'Exploding' hoverboard scare sparks mass confiscation in the UK - The verge
Shocking moment man's hoverboard EXPLODED under his feet - while another is blamed for burning down a family's home - dailymail.co.uk news
When i hear hoverboard i though it was from back to the future
Bet they are packed with ultrafires in series. 
Nice to hear the UK government confiscated 15,000 of them being shipped into the country.
“Many of the items detained and sent for testing have been found to have noncompliant plugs without fuses, which increases the risk of the device overheating, exploding or catching fire,”
“Of the 17,000 hoverboards examined, 15,000, or 88 percent, were confiscated for safety reasons.”
88% junk.
Amazing video — one battery shoots out of the burning board.
They put the fire out with water — it keeps blowing white vapor — and (at 2:12) reignites with more flames.
And that was the luckier family — their fire happened outdoors on concrete.
A strong candidate for the “you bet your life” lottery purchase prize of this holiday season.
But it’s early days yet.
Plenty of past history of these things going up.
Technology is here.. almost. 
Hoverboard?
WTH?
They don't even hover! :evil:
Depends what way they blow
When i hear hoverboard i though it was from back to the future
There’s a takedown video and discussion at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyhE3i\_\_VVk
It’s well worth paying attention to. He documents how much there is that’s often done wrong in the cheap ones he’s disassembled.
And the first question from a viewer is:
Yeah, smart. These are a truly Darwinian device, selecting at the family level.
Hat tip to Metafilter: The mystery of this year's tech toy and product development in Shenzhen | MetaFilter
The hoverboard I ordered supposedly comes with Samsung li-ion batteries. I’ll open it up and check it when it arrives.
I was looking for a 10-inch model because I heard that they have a much superior ride as compared to the 6.5-inch and 8-inch models. The main reasons I ordered the hoverboard from this particular vendor are:
- Number of transactions in history (4195).
- Number of sales of hoverboard pieces (528, listed elsewhere).
- 9 day FedEx Express shipment.
- Features (bluetooth speakers, remote key, samsung batteries, carbon fiber finish option).
The only thing missing from this model is the carrying bag.
It’s a Christmas gift for my 12-year old son. He’s been trained to wear his safety helmet whenever he rides his bicycle or electric scooter, so I’m pretty confident (and I’ll be checking!) that he will wear it with this hoverboard.
The helmet saved him from serious injury when he ran his electric scooter into a parked car 6 months ago. At the time, a loose dog was chasing after him and he wasn’t looking where he was going when he crashed into it. He and his scooter survived with just a few scratches and bumps and bruises. But his head crashed into the car’s windshield, breaking the windshield, plus impact damages to the car’s fender and rear view mirror caused over $2000 worth of damages. If you looked at the car, you would have thought that another car had side-swiped it.
My son thought that I would blow my stack when I found out about the accident. But I was just thankful that he didn’t get hurt.
And I would have been mad at my neighbor for letting her dog loose, but, it was just a chihuahua! I don’t know why my son was so preoccupied by being chased by such a runt. :~
I find it amusing that next to the hoverboard that caught the family’s home on fire, there is a pile of unburnt clothes.
In the Netherlands these so called “hoverboards” are banned from the public streets.
Apparently it’s OK if you get blown up in your own backyard.
are there any quality brands or other features to look for when ordering one? it is high on the list this Christmas.
but don’t want a fire, obviously.
The first video is classic; The guy is standing there filming it, whilst shouting to his mum to put it out...
From what I gather, if you get the ones from China, there are only two different manufacturers of the 6.5-inch model, one manufacturer of the 8-inch model, and one manufacturer of the 10-inch model. There are hundreds of dealers and brand labels for each, but they all start off from the same factories.
Performance-wise, you don’t get much improvement by ordering an 8-inch model over the 6.5-inch model. So, unless you really are attracted to the look of the 8-inch model, the choice boils down to the 6.5-inch model and the 10-inch model. And that comparison basically boils down to cost. If you can afford the larger model, the 10-inch pneumatic (air-filled) tires make it much easier to ride on irregular surfaces and it is built to perform much better. And if you can’t afford the 10-incher, then get the 6.5-inch solid rubber tire model. Top speed on the 6.5-inch model is about 10 klicks, which is fast. Top speed on the 10-inch model is about 16 klicks, which is blazing fast.
And models may vary as to what sort of “bells and whistles” may have been added:
- Bluetooth speakers
- Remote key
- Carrying bag
- Brand-name battery
If your plan is to order one in time for Christmas, be wary of the advertised fulfillment times. I ordered and re-ordered my son’s hoverboard FIVE times before hitting on a vendor who seems to have the resources to meet the December 24th delivery deadline.
1st vendor _ Sorry, he cannot meet advertised delivery schedule.
2nd vendor _ Sorry, he forgot to account for additional shipping costs to Hawaii, it will cost $80 more.
3rd vendor _ Sorry, but delivery dates are wrong. Elsewhere in the description, it says 14 days to ship. Please expect it to take 15 working days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, plus additional time because of holiday rush.
4th vendor _ Sorry, but delivery dates are wrong. It will take 14 working days to ship plus an unknown delays due to holiday rush.
5th vendor _ 9 days FedEx Express shipping.
Warranties and repair guarantees vary wildly. Some promise repairs can be done in the U.S. Others require you to pay for shipping costs to China. I decided early on not to rely on any manufacturer’s warranties. I simply budgeted for a 3-year SquareTrade warranty plan. (I checked and they stated that they will cover electric hoverboards purchased in store, online, and from eBay.)
I don’t know anything about any American-made or other national origins, other than that they are much more expensive.
. . . . .
EDIT: I received the FedEx shipping notice this morning (12/9/2015), estimated delivery date is 12/14/2015. Time to spare for Christmas! I’m pleased that I chose this vendor, even though I could have gotten the same model for $30 cheaper elsewhere. Seeing the smile on my son’s face on Christmas morning will be well worth the difference! Also, I’m happy that the item comes with genuine Samsung batteries. They might not prevent a fire from happening, but it’s a lot more assuring than having a generic battery pack!
I think bad cells are not the only risk involved. Just google “Hoverboard fails” :bigsmile:
+1
I’m slightly concerned over manufacturing QA/QC issues.
However, I’m MUCH more concerned with the potential for falls, mishaps, and traffic accidents. As a parent, I try to do my best to limit such risks. I don’t allow him to ride his bicycle and electric scooter on the main roads unsupervised (just our subdivision road, parks and trails). And he must use his safety helmet whenever he rides them. The self-balancing electric hoverboard is another level of risk. It is inherently more unstable, more exposed to injury, and more prone to accidents than anything he has experienced before.
But far less dangerous than driving a car, something that he is going to start doing in another few more years.
I have ridden one of these things .
I liked it . There is a learning curve , but once you get the hang of it , it's fun .