US product safety commission Issues stop use and dispose of order for Unit Pack Power batteries.

[AAjax]

CPSC Warns Consumers to Stop Using Unit Pack Power (UPP) E-bike Batteries Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Risk of Serious Injury and Death

CPSC Warns Consumers to Stop Using Unit Pack Power (UPP) E-bike Batteries Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Risk of Serious Injury and Death

www.cpsc.gov

Well I guess I might of seen this coming, of course UPP is offering no repair/replace of refund.

Glad I still have my Em3ev battery to fall back on.

 

[gromike]

That's just for the triangular battery pack. I do have one of their rectangular batteries on one of my bikes. I guess it's time to spray paint over the UPP .

 

[neptronix]

I think the USA govt is playing 'single out the big Chinese vendor' and i'm not surprised the one they chose to make an example of is the one that cares about safety the least ( they sell batteries without balancing circuits? really? ).

Anyway i'm not surprised!

 

[amberwolf]

Funny that it's only for the reasonably-well-packaged triangle packs, since I'd bet the many different shrinkwrap packs they make are more likely to be the cause of serious failures, partly because of the construction method itself, and partly because the cheaper packs with such problems are more likley to be in this format.

 

[neptronix]

BTW em3ev and ebikes.ca are both working on UL certification as we speak.
Don't know the status of other battery vendors.

Nobody could get UPP to listen to advice about safety over the years. Karma's a bitch.

 

[amberwolf]

they sell batteries without balancing circuits? really? )

BTW, this part wouldn't be too much of an issue if they were made of quality well-matched cells used well-within their limits, so they are never being pushed hard. But...most of the packs (of any brand) people have discussed here that don't have balancers *also* have crappy cells that certainly aren't matched, in packs spec'd at or perhaps beyond what the cells are really capable of.

Assuming a functional BMS to shutdown at LVC / HVC, not having balancers isn't really a safety issue, just a pack longevity one, because the greater the imbalance the less available capacity and performance there is.

I think the USA govt is playing 'single out the big Chinese vendor' and i'm not surprised the one they chose to make an example of is the one that cares about safety the least (

IIRC, the UK started this, and other places are simply following along.

Unit pack power banned in the UK - Louis Rossman

Ref: OPSS takes enforcement action over dangerous e-bike battery The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is taking enforcement action and warning consumers about a brand of e-bike battery – UPP – that has been linked to a number of fires across England. Four online marketplaces have...

endless-sphere.com

 

[gromike]

The proof of UPP quality would be a documented disassembly of one. I have one, but it's getting 50+ miles on a DD hub motor. I would hate to destroy a perfectly functioning battery, and will wait for significant battery degradation. I treat my in-use batteries as living things, so I'm not too worried about a thermal runaway.

 

[imgonnawreckthisthing]

That's just for the triangular battery pack. I do have one of their rectangular batteries on one of my bikes. I guess it's time to spray paint over the UPP .

your house fire, unless you live in an apt building, and if so, ill quote mr wet noodle, …dont

 

[gromike]

With care you can reduce your risk.

 

[999zip999]

The old battery woes. My 2 year old bicycle motor works custom 72 volt 24 ah 1,200 use battery is a joke. Lucky when I send it back he put a Bluetooth BMS on it. And now it cuts out so I had to put a different bluetooth app only to find two cells very low.
So they can convince you they're going to put real authentic Samsung sales in but I think there are counterfeit. And never worked right.
So money and brand name cells doesn't mean a good pack with genuine cells.
What do you do with a pack this size to recycle ? As with a big upp pack ?

 

[docw009]

Not here to defend UPP. That U004/U005 was a safety hazard with its glued cell construction. If you read the Amazon reviews, a common complaint was the weight ripping off the frame straps on the battery bag, You drop a battery that heavy, it's bound to catch on fire later.

But someone asked about their other batteries. This is a Halilobng 48V10AH I purchased in 2021. I might have opend it anyway, but I had to do so the frist day I used it. The BMS harness was not fully plugged in, and the battery would shut off on bumps, I did correct that.. So here's the insides.

1. The cells are in a plastic form. Paper washers added over the positive ends of each cell. Spot welds appear to be done by hand. I suspect the metal forms are nickel plated steel, rather than pure nickel.



2. The cells are generic Chinese 2500 mah. FST-18650-2500. Google them and they are 10A cells, and sell for $1,50 each on alibaba, UPP surely gets them for less.



3. View of the battery, The cell assembly was not shrink wrapped, but this Hailong-2 case is so tight, I think there isn't room. Picture is blurry, sorry.



This particular battery was purchased August 2021. Still in use on my bafang front drive bike. It's rated 48V10AH. Two static tests where I discharged it from 54.6V to 40V @3 amps gave 10,6AH and 10,3AH, which seemed high. It got about 8.3AH out of it running the battery flat while riding.