Hoverboards, how dangerous are they? - General

[video=youtube;NL58ZSeXz-s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL58ZSeXz-s[/video] Gotta love our ignorant overreactions.

I don't get what he's trying to say with this video He's saying explaining how dangerous these things are because of how badly made the are, but then blaming everything on the consumers When he talks about the ban in the UK, he makes it sound like we're overreacting & then explains that they are outright illegal because they break our safety standards I agree with him when it comes to the injuries caused by people falling off them, but I don't think the fact that they burst into flames is an overreaction

[QUOTE=axemunger;49351828]I don't get what he's trying to say with this video He's saying explaining how dangerous these things are because of how badly made the are, but then blaming everything on the consumers When he talks about the ban in the UK, he makes it sound like we're overreacting & then explains that they are outright illegal because they break our safety standards I agree with him when it comes to the injuries caused by people falling off them, but I don't think the fact that they burst into flames is an overreaction[/QUOTE] He was explaining why Lithium Ion batteries burn, not how badly they are made. The same can happen with any phone or laptop. And he explained how the ban in the UK was because of the plug, nothing more.

Why do people keep calling them hoverboards? Seriously, what's the point of that? They're goofy little mini-segways. It doesn't hover, and neither are you.

Hoverboards are shit anyways, they don't even hover.

[QUOTE=axemunger;49351828]I don't get what he's trying to say with this video He's saying explaining how dangerous these things are because of how badly made the are, but then blaming everything on the consumers When he talks about the ban in the UK, he makes it sound like we're overreacting & then explains that they are outright illegal because they break our safety standards I agree with him when it comes to the injuries caused by people falling off them, but I don't think the fact that they burst into flames is an overreaction[/QUOTE] I don't think he's trying to say they're badly made, he's just trying to say that they're not any more dangerous than other products like laptops or skateboards

I got a 49 year old hoverbike in my garage. My grandfather used it when he defended the border during WW2. It's amasing!

[QUOTE=N.A.N.B;49352009]Why do people keep calling them hoverboards? Seriously, what's the point of that? They're goofy little mini-segways. It doesn't hover, and neither are you.[/QUOTE] Probably the name picked by the company to create hype

[QUOTE=N.A.N.B;49352009]Why do people keep calling them hoverboards? Seriously, what's the point of that? They're goofy little mini-segways. It doesn't hover, and neither are you.[/QUOTE] its not even a board!

it's thunderf00t btw so take it with a grain of salt. Regardless these things are stupid and make you look like a douche

[QUOTE=axemunger;49351828] When he talks about the ban in the UK, he makes it sound like we're overreacting & then explains that they are outright illegal because they break our safety standards[/QUOTE] Even showed footage about them being banned on pavements, which has nothing to do with them being hoover boards or the recent concerns.

[QUOTE=redBadger;49353230]it's thunderf00t btw so take it with a grain of salt. Regardless these things are stupid and make you look like a douche[/QUOTE] Outside of inflammatory feminism videos thunderf00t is usually pretty informative. He's not my favorite but it's not like he's spreading misinformation.

How many of you have actually riden a hoverboard? Sure they may make you look like a douche, but they are fun as fuck to ride and it makes you feel like your gliding (hence the name hoverboard), and imo that kinda overrides the sense of douchyness.

I don't understand why people think calling them hoverboards is dumb, who honestly gives a shit.

[QUOTE=Supacasey;49353816]I don't understand why people think calling them hoverboards is dumb, who honestly gives a shit.[/QUOTE] Well it's false advertising for one, and it creates false hype.

The last bit of the video made the most sense, if people act like retards on them, its not the products fault, if you don't know how to use them or have momentum or balance...YOU ARE GOING TO FALL OFF, just like a bike.

Seems like an on point video, but the entire bit about them catching fire made it seem like he thought it was no worry. Although if it catches fire just from being charged, then I would be pretty worried.

I've always found it really annoying the way this guy sounds.

Here in the Netherlands they are forbidden on public roads. So you can only use them on private property.

[QUOTE=Thlis;49351933]And he explained how the ban in the UK was because of the plug, nothing more.[/QUOTE] That was the recall though. The "ban" which isnt even a ban, is for using them on public roads/walkways, bikes can not be ridden on walkways here and as such have to go on the road. My assumtion is given the low amount of control you have on one of these compared to a bike they decided not to allow them on roads either [editline]20th December 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Tinter;49355002]Seems like an on point video, but the entire bit about them catching fire made it seem like he thought it was no worry. Although if it catches fire just from being charged, then I would be pretty worried.[/QUOTE] I think his point is more, there are no more chances of this catching fire as there are a dodgy chineese laptop or mobile phone

[QUOTE=Richy19;49355277] I think his point is more, there are no more chances of this catching fire as there are a dodgy chineese laptop or mobile phone[/QUOTE] Which he bases just on it being the same battery? My laptop doesn't catch on fire just from charging, but someone in the video say that one of their boards did.

[QUOTE=SpaceDiggle;49354733]Well it's false advertising for one, and it creates false hype.[/QUOTE] Because the name of something has to be a literal description of what it does and this sort of thing has never been done before right [t]http://www.littletikes.com/content/ebiz/shop/invt/612060/612060_cozy-coupe-30th-anniversary-edition_xalt5.jpg[/t] "cozy coupe"

[QUOTE=Tinter;49355326]Which he bases just on it being the same battery? My laptop doesn't catch on fire just from charging, but someone in the video say that one of their boards did.[/QUOTE] Yours may not, doesnt mean that none of the "what ever laptop you have" laptops wont. Also, from what I see a lot of these hoverboards are some chinesse clones

[QUOTE=Dirf;49353478]Outside of inflammatory feminism videos thunderf00t is usually pretty informative. He's not my favorite but it's not like he's spreading misinformation.[/QUOTE] I don't like how he sounds like the Bond villain from Skyfall

if I had to guess, it's probably people running down the whole battery, immediately charging it, then immediately using it once it's fully charged. For these kind of batteries isn't there supposed to be a period of delay to let the damn thing cool off? At least that's what I remember from when I used to be into RC shit that used the same battery type.

[QUOTE=Richy19;49355277]That was the recall though. The "ban" which isnt even a ban, is for using them on public roads/walkways, bikes can not be ridden on walkways here and as such have to go on the road. My assumtion is given the low amount of control you have on one of these compared to a bike they decided not to allow them on roads either[/QUOTE] These were "banned" before they were even made. You plain and simply cannot ride a motorized vehicle on public roads unless: it's been registered (and has passed safety standards, which these things don't even come close to), it has been taxed, MOT'd, insured, and has a license plate. The only exception is electric bikes, but those are special because you also power them by pedalling. Yes I know, I'm still salty from when I was a kid and I was given an electric scooter by my parents and I found I couldn't ride it anywhere >:( As for these things exploding, I'm not surprised. They're made by so many different unnamed companies in China who literally do not care about customers and care even less about the safety standards and laws of your country. L-ion and Li-Po batteries have only two modes: working or catastrophically failing. The fumes they give off when they explode are incredibly toxic, not to mention the fact that they can burn your entire house down. So, reputable companies invest in making the batteries safe, and we see very few phones and laptops exploding. If these safety features are not present in the device, or the user doesn't respect the danger of these batteries, then someone's house is going to burn down, or at the very least be made inhabitable due to the toxic fumes in the event they do explode. If there was a reliable company making these, I wouldn't be opposed to them. But the fact that any unreliable company all the way in China can bung a load of electronics in a board and sell it is troubling, especially given that the users are commonly unaware of the dangers of the battery technology used. If you do have one of these, only charge it outside or in the garage. Don't do it overnight, and if you absolutely must charge it inside, make sure there's a smoke detector in the room you're charging it in. Source: many hours of research and stories told by fellow electric model aircraft pilots [editline]20th December 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=General J;49355525]if I had to guess, it's probably people running down the whole battery, immediately charging it, then immediately using it once it's fully charged. For these kind of batteries isn't there supposed to be a period of delay to let the damn thing cool off? At least that's what I remember from when I used to be into RC shit that used the same battery type.[/QUOTE] Yep, the device shouldn't let you charge it if it's too warm. Any reliable charger will simply refuse to charge it until the temperature has lowered. I doubt these things have such a feature

I was at the local hobby shop yesterday and noticed the entire stock of hoverboards had been re-labeled with stickers stating "Charger does not turn off automatically, do not charge unattended or for more then 90minutes". If you know about lithium battery chemistry you know that you cant trickle charge these things, who in their right mind thought this would be a good idea?! A lithium charging circuit costs literally pennies to make, why skimp on something so important? Yeah so it won't blow or puff up after the first dozen charges, but do you really expect the average consumer to guesstimate when the battery is at 4.2v per cell? Hell I can't even do that because there is no voltage reading on the thing, what about cell balancing? Lipo batteries NEED a lipo charger, it's only a matter of time before these things start popping in mass numbers from the cell abuse.

Seems to me that if a real company made these things like Mattel or some shit they'd probably be safe. But I looked into buying one and they're all from no-name unknown Chinese companies overseas and look cheap as fuck. So that's probably why they're fire hazards. I bet your ass that if Apple made hoverboards they'd have voltage shut-offs, fuses in the wall outlets and all kinds of other safety features. But because it's China they don't care, have no particular obligation to install them and are too cheap to add them. They want to sell you the cheapest board possible and if they can save money on fuses and shut-offs or high quality batteries I'm sure they would.

[QUOTE=redBadger;49353230]it's thunderf00t btw so take it with a grain of salt. Regardless these things are stupid and make you look like a douche[/QUOTE] Getting one next summer for fun. Are you one of those people that refuse using something fun because it's either too popular, or because a small portion of the userbase act like dicks? What about the device itself? It's fun as hell, why should I not use it?

[QUOTE=redBadger;49353230]it's thunderf00t btw so take it with a grain of salt. [/QUOTE] Why with a grain of salt? He's a very knowledgeable chemist. You not like him for his criticisms of religion or sexist feminism?