tesla_exp

Hey Guys, how do you all ship ebikes or ebike batteries overseas by air / by sea ? I've talked to FedEx, they can't do it.

2old

Bikes shouldn't be a problem, but AFAIK, unless the rules have changed, batteries must be coordinated through a HAZMAT office. I wanted to ship a battery several years ago, but the only company I could locate that would certify the battery was too far away to make the transfer feasible. There is (was) a huge fine for shipping a battery "larger" than 100 whr by air or 300 whr by land without certification.

tesla_exp

thanks for your reply. it's really a pain in the axx to get the battery shipped overseas. so complicated and should be quite expensive after all.

Rick_D

In case it's relevant to your situation, here's a link to the FAA rules for passenger planes--both checked and carry-on.
https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/fi..._batteries.pdf

Relevant bit: With airline approval, devices can contain larger lithium ion batteries (101-160 watt hours per battery), but spares of this size are limited to two batteries in carry-on baggage only. This size covers the largest aftermarket extended-life laptop batteries and most lithium ion batteries for professional-grade audio/visual equipment.

This seems to be where the 160W auxiliary batteries available for some bikes, come from.

In sum, entire bikes seem tricky!

veganbikes

I would recommend selling your battery here in the U.S. and then getting another battery in the country you move to. You will have to go by sea generally if you want to send the whole thing but it is still a lot of work.

I am glad you got FedEx to say they couldn't help you (not because I don't want you to ship), they once said to me "we can ship that" and I had to tell them you actually can't it is a hazmat and he was confused and I explained it to him and still never got that battery solved from them and DHL was an even worse nightmare. Shipping batteries is an absolute nightmare. I was hazmat certified by FedEx and UPS and still have issues shipping batteries luckily we convinced Specialized and Bosch to stop needing to take batteries back and now with Call2Recycle I could just put them in a box (assuming not thermal) and they had a label on it and would take it and take care of it safely.

Doc_Wui

You must be in a bike shop. Would you take batteries from individuals to be picked up by Call2Recycle? Would they have to be in typical battery enclosures? Would you take these?

veganbikes

A battery like that less than likely. They are working on taking more batteries but unknown stuff not likely. Stuff that has gone thermal goes into basically kitty litter inside of a sealed drum and they have a way to ship it. That would probably end up in one of those more than likely as I wouldn't trust a homemade battery from someone I didn't know not to burn down the place. It may not and it could be totally fine but it is a risk that could have at my old shop cost us millions and a lot of jobs.

tesla_exp

wantted to bring my Brompton ebike from Singapore back to the US. spoke with a few ebike shops in singapore.
Finally, one shop got back to me and told me that they had successfully shipped batteries by air in the past. Tey explained I would need quite a number of documents from the manufacturer. without their assistance, I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. they also listed down the required docs on their website: https://jimove.sg/blogs/news/can-i-b...ravel-overseas

veganbikes

The end of that link is the smartest move:
Shipping an ebike battery by air can be a complex and costly process. It may be simpler and more cost-effective to inquire with your ebike manufacturer if there is a local ebike shop in the destination country where you can purchase a replacement battery, rather than shipping your original battery.

I know it would suck but shipping hazmats is less fun.

tesla_exp

You are right buddy. I tried to get all the docs from Brompton (UN38.3 report etc + other docs listed in the link), no one got back to me . I'm actually thinking of selling off my current Brompton, and get another one after I get back to the states.

Dockhead

You could sell just the battery and buy a new one when you arrive.