EV Fire Blanket Demonstration

And that's why I'd never carry a torch in my EV.

Don't folks on your side of the pond refer to what we call a "flashlight", as a "torch"?

I always keep at least one in every vehicle.

I think Lyn is on your side of the pond (about 700 miles SE of you if memory serves). But we in the UK call them (flashlights) torches.

Oops! Thanks. I was obviously thinking of someone else...

The ability of that blanket to withstand the heat is truly impressive, but I'd have to see what it looks like after cleaning before I'd want to try using it again.

I do NOT know the chemistry involved, but I suspect that the salesman is wrong when he says the batteries make their own oxygen. Unless I'm mistaken, if that were true, the blanket would not extinguish the fire. At the temperatures he described, not only the lithium, but the metal of the car itself would burn in the presence of excess oxygen.

What else can the blanket do, other than exclude atmospheric oxygen?

I have to agree, I think the blanket traps the heat, and cuts off the oxygen...the high temp fire blankets I've seen are layered fiberglass coated with vermiculite, although there are other variations...These blankets start at about $1k...every parking lot garage and car lot should have these on hand....

https://www.newtex.com/npm/fabrics/coating-options/zetexplus-vermiculite

Smaller ones for personal use just $10

The cathode is lithium oxide which can break down with excessive heat, according to some sources.

https://theloadstar.com/lithium-battery-fires-require-different-firefighting-techniques-says-safety-oem/#:~:text=Thanks%20to%20their%20chemical%20makeup,flames%20with%20water%20or%20foam.

It seems to me that trapping the heat plays a big part in extinguishing the fire, it looks to me like this raises the temperature of the fire accelerating the chemical reaction which then starves for oxygen, although the chemical reaction taking place may be releasing some oxygen it's not enough to sustain the fire at an accelerated rate...and after a brief flareup the flames die down and the temperature cools...at least that's my take

As I understood the narrator, the blanket shouldn't be used more than once since the fire reduces its future ability to resist fires.

Also, when they removed the blanket, there was still a fire in the car (albeit a smaller one). I suspect the flammable materials like the seats, carpet, etc were extinguished but others like the batteries and maybe even metals like magnesium (not sure if the car has that metal) would not be easily extinguished.

regards,

Vulcan

(While I fast-tracked the video) I would think that weighting the perimeter of the blanket would improve it's ability to seal with the ground.

I was surprised how well the paint and side glass stood up to the heat prior to deploying the blanket. Interesting post - thankyou.

It's already like 50lbs, adding more weight might be a problem...

It shouldn't be a problem to add some weights to the edges after the blanket is in place. The weights should have rounded corners to avoid tearing the blanket, but flat bottoms so they don't roll.

As vehicle ranges increase, the amount of energy stored in the batteries, which drives the fires, will increase, worsening the problem.

I don't understand how the blanket blocking the heat will cool the fire, (although it may save other vehicles nearby), but it would block off the circulation of air, depriving the fire of some oxygen.

The battery composition is Lithium metal oxide. The "metal" usually is Cobalt. So yes, it does contain Oxygen that can be released.

I had watched the video a couple of days ago. While I think it demonstrated the blanket's capabilities nicely, I commented that the deployment could've been better.

The persons deploying the blanket need to be upwind of the fire so that they won't have to contend with the smoke and heat. They should also keep the blanket between themselves and the fire so they won't have to bear the heat during deployment.

Not everyone who uses the blanket is going to be a fireman with full gear.

regards,

Vulcan

They could put round eyelets on the corners with optional wire ropes that can clip into the holes, in case the fire is too hot to approach for somebody not properly suited up...maybe some clip on weights for the trailing corners....maybe a smaller version of these blankets could be placed above the battery packs from the factory...We need some experimentation...

need to be upwind of the fire

I disagree. Depending on wind speed, the blanket will want to precede you to the fire if you are upwind; plus, dragging the blanket over the fire will make tears more likely. If you are downwind, the wind will help the blanket sail above the fire until you lower it and let the wind push it down onto the fire. Being in the smoke plume is definitely a concern though.

What about if you had a rolling framework that supported the fire blanket from above with wires and pulley's...this could be deployed quickly by one person...just roll the framework over the car and drop the blanket down to smother the flames....

...smaller than this, but you get the idea....that way, weighing down the edges would not be an issue....