Electric cars.

Most devices such as phones now have the automatic feature of stopping charging when full.

 

Our relations in L.A. (they're still safe at the moment but have cases packed ready to do a runner) say that a lot of their friends that had, or have, electric cars (apparently there are over 400,000 EV's in the L.A. area) will not get them again.

Some of them in the burning areas couldn't get out as their batteries didn't have enough charge to be able to creep along in the tailbacks. Others who were not in the evacuation areas couldn't get through the large queues are the high power charging stations - or the low power, and some had said there appeared to be problems with their home chargers as the power was low (I don't understand that bit).

Others are now being told by their car insurance companies that they will not insure them in future and some house insurers are also saying they will not insure houses that have EV's. Sounds a bit over the top but insurers don't like to take chances.

I guess that in the not too distant future there will be a way around this.

 

You'd have thought that if they were going to catch fire they would have done so already?
I'd be tempted to haul them all to one location and deliberately set them off to remove the unknown

 

If only they made a fuel that could be dispensed in a couple of minutes, or even from a bowser if there is no power, blended with natural substances from plant material that could be carried in some sort of box or tank on a vehicle, that would take that vehicle hundreds of miles

 

Potentially, but reignition is a very real risk. Take a look at that storage facility in the US - in this fire event, it has reignited a few times. Given that this is it's fourth or fifth fire event too, locals are now (rightly) asking questions.

 

Fortunately none of our family over there have EV's but it has been an argument for a while in L.A. mainly for the cost and the insurance companies that had already backed out of insuring any risk that is possible because of EV's.

From what they tell us, a lot of people in the town do very little distance driving and the very rich people (lots of them there) who travel longer distances tend to fly.

 

It surely has to be a matter of time until we admit/realise that we've embarked down a path without thinking it through. As gets trotted out by EVangelists, they are infrequently the cause of a fire.. that is not the full point, however. Where an EV (and I presume a powerwall/home battery storage) is involved, that fire is immediately going to burn hotter and longer, with faster spread and being much, much harder to fight. The ONLY real environmental benefit from them is cleaner air in the locality where they are in use.

Luton airport - much was made of that being started by a diesel vehicle, with much deflection being made any time EV's were mentioned. The blunt truth, however, is that the fire there did involve EV's and therefore would have been exponentially hotter as a result - and that, in turn, was almost certainly why the structure collapsed as far as I am concerned.

How many incidents have to happen before we stop and think?

I am fairly sure I posted it here some time ago, but I once watched a documentary which included the scientists that were involved in the invention of lithium ion battery technology - the over-riding thing I took away from it was that by all the normal rules, the chemistry involved shouldn't exist for any length of time before it self destructs - and as a result it is incredibly unstable, so needs little invite to misbehave.

 

So, without too much effort, we have:



https://www.check-vehicle-recalls.s...e/make/PORSCHE/model/TAYCAN/year/2021/recalls



Audi e-tron Battery Recall Leads to Georgia Lawsuit



Fire reignites at California battery plant after evacuations amid toxic smoke



South Korea | Fire sparks EV safety overhaul in South Korea

 

Nearer home - Jaguar Will Buy Back Almost 3000 I-Pace EVs Due to Fire Risk

 

From what I heard from the relations, the fires created by the batteries going up have released a vast amount of very toxic smoke (much more than any other fires). They said it is in the local papers and people who had EV's have been told not to return, yet, although those who didn't have EV's on site can go back to see what they can rescue.

 

I think (speculation as I didn't ask) they were saying, that yesterday as there was almost no wind at all, that the cars were still emitting noxious fumes but that a fire might start again from what's left of the car batteries or the charging equipment in their homes.

I don't know much about that but I think @Fat Controller is likely to know more about the possibilities.

 

Not really sure - personally, I wouldn't want to be within 100yds of an unstable EV.