Lithium batteries air travel/freight safety regulations?

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dontpanic42

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Topic # 88278 12-Aug-2011 17:57

OK, so there is a product I want to order from Australia that has a Lithium-Ion battery
http://www.todae.com.au/Products/phonesolarchargers/voltaicampsolarcharger/
however the online retailer can't air freight it to NZ due to safety restrictions with Lithium batteries and air freight. I understand that.

However, what are the actual regulations surrounding this issue?

Surely heaps of people pack their laptops into their check-in baggage which ends up in the luggage hold. And everyone has their phone on them while in the cabin, so I'm just a bit confused about these regulations.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making flying as safe as possibly, but just curious about the seemingly ambiguous nature of this rule.

Actually, come to think of it, when I ordered my Kindle (which has a Lithium-Polymer battery), it got here pretty quickly which means it would've had to have been air freighted.

I'm sure there are valid reasons, just curious to know if anyone knows the exact details.

Thanks in advance for any input!!

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Reply # 505663 12-Aug-2011 17:59

That sounds quite bs, I have ordered many Lithium Ion batteries from overseas.

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nickb800

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Reply # 505671 12-Aug-2011 18:05

Yep, sounds bs, heaps of electronics with lithium batteries are air freighted around the world. Its quite possibly against the actual regulations, but its clear that noone follows them.

As an aside: looks like a nifty product, the only thing that would concern me is the black fabric - if the sun is out, the black material would absorb heat and heat up the device inside that you are charging.

freitasm

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Reply # 505672 12-Aug-2011 18:06

Try going to a post shop and sending a laptop - they won't accept or make a big fuss. Or if you try sending a mobile phone they ask if the battery was removed.

And yet you see stuff with non-removable battery flying around - iPad, iPhone, Kindle, most Android tablets.

It's actually a mess...

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lokhor

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Reply # 505675 12-Aug-2011 18:07

That device actually looks really bad ass. is it available on ebay?

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dontpanic42

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Reply # 505677 12-Aug-2011 18:08

lokhor: That sounds quite bs, I have ordered many Lithium Ion batteries from overseas.

And that's the thing. I ordered a spare cell phone battery off eBay which ended up being sent from Hong Kong, and which got here relatively quickly, so must've been air freighted.

It seems a bit hit 'n 'miss to me.

Surely the likes of http://www.mobicity.co.nz/, which I'm pretty sure drop-ship from Australia, would use air-freight.

Have I just been fobbed off? :-(

Hmmm....

dontpanic42

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Reply # 505679 12-Aug-2011 18:15

lokhor: That device actually looks really bad as*. is it available on ebay?

Bad as* indeed. :-)

Sadly no. And the Australian site seems to be the cheapest way of obtaining it.

They have another product which is essentially the same guts, but just in a "backpack add-on" configuration.
http://www.todae.com.au/Products/phonesolarchargers/voltaicfusesolarcharger/
Actually trying to decide which one would be of better use to me. But it doesn't matter if I can't get it shipped to me in the first place.

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Reply # 505682 12-Aug-2011 18:16

freitasm: Try going to a post shop and sending a laptop - they won't accept or make a big fuss. Or if you try sending a mobile phone they ask if the battery was removed.

I couriered a laptop from Wellington to Pukekohe last week in it's original packaging, via a Post Shop. The outer shell box even had a huge big lithium battery caution sticker on the outside but with that carefully put on the counter side of the box the guy behind the counter was none the wiser and nothing was said :-)

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Reply # 505687 12-Aug-2011 18:23

Lucky you. The lady in Jville ALWAYS asks what's inside, and plainly refused to accept a HP laptop that was in its original box...

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dontpanic42

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Reply # 505689 12-Aug-2011 18:28

Here's the question:
How do they transport laptops to retail stores around the country?
I have the box for an HP laptop purchased about 6 months ago. It plainly has a "Flyway" courier ticket on the side of the box. Now, I know that "Flyway" doesn't necessarily mean it was flown, but it's likely right?

GeekGuy

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Reply # 505693 12-Aug-2011 18:46

I bought 2 Android phones a couple of weeks ago online in Oz ... one was sent with no problems with DHL by Unique Mobiles and the other was sent by a family member minus the battery through Australia Post.

http://auspost.com.au/personal/dangerous-goods-personal.html

Australia Post inspects most packages at the Post Office before they are sent and sometimes at there Mail Centres before they are sent overseas.
I dont think they do that for parcels being sent around Australia.

nigelj

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Reply # 505700 12-Aug-2011 19:05

dontpanic42: OK, so there is a product I want to order from Australia that has a Lithium-Ion battery
http://www.todae.com.au/Products/phonesolarchargers/voltaicampsolarcharger/
however the online retailer can't air freight it to NZ due to safety restrictions with Lithium batteries and air freight. I understand that.

However, what are the actual regulations surrounding this issue?

Surely heaps of people pack their laptops into their check-in baggage which ends up in the luggage hold. And everyone has their phone on them while in the cabin, so I'm just a bit confused about these regulations.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making flying as safe as possibly, but just curious about the seemingly ambiguous nature of this rule.

Actually, come to think of it, when I ordered my Kindle (which has a Lithium-Polymer battery), it got here pretty quickly which means it would've had to have been air freighted.

I'm sure there are valid reasons, just curious to know if anyone knows the exact details.

Thanks in advance for any input!!

Australia Post had Lithium-Ion batteries restricted when I lived there in 2010, as I recall it's actually (Australian) Federal Aviation rules.

Also see http://auspost.com.au/personal/dangerous-goods-personal.html.

Can't blame them for complying with fairly strict/important law. Civil aviation law likely has exemptions for people that are flying with laptops, they wouldn't be able to get away with making the restrictions that tight.

dontpanic42

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Reply # 505704 12-Aug-2011 19:08

I guess it might be time to see if any US/EU online retailers that have this product can ship it to me.

Thanks for your help guys.

blakamin

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Reply # 505708 12-Aug-2011 19:16

dontpanic42: Here's the question:
How do they transport laptops to retail stores around the country?
I have the box for an HP laptop purchased about 6 months ago. It plainly has a "Flyway" courier ticket on the side of the box. Now, I know that "Flyway" doesn't necessarily mean it was flown, but it's likely right?

Trucks.. lots and lots of them, all night - every night.

And Fliway are computer transport specialists from what it says on some of their units.

http://www.fliway.co.nz/

GeekGuy

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Reply # 505712 12-Aug-2011 19:21

dontpanic42: I guess it might be time to see if any US/EU online retailers that have this product can ship it to me.

Thanks for your help guys.

You can always see if they can send it by DHL from Australia.

dontpanic42

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Reply # 505721 12-Aug-2011 19:49

blakamin:
dontpanic42: Here's the question:
How do they transport laptops to retail stores around the country?
I have the box for an HP laptop purchased about 6 months ago. It plainly has a "Flyway" courier ticket on the side of the box. Now, I know that "Flyway" doesn't necessarily mean it was flown, but it's likely right?

Trucks.. lots and lots of them, all night - every night.

And Fliway are computer transport specialists from what it says on some of their units.

http://www.fliway.co.nz/

That's what I assumed too.

GeekGuy: You can always see if they can send it by DHL from Australia.

That was actually going to be my next port of call. I will see if they are open to the idea.

As a comparison, here's an excerpt from the Mobicity.co.nz delivery/shipping info page:
http://www.mobicity.co.nz/extras/delivery.html

Normal Delivery Schedule

- 1 days handling time.
- Overnight from our Hong Kong warehouse into Sydney International.
- Additional day to Auckland and Wellington through Fedex (www.fedex.com/nz).
- NZ regional deliveries usually take 2 to 7 days through UPS (www.ups.com).
- Packages containing smaller items (e.g. SIM cards and accessories) are sent using Express and Regular Post and usually take 7 to 10 business days to deliver.

So it's obvious that Hong Kong don't have any issues sending Lithium batteries.
Would it be likely that they are sending the phones without the batteries, and then putting a battery in when it reaches AUS/NZ? Do Mobicity even have an NZ presence? Apart from having a .co.nz, and an NZ phone number?

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