 52 is dated May, 2012. Shipping regulations are complex to be sure. I worked in the industrial coatings business for over 20 years, you wouldn't believe how much trouble it is to send 5 gallons of flammable paint by air.
On tose dedicated power system you can easy diasemble the cel to be in range to fly.
The individual pices do'nt interact to each other and are wel isolated
In case of trouble you can manage one cel, you can't manage a lot !
In no time you get udge temp, fire => explosion
On the one hand, my impression is that geometrically small lithium batteries with built-in pressure relief schemes are likely safe. While larger ones may be a general hazard. Pressure relief schemes might be a valve or might the physical shape of the unit, or even soft packaging.
On the other hand, there really isn't a consistent approach to handling these on an international basis. While one post office might ban all, in another country anything goes.
For example, I ordered an after market lithium battery pack for my Toshiba NB250. I had to go through a big list of retailers to find one that would actually [a] accept my US credit card for Taiwan delivery and ship to Taiwan.
The results were that I ordered from a Dutch firm. The product originated from Singapore, was shipped to Switzerland, then to Hong Kong, and finally Taiwan. I am pretty sure airplanes were involve. And some of this may have been via postal serivices, while other legs may have been a logistics company. But that is the state of the modern world.
My guess is that their may be a separate standard for lithium batteries shipped by air when the airplane is a dedicated freighter without passengers... thus I can get the batteries shipped to me with some delay.
But the question of putting them on a passenger flight remains in debate about the size, about where is safest, and how to identify hazards. The variations are endless, people that do the inspections are likely to not be qualified to make any sort of technical judgement. So it is all a lottery of sorts unless you can get an airline to commit to accepting your particular device with some sort of 'pre-flight clearance' when you book for travel.
I guess all airports should just have a special 'battery certification' window that would attach a clearance to your boarding pass. And of course, they would love to add a fee for this service.