[Elecraft] Transporting Lithium Batteries

Fred Jensen k6dgw at foothill.net
Wed Mar 12 18:11:54 EDT 2014


I have a 4S1P LiFePO4 [A123] pack.  I quote from the label:

"Unregulated for purposes of transportation by the US Department of 
Transportation (DOT), and not subject to OSHA Hazard Communication 
Requirement.  Approved by TSA for carry-on baggage.  Contains less than 
8 grams equivalent lithium content per pack."

I believe mine is between 3 and 4 Ah capacity.  I know it will run my K2 
on CW at 5W nearly forever it seems.  I've taken it on two flights with 
my K2 in one of Rose's cases as carry-on, in neither case did TSA look 
inside the canvas case although they spent a lot of time on me and the 
braces on my legs.  FWIW, mine has a short pigtail terminated in APP's. 
  The balancing cable is shorter and terminates in a small in-line plug.

I do know that LiFePO4 chemistry is considerably more stable than 
Li-Poly, I had a small Li-Poly catch fire while [externally!!] powering 
my KX1, and the fact sheet that came with it specifically said I could 
not fly with it or mail it.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

On 3/12/2014 10:51 AM, Alan Jump wrote:

> LiFePO4 (A123) packs didn't get discussed in my training because they were
> too new at the time, so we didn't sell them or anything that used them.
>
> Your 10Ah battery would have a 3 gram equivalent under the formula I was
> given, so you could put two in your carry-on.




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