nestawayboats
Well-Known Member
Earlier today Torqeedo announced that some of their batteries may have a leaking case, that might allow water into the casing, and might possibly be a fire risk. The serial numbers potentially affected are:
- batteries for Travel 503 and 1003 motors with serial numbers beginning 1001--- to 1752---
- batteries for Ultralight 403 motors with serial numbers beginning 1117--- to 1826---
Of most relevance to readers of this forum - ie mostly yacht tender motors - this does not affect any Travel 1003 batteries with serial numbers beginning 18---- or 19----, nor any of the new model 1103 motors (which were all produced in 2019). But generally speaking if you bought a 1003 between 2010 and 2018 (or a secondhand one from that era), it may be one of those that potentially has this issue.
If your battery serial number falls within the ranges listed above, it needs inspection by a service agent, and you need to register it at: www.torqeedo.com/safety
Torqeedo will then contact you with where it needs to be sent, and how (with correct packaging etc). They make a point of saying "at no cost to you".
You must not preemptively send your battery in packaging that you have "invented", as the transport packaging for lithium batteries has to comply with very specific and stringent regulations.
The full text of the English version of the letter from Torqeedo is below, but as it has been translated (not particularly well) from German we think it sounds worse than it is. Some of these batteries will by now have been in use for nine years, and we have never heard of a Torqeedo battery going bad unless submersed deeper than 1m for 1 hour (its IP67 rating), so we feel the risk is quite low.
It's obviously not great that there's an issue with so many of the Torqeedo Travel and Ultralight batteries, but Torqeedo are to be congratulated for taking this safety first approach, and incurring upon themselves an extensive (and expensive) recall/testing/repair regime.
Nestaway Boats Ltd
Important safety warning for Torqeedo outboard motor batteries “Travel” and “Ultralight”
13 June 2019
Dear Customers,
We place the highest value on the quality and safety of our products. We are therefore informing you about a possible safety risk in connection with the batteries used in our outboard motors "Travel" and "Ultralight":
Torqeedo has found some examples in which the battery housings for those motors were not water tight. In such a case, water may penetrate the battery housing. This is a particular if a battery with a water permeable housing becomes completely or partially submerged under water.
If water reaches the internal part of the battery it could cause a chemical reaction resulting in fire and/or bursting of the battery housing. Such a circumstance presents a risk of serious injury!
At no cost to you, Torqeedo will perform an inspection for the models and serial numbers listed below. If the inspection shows that the battery housing is not water tight, Torqeedo will repair the battery free of charge.
Model Serial number (S. no.) from … – to …
Travel 1001… – 1752…
Ultralight 1117… – 1826…
We ask the owners of models with these serial numbers to register via the website: www.torqeedo.com/safety.
After registration, we will inform you shortly which service centre is to check your battery and, if necessary, repair it. As a responsible manufacturer, we want to ensure that affected batteries are identified and repaired.
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you in advance for your understanding in the implementation of this safety measure.
This approach is very important to us because we are committed to providing our customers with products of the highest quality and safety.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone +49 (8153) 9999 061 (Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 17:00 hrs) or safety@torqeedo.com.
Best regards Your Torqeedo-Team
_______________________ _______________________ Dr. Christoph Ballin, CEO Heiko Brambach, CFO
- batteries for Travel 503 and 1003 motors with serial numbers beginning 1001--- to 1752---
- batteries for Ultralight 403 motors with serial numbers beginning 1117--- to 1826---
Of most relevance to readers of this forum - ie mostly yacht tender motors - this does not affect any Travel 1003 batteries with serial numbers beginning 18---- or 19----, nor any of the new model 1103 motors (which were all produced in 2019). But generally speaking if you bought a 1003 between 2010 and 2018 (or a secondhand one from that era), it may be one of those that potentially has this issue.
If your battery serial number falls within the ranges listed above, it needs inspection by a service agent, and you need to register it at: www.torqeedo.com/safety
Torqeedo will then contact you with where it needs to be sent, and how (with correct packaging etc). They make a point of saying "at no cost to you".
You must not preemptively send your battery in packaging that you have "invented", as the transport packaging for lithium batteries has to comply with very specific and stringent regulations.
The full text of the English version of the letter from Torqeedo is below, but as it has been translated (not particularly well) from German we think it sounds worse than it is. Some of these batteries will by now have been in use for nine years, and we have never heard of a Torqeedo battery going bad unless submersed deeper than 1m for 1 hour (its IP67 rating), so we feel the risk is quite low.
It's obviously not great that there's an issue with so many of the Torqeedo Travel and Ultralight batteries, but Torqeedo are to be congratulated for taking this safety first approach, and incurring upon themselves an extensive (and expensive) recall/testing/repair regime.
Nestaway Boats Ltd
Important safety warning for Torqeedo outboard motor batteries “Travel” and “Ultralight”
13 June 2019
Dear Customers,
We place the highest value on the quality and safety of our products. We are therefore informing you about a possible safety risk in connection with the batteries used in our outboard motors "Travel" and "Ultralight":
Torqeedo has found some examples in which the battery housings for those motors were not water tight. In such a case, water may penetrate the battery housing. This is a particular if a battery with a water permeable housing becomes completely or partially submerged under water.
If water reaches the internal part of the battery it could cause a chemical reaction resulting in fire and/or bursting of the battery housing. Such a circumstance presents a risk of serious injury!
At no cost to you, Torqeedo will perform an inspection for the models and serial numbers listed below. If the inspection shows that the battery housing is not water tight, Torqeedo will repair the battery free of charge.
Model Serial number (S. no.) from … – to …
Travel 1001… – 1752…
Ultralight 1117… – 1826…
We ask the owners of models with these serial numbers to register via the website: www.torqeedo.com/safety.
After registration, we will inform you shortly which service centre is to check your battery and, if necessary, repair it. As a responsible manufacturer, we want to ensure that affected batteries are identified and repaired.
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you in advance for your understanding in the implementation of this safety measure.
This approach is very important to us because we are committed to providing our customers with products of the highest quality and safety.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone +49 (8153) 9999 061 (Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 17:00 hrs) or safety@torqeedo.com.
Best regards Your Torqeedo-Team
_______________________ _______________________ Dr. Christoph Ballin, CEO Heiko Brambach, CFO
