{"id":1599,"date":"2019-01-12T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=1599"},"modified":"2019-01-11T10:11:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T15:11:06","slug":"a-reader-asks-can-you-take-your-electric-assisted-bicycle-with-you-on-a-train-or-a-plane-in-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/12\/a-reader-asks-can-you-take-your-electric-assisted-bicycle-with-you-on-a-train-or-a-plane-in-the-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"A reader asks: “Can you take your electric assisted bicycle with you on a train or a plane in the United States?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you can remove the batteries, then an e-bike is just like any other bike, and is subject to the same rules. A battery-less, totally inert e-bike can be shipped by almost any means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li-ion batteries, if damaged or defective, can cause a very serious, very energetic chemical fire. That’s why shipping Li-ion batteries require special handling and special declarations to the cargo carriers so that they\u2019ll know there’s a potentially dangerous thing inside the package. Depending on the configuration, size, weight, and energy density of your batteries, you may well have to wrap, label and ship them separately from the bike; contact the carrier you\u2019ll be using for details and regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example here are some of FedEx’s rules<\/a> for shipping Li-ion batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, although most carriers don\u2019t specify this: it\u2019s safest to ship Li-ion batteries at about a 30%-40% charge state. That’s because Li-ion batteries are inherently stressed by very high and very low charge states. Shipping (or storing) a Li-ion battery at 30-40% charge gives it enough power to keep the idle batteries alive for a long time, but not so much as to needlessly increase the risks of a short-circuit or chemical fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever you do: Be careful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Permalink: <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=1599<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Want to ask Fred a question? Have a comment? Click here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want free notification of new content like this? Click here<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you can remove the batteries, then an e-bike is just like any other bike, and is subject to the same rules. A battery-less, totally inert e-bike can be shipped by almost any means. Li-ion batteries, if damaged or defective, can cause a very serious, very energetic chemical fire. That’s why shipping Li-ion batteries require…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-e-bikes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-pN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3656,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/29\/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-li-ion-battery-to-degrade\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":0},"title":"“How long does it take for a Li-ion battery to degrade?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-10-29","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Jake Timchak) Degrade by how much? Lithium-ion batteries are \u201cconsumables\u201d that inevitably get used up, even just sitting on the shelf. Li-ion batteries actually start degrading (very slowly) the moment they\u2019re assembled at the factory. Each discharge\/recharge cycle then accelerates the irreversible chemical changes in the battery,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4917,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/06\/is-it-safe-to-leave-a-lithium-ion-device-in-an-air-conditioned-room-whose-ac-temperature-is-set-at-around-20-degrees-c\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":1},"title":"“Is it safe to leave a lithium-ion device in an air-conditioned room whose AC temperature is set at around 20 degrees C?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-06","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Evan Zanark) Sure. In fact, one of the oddities of lithium-ion cells and batteries is that they work best at the same temperatures where humans work best: Room temperature --- 20C\/68F --- is great for both humans and Li-ion! But once you get up to around 40C\/104F,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/W20150813-TS-BatteryFromTop.png?fit=410%2C403&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4771,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/why-are-battery-arrays-often-made-with-cylindrical-batteries-rather-than-square-prisms-so-they-could-pack-even-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":2},"title":"“Why are battery arrays often made with cylindrical batteries rather than square prisms so they could pack even better?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-04-15","format":false,"excerpt":"The working guts of Li-ion batteries start as flat sheets. For many heavier-duty and general purpose applications, these sheets are rolled into cylinders because a cylindrical battery can be safer than a flat one: Stacked cylinders allow spaces between them, which can be used to keep hard-working batteries safely cool\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/18650-batteries.jpg?fit=241%2C256&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2980,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/21\/update-on-lithium-ion-fire-suppression-in-small-devices\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":3},"title":"Update on Lithium-ion fire suppression in small devices","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-06-21","format":false,"excerpt":"After reading \"What is the fastest and safest method for putting out a lithium-ion battery fire?\", frequent correspondent \"App\" wrote: According to the FAA, water is not a last resort\u2026it\u2019s your first choice, because you don\u2019t only want to put the fire out, you want to cool it, too. So\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader Comment"","block_context":{"text":"Reader Comment","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/reader-comment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/20190621_103107.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3551,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/08\/is-there-any-way-to-revive-an-over-discharged-li-ion-18650-battery\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":4},"title":"“Is there any way to revive an over-discharged Li-Ion 18650 battery?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-10-08","format":false,"excerpt":"Not a good idea. The protective circuitry (in the Li-ion battery or in the device that the battery powers) is designed to prevent dangerous over- and undercharging, which can cause the battery to overheat and catch fire. (Remember all those hoverboard fires a couple years ago? That's what you get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/18650-batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2960,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/20\/what-is-the-fastest-and-safest-method-for-putting-out-a-lithium-ion-battery-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":1599,"position":5},"title":"“What is the fastest and safest method for putting out a lithium-ion battery fire?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-06-20","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Richard Janezic) LI-ion batteries are considered Class B (flammable liquids\/gases) fire hazards (info). LI-ion fires are ferocious, and the gases are nasty. If there's a fire, unplug the device (if plugged in), call the fire department, and then use an ABC- or BC-rated fire extinguisher (info) to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/YuKF8XfCVKQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1599"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1660,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599\/revisions\/1660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}