Lithium batteries on airplane (checked luggage)?

[veloman]

It seems that from this link, anything larger than laptop batteries are not allowed, even as checked luggage.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/aircarrier_info/media/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

Does anyone know for sure about this?

I have 400 watt hours of Bosch Fatpacks I'd like to bring on board. Any chance I could? Is it hazardous? (protected from short circuit)

 

[johnrobholmes]

How many watt hours is each pack?

 

[veloman]

I have 5 packs, at 80 watt hours each. But they are wired together in parallel.

 

[julesa]

It seems that from this link, anything larger than laptop batteries are not allowed, even as checked luggage.

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/aircarrier_info/media/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

Does anyone know for sure about this?

I have 400 watt hours of Bosch Fatpacks I'd like to bring on board. Any chance I could? Is it hazardous? (protected from short circuit)

According to your link, no single battery can exceed 100 watt hours. But you can carry as many as you like in your carry-on luggage as long as they're less than 100 wh each and protected from short circuit.

If I remember right, the fatpacks are 36 volts, 2.2 Ah. Even if they're 2.6 Ah, 36 x 2.6 = 96 watt hours, so you can carry as many as you like in your carry-on, as long as the terminals are protected from short circuit somehow. Presumably covering them in electrical tape should be good enough. Spare lithium batteries are not allowed in your checked baggage.

On the other hand, I would expect that carrying four or more tool packs partially wrapped in electrical tape should attract the attention of airport security, and I wouldn't actually expect those people to know the battery regulations or to know how to calculate watt hours from whatever information is printed on the fatpacks. You might want to think about shipping them ahead of you.

If you take them in your carry-on anyway, you might want to print out a copy of the above FAA guidelines, and proof that the fatpacks are less than 100 wh each. Any chance you have the original fatpack packaging? That would also protect them from short circuit, and help to convince the security guys that they haven't been tampered with.

 

[veloman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll just ship them instead. It's too much work to take them apart and not worth the stress of problems that will likely arise.

 

[buzzfirst]

Hi all, Just a little more info on carrying batteries and airline procedures. The FAA has a set of standards that cannot be exceeded. However the individual carrier can (and does) have rules that are MORE restrictive than the FAA. The carrier I work for will only accept one battery, contained in an approved box, per cargo hold. If they know about it. Keep in mind it is a crime for you to mislabel items or to knowingly transport hazardous materials. We cannot even carry more than one aircraft battery in the cargo hold. There may be others who are more liberal but the point is that batteries are an area of concern for aviation. Additionally you may get on one plane and be denied boarding on the next plane with batteries in your carry-on or checked luggage. Ask yourself if you want to be at 30,000 feet when your batteries catch fire in the cargo hold surrounded by other peoples perfume, booze, and hairspray.

 

[Jay64]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll just ship them instead. It's too much work to take them apart and not worth the stress of problems that will likely arise.

Probably also not worth the strip/cavity search that might follow. :lol:

As far as other carriers being stricter, where is it being shipped to? If you ship it ahead, does it have to go air, or can it go truck?