To: Heywood40 who wrote (1507971 ) 12/12/2024 8:04:01 PM From: maceng2 1 RecommendationRecommended By
Read Replies (1) | Respond to EV battery packs are a problem if they catch fire, not well suited for a marine environment.Lost at Sea Sailing Couple From YouTube Dies in Life Raft - Ep 308 - Lady K Sailing @DementatDeus 1 day ago I work in R&D developing the battery packs for cars. These are absolutely not a safe product for a DIY boat build. They are so dangerous outside the protection of the car frame that we are strictly prohibited from shipping them in airplanes, have to meet a litany of special conditions to ship them in a cargo vessel, and even when shipped by truck are not allowed to ship charged above 30% or if they are damaged in ANY way. When we do have a damaged one or any needing disposed of, we discharge them in salt water, specifically 1% salinity salt water. It has to be that specific salinity because less than that can cause them to not actually fully discharge and if salinity is as high as 2% it can cause them to discharge so fast they explode. Seawater is 3.5% salinity and as little as half a liter absolutely can make a bad enough short to cause a few cells in the pack to explode. When one cell explodes it can cause the cell next to it to explode too, this is called propagation. In a car there are systems to prevent runaway propagation. Removed from a car, most of those systems are taken away. To top it off, this is a metal fire (class D) and will continue to burn hot enough to burn, yes burn not melt, fiberglass, and I've seen it melt aluminum even while submerged. I feel sorry for these folk losing their lives, but having one of these car battery packs in a boat around sea water is just showing how little they knew what they were doing. These automotive batteries are high energy systems that turn into literal bombs if put in the wrong conditions. They are not something to DIY. If you are considering going electric, do not copy their setup, it is not safe. Use lithium-iron-phosphate batteries like all the professional electric boat setups. Lithium-iron-phosphate is chosen because it is reasonably safe and stable around seawater. Do not DIY from any other lithium battery type.
