New FAA law re carrying spare lithium batteries - impt

This is going to be a real pain , since many of us carry several extra batteries for our cameras, media storage, laptoips, etc.

I have no recourse other than to fly to the places I go - it simply isn't practical to drive for days on either side of a photo trip to get there and back.

New federal law
bans spare lithium batteries in checked
baggage.

Effective January 1, 2008, air travelers will be
required to keep all spare lithium batteries in
carry-on baggage, with the terminals covered.

For more details, please visit the Department of
Transportation's Safe Travel Web site at
http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html

Sandy r

Thanks Sandy. I went to the site and copied this:

Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries.

You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage

You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage – see our spare battery tips and how-to sections to find out how to pack spare batteries safely!

Even though we recommend carrying your devices with you in carry-on baggage as well, if you must bring one in checked baggage, you may check it with the batteries installed.
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!

My concern is measuring the total Li content of my various batteries. If these are in carry on bags it will also make the lines even longer and more problematic.

Air travel is getting really frustrating. Soon they will only allow spare underware and make you buy everything else after arrival. Then you have cancelled flights long delays and less than friendly airline staff (who are most likely equally frustrated).

Far too many "rules" imposed on us in the name of safety

Air travel is somthing I studiously avoid. These increasingly Byzantine rules and the absurd security practices and resulting massive delays and inconvenience keep me on the ground and behind the wheel. My last flight was pre 9/11 and I ran into a security problem even then. I am very accustomed to being self sufficient (frequent solo backpacker/climber) and responsible for myself and my actions. Part of my regular practice is being as prepared as practical for typical emergencies, etc. My emergency kit, which was a pretty complete miniature survival kit, was designed to be easily movable from backpack to weekend bag to car, etc. I always had it close by. One of the items in it, buried at the bottom of my small duffle, was a small fixed blade knife. Seems the security check decided this was a dangerous weapon (while the multi-tool on my hipbelt wasn't!) and tried to confiscate it. My only other option was to check the knife! While this 'transaction' was taking place (I was making my opinion of their opinion pretty clear), I noticed I was being surrounded by about 8 or 10 security guards. To paraphrase a certain comedian - I don't know how many guards it would have taken to subdue me, but I know how many they were going to use!

They say discretion is the better part of valor, and I decided to become compliant and checked the knife. Made the flight - to my sons graduation from Paris Island USMC boot camp. My wife still glares at me when the story is related! Remember - this was pre 9/11. The same show today would likely get me cavity searched and an unannounced and indeterminate stay at Gitmo.

I have to revisit this whole topic because (here is the good news!) I have been awarded, along with 5 hiking buddies, a permit to spend a week below the rim in the Grand Canyon in April - woohoo! This is a big first for me. We have a workaround for avoiding most of the typical airline problems: groundshipping. We have a friend who is going with us and lives near the GC, so we will ground ship most of our gear to him in the weeks before the trip.

My camera gear will travel as carry-on with me, tho, as I just hate to let it out of my sight. Can anyone offer advice in this regard based on recent experience?

Sandy - thanks for this post. This is just the type of info I can use. I carry lots of spares, especially when the nearest plug is over 10 miles and a week away! I will pack most in my ground shipped pack.

Oh, this is unbelievable!! So now we are all going to have to become battery chemistry experts!! I wonder how many TSA security people are being trained to become battery chemistry experts? (We know the answer to that!!) I am particularly concerned that most people are not going to understand the difference between lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries. In fact, the TSA web site makes the statement that lithium ion batteries are often used in laptop computers whereas primary lithium batteries are often used in cameras!! They show a picture of what appears to be a Canon BP-511 battery next to this paragraph, and in fact this battery, like all the other Canon batteries I own, is a lithium ion battery!! It would not make much difference if the restrictions weren't so much tighter for lithium metal batterues.

This is just outrageous!

Folks, it took some searching but here is additional information:
How is the "equivalent lithium content" for a lithium ion cell and battery determined?

Equivalent lithium content means, for a lithium ion cell, the product of the rated capacity, in ampere-hours of a lithium ion cell times 0.3. The total equivalent lithium content is expressed in grams (g). The equivalent lithium content of a battery equals the sum of the grams (g) of equivalent lithium content contained in the component cells of the battery.

Example: A lithium ion cell in a laptop battery pack may have a rated capacity of 2.2 ampere-hours. Applying the conversion factor of 0.3, a battery pack with 9 of these cells contains 5.94 grams of equivalent lithium content.

(2.2 x 0.3 x 9 = 5.94 grams of equivalent lithium content)

The source for this is:

http://www.prba.org/battery_basics/lithium_ion_faqs/Default.ashx

Also, http://safetravel.dot.gov/qa.html

plainly states the following:

Q. Will TSA baggage screeners allow me to carry spare batteries through the security check point at airports?
A. Yes, but the spare batteries should be protected to prevent short-circuiting.

Sandy, thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Regards and a Happy New Year to all.

Carol

Rules like this make me happy that I don't fly! I still allow myself to pack anything and everything I can stuff into the back of my truck. Of course, that also means I'll never visit Europe or Africa I guess unless I can get my truck to float.

Hey, Bill, over the Christmas holiday I met a retired mechanical engineer who was building a catamaran that has one size for hauling on the highway and expands to another size when you put it in the water. Maybe you can do that with your truck.
And I've read about mobile homes that convert to boats.
Go for it.

Carol

OK, I have an idea! Let's invent a small carry on, say 1/4 the size of a standard roll on, make it fire proof, and put a lock on it that is scanned with a device similar to a toll booth EZ Pass that locks the device. The lock will be impossible to open until it is scanned by a similar device at the end of the flight. This way we can put all our DANGEROUS stuff like tooth paste, deodorant, shaving cream, personal hygiene liquids and gels, Li Batteries, etc in it. These items will be sealed and out of harms way, inaccessible to us until we land at our destination.

Crazy? probably. But maybe not as crazy as the endless list of prohibited items that must be inspected and confiscated.

Back to Alkalines!

Ain't progress wonderful?

Since 9/11, I have suspected that it was the intent of the US Government to put the airlines out of business. Every time I hear of another one of these ploys, I am more convinced that is the intent of TSA.

Just found one more thing on TSA's website. Guess you can put them in Checked luggage...

"Under the new DOT rule, lithium batteries are allowed in checked baggage under one of the following conditions:

The batteries must be in their original containers.
The battery terminals must not exposed (for example placing tape over the ends of the batteries).
The batteries are installed in a device.
The batteries are enclosed by themselves in a plastic bag. "

Ed, you may want to see an intellectual property lawyer right away to protect this -- actually pretty good -- idea!

Gaffer tape to the rescue!

Pete D.