Battery shipment

[B Scott]

Hi Guys,
I just bought some batteries in the US and had them sent to my Mom so she could ship them on to me in Europe. Sadly the rules have now changed and they won't accept li-po batteries without a dangerous good surcharge. So it will cost me $150 to send them.
Because they are 6300 mAh that brings the cell capacity to >20Ah per cell, even though they are less than 100Ah.
Now we know why Yuneec labels its batteries 5400mAh. That brings it under the 20Ah/cell.

Am I screwed or does someone have a suggestion?

 

[PatR]

You may well be screwed unless there is a price break for shipping them as a "ground" shipment. They would be a long time getting there, if they ever did. Even here, any shipment of li-po batteries is supposed to be labeled ORM-D, or otherwise regulated materials, with an additional fee tacked on for being a semi hazardous. Some freight carriers will not touch them at all, even if labeled for ground shipment.

We sometimes read how someone managed to ship batteries without having to pay extra when they concealed what was being shipped. We never read anything from those where their subterfuge was discovered.

 

[ArnhemAnt]

We sometimes read how someone managed to ship batteries without having to pay extra when they concealed what was being shipped. We never read anything from those where their subterfuge was discovered.

I'm pretty sure many other items have been shipped in the same manner.

I would presume a correctly packed Li-Po, in storage charged rate should be quite safe. If the sender ensured the terminal connections were covered (maybe with tape) and they were packed in bubble wrap and then in boxes, then they would be a lot safer than some other items sent through the postal system.

B Scott - if the total capacity is too high, what about sending them in two individual packages?

 

[PatR]

I'm pretty sure many other items have been shipped in the same manner.

I would presume a correctly packed Li-Po, in storage charged rate should be quite safe. If the sender ensured the terminal connections were covered (maybe with tape) and they were packed in bubble wrap and then in boxes, then they would be a lot safer than some other items sent through the postal system.

B Scott - if the total capacity is too high, what about sending them in two individual packages?

About 2 years ago one Chinese manufacturer was deliberately applying a second wrapper over the original on their high capacity batteries showing a lower rating to conceal what they were shipping. Yuneec does it differently by only putting one incorrect label on a battery, leaving room to say, oops, sorry, we made mistake and will fix. Plausible deniability, the under pinning of corporations everywhere.

As for being shipped in a proper charge state, Samsung effectively demonstrated that even the best intents won't make a li-po safe. Making that worse is most li-po batteries are manufactured in China, and the would knows what China businesses put first. Profit comes before everything and anything that can be shaved or short cut for more profit wins out.

 

[ArnhemAnt]

I've had a few 'crappy' LiPo's over the years that start to go puffy and I dispatch them at the rifle range. In saying that, I set em up and shoot them. These are all at storage charge (3.85v per cell) and I have never seen one go up in flames - just a lot of smoke that you don't want to breathe in. A fully charged LiPo will go up in flames - no doubt.
With that in mind, a LiPo, shipped at storage charge, at worst case will cause a lot of smoke (and some heat), but you need a fair bit of bad luck for this to happen when shipping them.