Shipping Lithium batteries

[BUZ]

I read something in another forum that said USPS now has rules against shipping lithium batteries (this true)? So it's not ok to ship say eight CR123's via USPS priority or first class mail?

Thought lithiums were pretty stable.

 

[Oddjob]

I do believe I read that there were some restrictions but I can't recall off hand. I think I remember something about if you were travelling you could not have loose batteries but I don't know about shipping them.
Another thread started by an Aussie pointed out that Australia is not going to be allowing them to be shipped by air mail.

 

[DM51]

Norm's thread: Australia Post bans lithium batteries

 

[BUZ]

Norm's thread: Australia Post bans lithium batteries

Thanks for the link, didn't see to much about shipping in the US though. Went onto the US postal site and man do they make it confusing.

 

[smokinbasser]

I just got 50 cr123s saturday in the mail in the US so not to worry

 

[FlashKat]

I was told by USPS that they do not ship batteries. I went to ship a battery charger and batteries to Canada, and when I filled out the description I wrote flashlight battery charger. The post office said that we can't ship batteries. I told them it's only the charger.

 

[Marduke]

The lithium content of CR123 cells (in reasonable quantities) is well below the threshold of the restrictions.

The restrictions are geared towards large non-consumer shipments and/or battery packs containing more lithium content.

Unfortunately, many clerks are not well informed as to the regulations. Ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers.

 

[BUZ]

The lithium content of CR123 cells (in reasonable quantities) is well below the threshold of the restrictions.

The restrictions are geared towards large non-consumer shipments and/or battery packs containing more lithium content.

Unfortunately, many clerks are not well informed as to the regulations. Ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers.

I have a case of surefire cr123's 400ct that I need to get rid of and was planning on selling them 10-12 at a time, so shipping say a dozen should be ok?

 

[Marduke]

I have a case of surefire cr123's 400ct that I need to get rid of and was planning on selling them 10-12 at a time, so shipping say a dozen should be ok?

I think the cutoff was around 5 lbs, and even then it only had to be marked so shipment via commercial passenger aircraft was not used.

For small cells (versus large battery packs), it may have been as high as 20 lbs. If it was 2 hours earlier I would look it up tonight, but it's late so I'll leave that as an "exercise for the reader"...

 

[BUZ]

Well after looking for quite a while it appears that USPS forbids primary batteries from being shipped via priority or first class mail. Also the packages must have special markings so they can be identified.

 

[Centropolis]

I am wondering if anyone from Canada has experience with shipping rechargeable lithium batteries to the USA. If I separate the rechargeable batteries and not leave it inside the flashlight, does that make a difference? Also, do primaries or rechargeables matter?

I recently sold a flashlight to someone in the USA and forgot to take out the 2 cr123 primaries inside the flashlight. The package took 1 week to get across the border, the stayed in the customs for 3 weeks, then I had to call Canada Post to follow up and then they released it finally.

 

[xenonk]

If I separate the rechargeable batteries and not leave it inside the flashlight, does that make a difference? Also, do primaries or rechargeables matter

I think the crux of the issue is that nobody in the shipping industry is actually following the regulations at all. The only part that sunk in was "lithium = fire" and they likely just fabricate their own interpretation.

Lithium batteries are class 9 dangerous goods (ie: miscellaneous) according to IATA regulations.

Any lithium battery that has not passed UN safety tests is automatically considered hazardous and barred from air transport. They don't come out and say it, but they strongly infer that they're talking about generic and counterfeit Chinese batteries in that subsection.

Primary cells may contain no more than 1 g of lithium each, and no more than 2 g of lithium for a pack of cells. Rechargeble cells may store no more than 20 Wh of energy, or 100 Wh for a pack. The total shipment including packaging material may weigh no more than 35 Kg and all batteries or cells must be electrically isolated from each other. Under these limits, you need only attach a battery handling label. Otherwise they must be fully labeled and handled as hazardous.

(The 2 g limit for lithium does not refer to the entire shipment, apparently. I've met many postal workers and some customs officials who believe that it does, so consider yourself warned)

The limits don't seem to take into account the relative safety of different chemistries or design at all. A docile 20 Wh LiFePO4 battery is considered more hazardous than a cheaply built 10 Wh LiCo battery.

If the batteries are safely contained in or packed with the equipment they are used in (eg: Dell shipping laptops), you don't need to declare them as dangerous goods or affix a hazard label.

I take that to mean the IATA believes that it's safer to ship some six-cell hotwire with CR123s installed than to ship the same six batteries secured in an SC2 spares carrier...

I'm convinced cocaine was involved in the drafting of these regulations.

 

[spencer]

I phoned Canada Post about this earlier this year. I'm convinced the person didn't know what she was talking about, but she said that I could mail Lithium Ion batteries by just putting them in an envelope and mailing them. I told her what I wanted and she said something about camera batteries (I think she typed Lithium Ion into something and that's the result she got). Fedex has fairly strict restrictions while UPS has fairly loose restrictions if you want to use a a courier. Phone whoever your using (Fedex, Canada Post, etc.) and ask specifically.

 

[StarHalo]

My local post office has a large banner which has an illustration of a grouping of items you're not allowed to ship; one is the image of a cell phone, labeled "Lithium Batteries".

If they don't even want us shipping a tiny cell phone battery, I'd hate to think what would happen if they found a CPFer's box of Li-Ion D cells..

 

[baterija]

USPS mailability guidelines here

To go back to the OP question it's okay to ship them if properly labeled and packaged. Shipping just the cells (without the device) requires the package be labeled "Surface Mail Only, Primary Lithium Batteries - Forbidden for Transportation Aboard Passenger Aircraft." If they'd accept that as priority mail it sure wouldn't be priority when it can't get on a plane.