Nissan Leaf battery pack being blamed for possibly causing the death of 2 sailors

[LeafNissan1]

I been involved with boats since retiring from my business in 1979 and moving aboard my 37 foot cruising sailboat. Since that time I've cruised and worked extensively on my own boat and also worked with a friend for 5 years who was building for himself a 112 foot steel hull/aluminum super structure DeFever motor yacht, on which I installed most all of the AC and DC electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems.

I still follow the boating world, though I'm no longer active, and last week I ran across the story of a husband and wife cruising couple that were washed up on Sable Island in their inflatable boat after leaving on a trans-Atlantic cruise from Nova Scotia . It turned out they had switched out the diesel auxiliary engine on their Gib'sea 42 foot sailboat and installed solar panels and a Nissan Leaf battery pack. I assume that they also installed some sort of an electric motor for propulsion of the boat, but this has not been made clear. Update: I've learned they had installed an electric motor for auxiliary propulsion, being powered by the Leaf battery pack.

This couple seemed to be capable seasoned cruisers judging from their YouTube channel Theros Adventures.

This YouTube video by a person outlining possible causes of what appeared to be a catastrophic failure onboard, necessitating a hasty abandonment of the sailboat, has led to speculation that a fire was caused by the Leaf battery. Looking at the comments at the bottom of this video most of them are blaming the Leaf battery as the culprit.

I believe that even though this possibility can not be ruled-out at this time, that there are as many other as likely scenarios that could be the cause of having to abandon the sailboat.

Here is a link to a print story:https://uk.news.yahoo.com/british-woman-her-husband-found-084200023.html

 

[Chad E. Mo]

That's a sad outcome for such a gallant venture.

The video narrator makes valid points about the risks of using any kind of battery system, including a Leaf pack, whether reclaimed or new. If it did come from a Leaf, that is not the most significant aspect of the retrofit to electric from diesel.

 

[knightmb]

While I feel for their loss, we really have no information about the water craft, like what happened to it? While they may have been great sailors, I suspect their knowledge of electronics and chemistry was lacking by choosing an EV battery designed for a car and using it in a boat surrounded by sea water 24/7. If I was going to power my boat with a used EV battery, I would would want to make sure it had no hidden external damage, LeafSpy for weak cells, etc. But before even using it at sea, I would encase the battery in a secondary shell that was truly water proof. I sure hope they just didn't throw the battery pack as is down into the bottom of their boat and not expect anything bad to happen.

 

[MikeinPA]

Sailboat conversions are likely to be 100 volt or less. So these would be Leaf modules, bolted together and charged via solar and hopefully a backup generator.

 

[BillAinCT]

How many Leafs produced ever had battery fires, even those in an accident? Under a percent I'm willing to guess. How many Leaf batteries have been used in boat conversions and what is the failure rate there? Looks to me like the conversion was at fault and the Leaf battery is the scapegoat.

 

[Kenny]

No documented fires of Leaf batteries AFAIK except for the one at the plant in Tennessee while they were DC charging it. Leaf battery track record in this regards is unsurpassed. Most likely some home made adaptation that went horribly wrong and cost them their lives.

 

[LeafNissan1]

How many Leafs produced ever had battery fires, even those in an accident? Under a percent I'm willing to guess. How many Leaf batteries have been used in boat conversions and what is the failure rate there? Looks to me like the conversion was at fault and the Leaf battery is the scapegoat.

I'd say that there is a very good chance that neither the Leaf battery, nor the conversion were at fault. Too many other scenarios are possible.

Most of those people that are focusing in on the possibility of a battery fire as the cause of whatever happened in this case are those that have heard in the news how dangerous lithium batteries are in general, and we all know better or we wouldn't be Leaf owners. I haven't heard of any problems to speak of with Leaf battery fires.

 

[BillAinCT]

Just the one mentioned above and IIRC @knightmb posted pictures of the aftermath.

 

[nlspace]

There may be a few more to find:

 

[WetEV]

There may be a few more to find:

Not a battery fire. Look carefully at the picture.

 

[knightmb]

There may be a few more to find:

Reminds me of the Simpson's episode where after driving around in an Electric Truck, it rolls off the cliff and crashes into a valley below exploding, but with no sound. Homer says "Wow, electric vehicles even explode quietly"

And some other Simpsons funny stuff:

 

[nlspace]

Oh really? Maybe gasoline fire?

 

[goldbrick]

Saying the fire was caused by the Leaf battery is like saying some other boat fire was caused by the gasoline or diesel in a fuel tank. The battery certainly supplied the fuel for the fire but in and of itself it was not the 'cause' of the fire unless something unique happened to that battery.

 

[MikeinPA]

Oh really? Maybe gasoline fire?

View attachment 4799

The driver of the silver Leaf has reported elsewhere on this, saying smoke started pouring out from below the center console. Opinion is it was an electrical fire of the normal kind. From the driver:

I just found out about this posting. This was my 2013 Nissan Leaf and I have no idea what happened. I was driving to work in the morning and had just turned left onto Cross Timbers from Garden Ridge Boulevard. As I turned onto Cross Timbers I noticed a funny burning smell so I started to make my way from the far left lane to the right lane to find a place to pull over. Before I made it to the next light my car began gushing smoke from the front console just blow the dash. I then started to see actual fire coming through the plastic as I was trying to go to the curb for my safety and others on the road. I couldn’t even get the car to go into park and had to jump out as it was still rolling due to the flames flying out toward my legs. I jumped out and ran to the passenger side to grab some of my belongings (bag, wallet, etc) from the passenger seat, only had enough time to grab those things and then run from the car to call 911. I thankfully made it out without being hurt and thankfully no one else was injured. I am not a smoker, was not transporting gasoline, or anything else that could have caused the fire. I’m a nurse who was just trying to get to work and had no idea what a terrible morning was awaiting me. I’m still so freaked out by the occurrence and Nissan seemed to offer little help or concern.

https://electrek.co/2015/09/04/a-nissan-leaf-caught-fire-in-north-texas-cause-currently-unknown/

 

[nlspace]

Sure looks like a lithium battery fire to me. What else is in the car that could burn such high flames and out the bottom like that--a plastic dash? some foam or leather seats? some carpet?

 

[LeafNissan1]

Saying the fire was caused by the Leaf battery is like saying some other boat fire was caused by the gasoline or diesel in a fuel tank. The battery certainly supplied the fuel for the fire but in and of itself it was not the 'cause' of the fire unless something unique happened to that battery.

In the case of the sailboat couple, we don't know that there was any fire whatsoever, much less that there was a fire caused by the Leaf battery that was installed on the boat.

 

[nlspace]

What the raft indicates to me is that they left their nice sailboat for some reason--and in a big hurry.

Nobody would willingly leave unless there was an emergency or unsafe condition. And if you left in a hurry you might not have time to gather water or food or a radio.

So lesson learned to me is carry a starlink satellite phone in the bug out bag when sailing across the ocean.

 

[MikeinPA]

There have been one or tow other possible leaf fires, see wikipedia and this: https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/image/375971/

 

[WetEV]

Sure looks like a lithium battery fire to me. What else is in the car that could burn such high flames and out the bottom like that--a plastic dash? some foam or leather seats? some carpet?

Go look at some real pictures of lithium battery fires. Intense fire under the car. There is almost no fire under this LEAF. The intense fire is in the cabin.

How many pounds of plastic are in a car?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

There may be a few more to find:

Right after this happened, an arson investigation was launched to prove insurance fraud. But then the articles and info surrounding this event suddenly disappeared. So this is not a verified battery fire.