Lithium batteries - new USA flights rule

Thanks for sharing that Ben… It’s isane what they come up with! I agree that safety should be first, but this??? I really wonder what’s next!

does this affect lithium ions?

As always that rule is clear as mud. “Two loose” batteries in a plastic bag. I don’t understand what they’re saying about lithiums that remain in factory packaging. Does anybody understand that? Are those “loose”?

Here’s some official info, which surely clarifies everything ;-)

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html

My son works in video, specifically traveling reality TV, they usually travel with upwards of 20 Anton Bauer Hytron 140’s, as well as CASES of litium 9 volts and AA’s for their audio gear, this could pose serious problems for them. Needless to say this might also effect me as I travel with upwards of 40 AA lithiums to power my portable strobes. Anybody traveling after the 1st of the year, please keep us posted about what happens at the airport.

i’m wondering about the whole logic of this thing… you can’t have them coz the fire extinguishing systems in place cant control them, but if you pack them in thin plastic which is highly combustible, you can have 2 spare ones, so if you have a PC and a video camera you’ll end up with 4, in a plane of a couple of hundred people there might be hundreds if not close to a thousand batteries… so what difference does it make? and plus they don’t say anything about having them in your other check in luggage… do they have different, more powerful fire extinguishing systems there?

a plane burns down, they can’t rule anything out so they come up with lithium battery rules which don’t make much sense…

it doesn’t affect me, but i can’t wait until they come up with something insane that will affect me and i’ll be really pissed off… and i can definitely see that day coming within my lifetime.

Ok, so let me get this straight.

I usually travel with 2 1D3 batteries (1 in camera 1 spare) and 5 BP-511’s (for 20D) 2 in camera, 3 spare.

Am I now only permitted to carry the 3 in camera batteries and 2 spare???

relax, it means you can’t put the batteries in your CHECKED luggage, but you can bring them on-board in your CARRY-ON luggage which you place above you or under the seat in front of you.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm

Discussion of this on boingboing:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/28/tsas-new-forbidden-i.html#comments

There seems to be some differentiation between primary lithium and lithium-ion (like camera) batteries. Can’t tell what the difference is, though.

Choice quote:

The problem is that Lithium is the lightest metal. Now, let’s assume everyone on the plane just took all the lithium they wanted onto the plane. Then it only takes one person who is an alchemist to turn all this lithium into gold. Now as you all know from observation, gold is much heavier. The new weight would make flying impossible and the plane would crash.

You know, to bureaucrats there’s nothing in the world funnier than watching non-bureaucrats trying to make heads or tails of bureaucratic regulations. What’s even funnier than that is watching non-bureaucrats trying to figure out what the point of a given regulation is, so let me set you straight: there is no point, that’s the point. To some of you this will seem contradictory, so much so that what I say can be discounted as my usual nonsense or shrugged off with a brief what the hell does he know? If you want to do that, that’s fine by me, but remember, I told you what the point of it all was. Before dealing with the Code of Federal Regulations, which codifies all of those new regs, I advise you read Catch-22 and remember the admonition of one citizen of Northern Ireland who, when asked about the situation in his province, noted that if you werent totally fucking confused, you didnt understand the situation.

Sincerely,

Akaky, amateur photographer,
professional civil servant

akay, bro you totaly rock! you made me laugh pretty hard… hehehe

It isn’t quite so clear. The government websites maintain that you can carry spare lithium batteries with you in your carry-on luggage. However, they don’t say how many. Meanwhile, the AP site claims there is a limit of two (not plugged into a device) in carry-on luggage.

it looks like you can bring as many as you like, just have them installed in the device and anything that isn’t installed must be in a plastic bag (ie zip-lock… and what photog isn’t traveling with extra zip-lock bags?). This doesn’t look like a big issue. Just no loose (ie not in a zip lock bag or uninstalled) batteries in the checked bags. If there is a question about what kind of batteries, why not put them all in a zip lock bag… makes more sense then having them roll around a case, right? so what’s the moaning for?

Clarification on the Amounts/Types Permitted

From SafeTravel.dot.gov (http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html):

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:

* Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold. * You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below. * For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery. * Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!

Here are two more articles on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Lithium-Batteries-Travel.html

http://gizmodo.com/338676/rumor-smashed-the-faa-isnt-banning-laptop-batteries

Gizmodo says the ban is only on Lithium batteries, not Lithium-Ion batteries which are used in cameras:

The Associate Press just reported that the FAA is now banning all Lithium batteries, meaning you can’t travel with extra batteries for your laptop or digital camera. Outrage of outrages! The problem is, they’re wrong. The FAA is now banning Lithium Metal batteries; the Lithium Ions that power a good chunk of your gadget collection is still A-OK as long as you take them on board in your carry-on and not in checked luggage. You probably don’t have many big, non-rechargeable Li-Metal batteries kicking around, and if you do I doubt you’re all that worried about traveling with them. Now that that’s settled, let’s move on with our lives, shall we?

I wonder about why this applies to the LiON batteries only. This past summer, I took off my press pass which has a metal chain. To make a long story short, it bridged the terminals on my EN4 Nikon batteries and just fused itself together, and nearly started a fire. I’m not sure why DHS is only looking at the LiON and not other battery technologies. Maybe it’s all tied to the Sony battery scare.

I still can’t get that burnt scent out of my Domke F2.

More clarification from the DOT:

Quote

Common consumer electronics such as digital cameras, cell phones, and most notebook computers are still allowed in carry-on and checked luggage. Moreover, any number of spare batteries for these devices will be allowed in carry-on baggage if they are properly protected from short circuiting and do not exceed 8 grams (_{100 watt hours) of equivalent lithium content. All lithium-ion cell phone and standard notebook computer batteries are below 8 grams (}100 watt hours) of equivalent lithium content. Batteries not installed in electronic devices are not permitted in checked baggage.

End quote

From:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-9206-9211

A true paradux isn’t it?

FYI people,
I found this out from Canon today about their batteries:

Canon EOS-1D Mark III (LP-E4)
11.1v 2300mAh
25.53 watt-hours
2.0424 grams lithium content

Canon 40D/5D (BP-511A)
7.4v 1390mAh
10.286 watt-hours
0.82288 grams lithium content

Aaron, anything on the 5D batteries, BG-E4?

it’d be helpful to hear from photographers who’ve traveled since the DOT directive was published as to their experience with the TSA if any as to their spare batteries in their camera bags etc.

thanks.

they did not say, but from what i would guess, the BGE4 is just a holder for 2 BP-511A batteries

Aaron, good call. I’m still learning all the Canon lingo since switching a few months back…

I should be fine then; one BP-511A in my 5D, two in plastic bags with electrical tape over the metal parts, all in my carry-on.