Hey all!
I’m looking to add an extra battery to my arsenal, but this would be one that I can fly with. The 12s4p battery I have now is obv not flight approved (or so I’m aware), and if I’m not mistaken, the TSA guidelines are somewhere within 100 to 150 mh. They’re somewhat vague on the TSA website, saying “over 100mh is allowed, but you can only have two separate battery packs in your carry-on.” and that it’s per airline policy.
Anyone have any experience to share with that?
Under 99wh is fine. over 100 but less than 140 has to be approved by airlines. I work at an airport, there are no limits on cells under 99wh. I decided to make a 12s4p with nese modules. I can remove the bus bars and carry on (6) seperate 98wh packs legally.
i’ll spare @soflo from posting it again
here are the FAA regs for lithium batteries in the United States
https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/resources/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf
below 100 whr you can carry as many as you want “for personal use” as carry on.
Technically you can carry a giant box of li-ion with you as long as they aren’t connected to form larger cells above 100 whr.
I haven’t bother with anything above 100, subjected to airline approval feels like a toss up and even with approval you are only limited to 2.
I personally carry four of these when traveling internationally (Boston -> HK -> Taipei)
I get stopped at every checkpoint but clear within 5-10 min
I carry a print out of the fat guidelines and whr calculation.
Its best to get in touch with the airline first to clarify, just to make sure they’re okay with it. Wrap the ends in electrical tape and transport them in a fireproof bag.
where ya goin and with which airline? try to get a written email with the whole “i Hereby declare that” etc etc
Well that doesn’t seem too difficult. I normally use one XT90 connector that’s split one end to the battery, two ends to the vesc’s. To use two lipos, I’d use another XT90 adapter? The design would be something like this with the XT90s int the middle? [lipos]=-=[vescs]?
My normal 12s4p battery is approx 500whr, and I know 200 would be a significant decrease in top end power and range, but a travel kit would be nice…
These lipos are likely able to push more than 18650. 4.5A at 40C = 180A.
Range will probably be decreased for sure. 4.5Ah vs 12Ah(3Ah * 4)
How do you charge on the road? 4 packs with a small hobby charger will be a pain. Bigger hobby charger with external psu is a pain. Bms with bulk charger balances so slowly…
I use a big hobby charger.
Once you get used to lipo charger
Once you get used to charging at high ampage with ability to balance all the cells with every charge, its hard to go back.
I ride with a backpack, its actually not that bad to carry.
