Changes To IATA's Regulatons For Shipping Lithium Batteries On 1st Jan 2014

[don ferrette]

This looks to have MAJOR impact on our FE world as far as getting packs. I have a feeling this will equate to long waits and big price increases. This is a bulletin from Borderlinx......

As of the 1st of January, 2014, the regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will change regarding lithium batteries.

From that date onwards, some lithium batteries or combinations of batteries will be considered "dangerous goods" and cannot be shipped .
To avoid disappointment and inconvenience, be sure to check your product specifications carefully against the restrictions summarised below before you purchase . This information will also be published as an FAQ on our website.


LITHIUM BATTERIES

IMPORTANT! As you may know, there is a risk of certain lithium batteries catching fire. New regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in effect as of 1st January 2014 restrict the shipment of certain specific types of lithium batteries, which are considered "dangerous goods" - which we do not handle. Although not all lithium batteries are affected by these regulations, be sure to check your product specifications carefully against the restrictions below.

In general, lithium ion batteries with laptops, cameras, mobile phones and similar products will be limited to one battery in the product and one spare battery. But don't rely on that rule of thumb; it's important to check the specifics of the battery or batteries you want to ship - before you purchase the product.


NEW IATA RESTRICTIONS FROM 1.1.2014:
The restrictions are based on the "Wh" value. "Wh" means Watt hours.

The following batteries cannot be shipped:
LITHIUM ION BATTERIES with
•over 2.7 Wh and less than 100 Wh per battery and more than two batteries per box, OR
•over 2.7 Wh and less than 100 Wh per battery and more than 8 cells per package.

LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES with
•over 0.3g lithium and less than 1g lithium per battery and more than two batteries per box, OR
•over 0.3g lithium and less than 1g lithium per battery and no more than 8 cells per box.




HOW TO CALCULATE WH VALUE

mAh = milliamps
V = volts

mAh/1000 x V = WH

[Flying Scotsman]

Interesting, but it does not state Lithium-Polymer as a restricted item which is odd, as I am led to believe that Lithium-Ion is a safer technology?

Douggie

[danielplace1962]

Why would over 100 W be ok ? It doesn't necessarily say it is ok but why over 2.7 wh and less than 100 wh leads you to believe over 100 wh is ok. ?????

Theres a reason why they said all lithium batteries are not affected.

Lithium Polymer(LiPo) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFe) are neither a Lithium -Ion nor are they a Lithium Metal battery.

[don ferrette]

Why would over 100 W be ok ? It doesn't necessarily say it is ok but why over 2.7 wh and less than 100 wh leads you to believe over 100 wh is ok. ?????

Theres a reason why they said all lithium batteries are not affected.

Lithium Polymer(LiPo) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFe) are neither a Lithium -Ion nor are they a Lithium Metal battery.

Those regs were what got passed on to me so who knows. I talked to a friend last night who up until recently worked for FedEx and dealt with international shipping, he said that lithium ion and lithium polymer got grouped in the same class. I also found that stated by UPS as well, here is a cut and paste from first page of their .pdf file called shipping_batteries.pdf (the entire .pdf file is too big to upload here)-

About Shipping Lithium Batteries by Air Service
There are two kinds of lithium batteries, both of which contain
very high levels of energy, usually in small cases:
• Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are rechargeable.
This type of battery includes those referred to as lithium
polymer (Li-Po) batteries. Sometimes, these are also
called secondary lithium batteries.
• Lithium metal batteries, which are non-rechargeable.
These are also sometimes called primary lithium batteries.
Because lithium batteries are designed to provide high levels of power,
the electrical energy in these batteries is significant, meaning that
such batteries can sometimes generate a great amount of heat if short
circuited. In addition, the chemical contents of these batteries may
catch fire if damaged, or improperly designed or assembled. For these
reasons, there are safety regulations controlling the shipment of these
types of batteries. Shippers must conform to the applicable sections of
the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations and/or international regulations
such as the International Air Transport Association’s Dangerous
Goods Regulations.

[MarkF]

I don't know what all of the new rules are going to be but my supplier says my cost will go up and they have to use thicker cardboard boxes. Other than that I don't see any problems getting all of the sizes I carry shipped to me.

Mark

[danielplace1962]

I build LiPo and LiFe packs.

The price almost doubled on the cells because of new restrictions. I had to pay for 4 separate shipments just to get them. Which to me seems senseless since surely they are all coming on the same plane anyhow.

They arrived packaged like I have never seen before. Each individual cell had it's own box and was wrapped in bubble wrap and protected by foam also.

The shipping cost as much as the cells did. I was barely breaking even before with them buy the time I buy all the connectors and the heavy duty heat shrink I use on my packs now. I will surely be selling these packs at a loss because no one is going to want to pay more than what they paid last time. Once these are gone I am finished. I never would have even ordered the cells if I hadn't promised the packs to so many people.

[tlandauer]

I build LiPo and LiFe packs.

The price almost doubled on the cells because of new restrictions. I had to pay for 4 separate shipments just to get them. Which to me seems senseless since surely they are all coming on the same plane anyhow.

They arrived packaged like I have never seen before. Each individual cell had it's own box and was wrapped in bubble wrap and protected by foam also.

The shipping cost as much as the cells did. I was barely breaking even before with them buy the time I buy all the connectors and the heavy duty heat shrink I use on my packs now. I will surely be selling these packs at a loss because no one is going to want to pay more than what they paid last time. Once these are gone I am finished. I never would have even ordered the cells if I hadn't promised the packs to so many people.

Sorry to hear that. That's depressing: as if Lipos weren't expensive already as is!

[olwarbirds]

As if we dont spend more on lipos than what we should have too already.....its going too get back to where running nitro is going to be less expensive and to me thats just ludicrous....DJ

[siberianhusky]

The last month I've been seriously looking at gas boat stuff, before I spend any more on batteries.
This coming summer may be my last running electric, when my current batteries are done for I may be selling off the fleet to fund a couple gas setups.
I can buy a 26cc Zenoah in Canada for 30$ more than the cost of 2 Grimracer 2s 40C packs at the LHS, at 5$ a gallon for gas I'm not sure how I can lose!
I ran nitro for a few decades, the rising cost of fuel and high end motors in Canada drove me to electric, now the rising cost of batteries may be pushing me into gas setups.
Oh well don't care it's all fun, as long as I have something to play with I really don't care what powers it. On the plus side the smell of Klotz in the morning reminds me of kart and mx racing from years gone by.