In Reply to: No - the information is NOT correct posted by Ken Kurtis on December 31, 2007 at 13:58:24:

Let's hope that TSA guy talking to Ken ends up being right!

Unfortunately a TSA field supervisor at an airport is not an anecdote we would recommend dive travelers rely upon when it is not the TSA but the DOT that creates and enforces, through the FAA, the Li-Ion regs. Especially in light that the new regs are newly upon on the govs website.

Hopefully the info from the Phil TSA guy to Ken ends up being right, but normally what is officially published to the public is the operative rule.

I personally thought it was rather hilarious for the DOT to think that TSA screeners would have a magical list of the lithium portion of every battery known to man. Then of course, the question arises, is that max percentage by volume or by weight?

We use large SWIT Li-Ion battery packs for our U/W HID video lights. These are the same battery packs used by broadcast video and film crews. I carry a total of 5 with me. 2 go in the u/w battery pack housing, 3 are loose. I always take care to pack them in such a way that the metal contacts cannot be bridged by another conductive element, nor with an adjacent battery.

It will be real nice if I don't have to end up peeling the label off, and making my own that says "NiMH batteries".

That is the issue with Li-Ions, they can combust under certain scenarios. The main issue will be securing them, yet that is such a subjective thing unless they are in the original retail packaging, which seems to be one of the DOT's permissible exceptions.

I know photogs often carry an in-rotation supply of Li-Ions with a recharger, and these can become loose. Ignition source potentials do need to be eliminated from planes, especially areas not accessible or in proximity to the 02 generators.

Since I have read every single conflicting derivative by the news outlets on this issue, I think till they say otherwise on their website, it would be prudent for dive travelers to employ the new DOT Li-Ion protocols when packing to avoid delays or worse, missed flights.

Dave The Publisher-

ScubaMagazine.net U/W Photo, Video, Travel & Dive Discussion Community

• Even so . . . Ken Kurtis 16:18:26 12/31/07 (2)
  • Re: Even so . . . tleemay 17:54:08 01/01/08 (1)
    • Made it Fine tleemay 12:39:33 01/03/08 (0)