Thread: EV general discussion

Originally Posted by Tins

For those who are uncertain, the following is a video:

I looks like a picture JT Chatting about Demolitions training this morning at an airport pick up. For a really really big bang and many peoples NIGHTMARE H.E. may be the way to go



The following is a fact or may appear to be (or not) just googled the question "do petrol or evs catch fire more"

Response was

“Petrol and diesel cars are at least 20 times more likely to catch fire than EVs. In Australia, we’ve had a very small number of battery fires from road-registered electric cars since 2010 and in the majority of cases, there has been a significant external factor, such as arson or a high speed crash.
EV fire myths busted: Do they actually present a greater fire risk? - …



www.drive.com.au/news/do-electric-cars-actually-present-a-greater-fire-risk-tha…






Do we all have a fire extinguisher in our Landrovers?

I don't consider the EV issue being the 'Cause of the Fire', but more the 'Extinguishing and By-products Control of the Fire'.

Let's face it, any vehicle with electrics, regardless of propulsion methods, has a chance of self immolation. I mean, how many of the reported, ICE related fires were caused by the ICE itself?

A significant number result from petrol leaks onto hot exhausts, but they start from a wide variety of triggers, and involve a wide variety of parts.

To give a couple of examples of somewhat unusual ones;-

Some time in the 1950s, probably in 1952 or 1953, my father had a fire start in his 1931 Swift, while making hard going up Bulli Pass, started by oil sweating out of the plywood of the tool box at the rear of the engine compartment, and dripping onto the exhaust. He extinguished it by slapping with a rag dipped in the radiator.

In 1989, commuting into Melbourne along the Maroondah Hwy early one morning, I stopped at lights, and immediately became aware of smoke coming from the engine. Pulling to the roadside I opened the bonnet and found the under bonnet insulation of the almost new Ford Laser company car was smouldering. I was able to pull out the burning section and discard it in the gutter. There was no signs of any reason for the ignition, and after investigation by the fleet manager and Ford, the only sensible explanation seems to be that a burning cigarette thrown out a window had been picked up and sucked against the insulation by the airflow, but dropped as this slowed as I stopped at the lights. I was very surprised, as I thought that stuff was supposed not to burn.

I often see statistics that put forward that ICE cars are more prone to ignition than EVs but have never got an answer about the assumptions.
1 The ICE carpark is on average 12 years old according to a source that I have forgotten. How old is the EV carpark. I would guess about 3 years.
2 The relative sizes of the carpark. AFAIR the ICE carpark is about 12 million. The EV carpark is what 50000? and all very young.
3 What is the age profile of ICE cars that catch fire? I don't think there are stats anywhere on this but common sense suggests that old under maintained ICE would be more likely to catch fire. I certainly believe this is so for trucks from personal experience of seeing old garbage carrying trucks catch fire on the Hawkesbury climb.
So IMHO the stats purporting that ICE cars catch fire more often are BS. I reckon nobody actually knows the situation like for like age, adjustments for car park size etc.
Regards PhilipA

Until the data is normalised you cannot compare accurately.

Either way, a battery fire is far more volatile when it comes to controlling it. Plenty of methods to control fuel fires. Not so easy on Lithium burns.

Regardless, the EV machine keeps marching on.


And @navy diver….
I no longer carry an extinguisher in my LR - I’ll literally just walk away and let it go. Insurance can sort the rest.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

A significant number result from petrol leaks onto hot exhausts, but they start from a wide variety of triggers, and involve a wide variety of parts.

I almost had a serious fire in rather unusual circumstances.

One morning in the 1980s, I tried to start my 1969 Crown, but the battery was flat.

When I lifted the bonnet, i found that my windscreen washer bottle had burnt to the waterline.

The fire had been started by a large bundle of wires that ran down the inside part of the mudguard in the engine bay.

Constant slight movement had rubbed through the outer layer of tape and then through the insulation on a couple of wires which shorted out some time after I had parked the car.

I had to replace a section of the wires in that bundle and obviously the washer bottle.

I am convinced that if the bottle hadn't been at least half full, the amount of burning plastic bottle might have been enough to cause a lot more damage.

What is almost never mentioned is according to insurance statistics, a goodly proportion of ICE fires are actually arson or suspected arson. Let's wait a few years and see if the EV's catch up with that metric!

Not quite an EV but along the lines of the conversation here.l

In the UK insurance companies are ‘advising’ policy holders that they are not to store rechargeable vehicles inside the house or garden sheds due to the number of fires and deaths resulting from fires while charging

Now I doubt these vehicles which I suppose are bicycles are covered by the same regulations as cars so probably not like for like

A while ago there was a spate of a particular brand of mobile phone bursting into flames while charging. When the baying mob had died down and what had happened was investigated was found they were all using non branded chargers that looked good but were not to spec