E-bike battery fires: Some tips to help buyers avoid getting burned
Fire officials say consumers should look for 'UL' certification and not modify batteries
With Toronto's fire department sounding the alarm about lithium-ion battery fires, the owners of two London-area e-bike shops say a bit of consumer education goes a long way.
From 2022 to 2024, the number of fires linked to the rechargeable batteries in Toronto jumped 162 per cent, from 29 to 76. Many of those fires are linked to e-bikes powered by lithium-ion batteries, though the batteries also power scooters and other devices.
Matt Long, who's been selling battery-powered bikes at his store E-Ride London for 15 years, said bikes bought online often don't have the same safety certifications as bikes purchased at a shop.
"The biggest thing is buying the cheaper bikes," he said. "They're cheaper for a reason. They're cheaping out on unstable lithium-ion battery cells."
Long said buyers should be looking for "UL" certification on bikes they buy, which stands for Underwriters Laboratories and indicates a safety standard recognized in the U.S. and Canada. Long said bikes at his shop are made by Canadian companies, such as Taubik, Velec and Envo, which all have UL certification.
Long said UL 2849 certification indicates that the bike's battery and electrical system have been tested. Other UL certifications are limited to the battery alone.
While he can't comment on every bike available on the market, Long said he would view with some suspicion any e-bike that's only available direct-to-consumer through an online vendor. He also recommends buyers be leery of any e-bike with a price tag in the $1,000 range or less.
"If you buy from a store, you get some support and quality batteries, and you can speak to a human if you have a problem," he said. "Most of the better companies are dealer-based and they don't ship to the customer."
Long said he'd like to see tougher regulations on bikes that are imported for sale in Canada.
Joe Haskett owns Junior's e-Bikes in St. Thomas, a store that sells e-bikes and mobility scooters powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
He agrees that cheaper, imported e-bikes and scooters are part of the battery fire problem, and says bike owners need to read and follow instructions about how to safely charge and store their battery.
"There should be no problem if they properly follow the guidelines about how to maintain a battery," he said.
Haskett said safety tips include never charging a battery that's damaged or hot from recent use, and batteries should be unplugged once charging is complete.
Haskett's store also sells special fire-proof blankets to wrap batteries when they're not in use. He said this is helpful in cases where there isn't a garage or balcony to store the bike away from flammable material such as carpets and furniture.
London fire department gets special gear
London Deputy Fire Chief Matt Hepditch said London firefighters have responded to lithium-ion battery fires, but not on the same scale as what's happening in Toronto.
"The issues that we see are perhaps people that are buying after-market batteries and not the batteries built by the actual manufacturer," said Hepditch.
It's important that batteries are not modified and are the correct batteries for the bike being used, he said.
He said lithium-ion batteries can go into a dangerous state called "thermal runaway." This happens when the battery's cells heat up and transfer that heat to adjacent cells, one after the other, until the entire battery bursts into flames. When this happens, Hepditch said the resulting fire can be difficult to extinguish.
"The fire just grows in intensity and it's not going out until the power source is drained," he said. "It's a very intense fire and it can spread very quickly."
London's fire department is testing special equipment to deal with battery fires, including sand-filled containers used to hold batteries that become overheated.
"I also know that the battery industry is making improvements to make them safer, they're working on the issue," he said.
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