How safe are hoverboards?
Aside from the natural concerns of balancing and falling off, there are much more serious concerns. Specifically: “How do I understand that the product will not explode, melt, or catch fire when I’m charging it?”
Indeed, there have been several mishaps of late, related to the charging mechanism in these hoverboards. To understand why, it assists to have some background knowledge of the product.
There are over 20 factories in China that make these things. Some are reputable, and some are not. When you buy off of eBay, Amazon, or Alibaba, you are likely buying from a re-seller who imports them. Possibly they purchase a quality item, or possibly they purchase from the lowest bidder to make more revenue on the turnaround. To puts it simply, it’s a gamble. When somebody purchases a new product from Amazon, the last thing on their mind is burning the kitchen area down, but it is worth thinking about. In fact, it has actually occurred to a minimum of 2 individuals in the UK within the last 6 months. So, the primary step is to buy from a credible source that does not use inexpensive electronic devices on the interior, especially the batteries and charging system.
Hoverboards are powered by the most recent generation of Lithium-Polimer, or “Li-Po” rechargeable batteries.
For those brand-new to Li-Po batteries, they are different from previous battery technologies because they maintain an almost full charge right up till they are practically totally depleted, and after that they are empty nearly instantly. They produce a lot of power, and are prone to thermal runaway (meltdown) when overly diminished, so in addition to purchasing a quality item, we have a few more words of caution we wish to show you.
First, because of this steep drop-off in power when the battery gets low, it is important to stop riding the board when the battery alarm begins. Although you can continue to ride it due to the consistent voltage, doing so might reduce your long term battery life. If you continue to diminish the battery for simply a minute or more longer, you can actually force it to a point from which it can not recover, and it will no longer accept a charge at all. In this case, the battery is prone to obtain really hot and possibly damage other internal elements. So, the ethical of the story is: stop riding when the low battery alarm (constant beeping) begins.
Secondly, unlike other type of batteries, it is not recommended to keep a li-po battery with a full charge, as this will also lower the long term battery life. Fortunately here is that our engineers have currently thought of this, and our chargers utilize a basic red-light/green-light charging system. When the battery charger turns green, the battery is efficiently charged for security, battery life, and an enough battery period. The word of care here is that you need to unplug the charger when it turns green so that you do not continue to charge your board. Doing so COULD, yep, you got it, lower the battery life. There is circuitry in place to prevent this, but it is constantly a great practice to unplug a li-po battery whenever it is not charging, in case that circuitry fails. Use the protection as a backup, not as your going-in strategy.
So it’s easy: Purchase from a dealer who understands the significance of strong electronic devices, and set a 3 hour timer. Unplug the battery charger when your timer goes off or the light turns green.
These are two simple actions you can take to guarantee the longevity of your brand-new hoverboard for saleand keep your family safe in the process!
