New Airfreight Regulation - Any good with a battery prohibited from air freight ?

Dear fellow headfier,

I thought I'd share with you my experience with new airfreight regulation, as they can have a very real impact on our shopping habits.

My SFLO2 has broken down last week (not the main point but it has its importance), and I've had a few back and forth with MP4Nation regarding possible solutions and finally a RMA number a few days ago.

Yesterday night after work I went to my local post to ship my package to Hong Kong, only to be told that "No way you'll get it through, there's a battery in there. The package is gonna come back to you." I expressed my surprise to the teller (), given that this was the first time I've heard about this, and also that the very package had arrived at the end of February from Hong Kong. But ultimately I didn't send it, to make a bit of research on the matter.

What I found is not only a major inconvenience, it's also a big problem for anyone who's bought an audio component with a battery (PMP, Amp, etc ...), as this will basically make it impossible for you to ship back your component to the manufacturer if it breaks down. The international Air Transport Association (IATA) has passed a new regulation that simply prohibits the shipping of any dangerous goods by airfreight. The problem is that it doesn't only concern the regular goods of concern (explosive, arm and whatnot), but also any good with an internal battery.

This morning I went to ship my broken PMP again, and I deliberately lied about the battery so I wouldn't be refused the shipping, but I was told there would a screening before shipping. Which means that I'm probably gonna get my package back, and won't be able to send it for the RMA.

Bottom line is : Be careful if you buy this kind of products abroad, as you won't be able to send it back for RMA and will ultimately loose your warranty. I'll add that less regarding countries, will probably let the packages go out of their borders. But progressively all countries will have to abide by the rules, and one day or another you'll get the same answer as me.

Don't tell me, my face expression must have been priceless ! I was even less expecting it, that my new amp shipped from UK the very same day and without any problem it seems.

I'll wait for the package to go through screening, but from what I've been told, it's gonna be picked out and shipped back to me. Unless the tellers have been instructed to refuse everything, eventhough the regulation isn't that tough. It's still a bit difficult to see through all this, as each country has to put the new regulation into force, via its own laws. That means some countries may be less stringent than Japan, but I doubt the USA will be.

Interesting point. I heard a similar story from MP4Nation ("the batteries used in our PMP aren't the ones they're looking for"), but that's not the case here.

Do you have to make any specific declaration or labelling ?

So the package came back to you then. Problem is I can't open my PMP or it voids the guaranty, basically nullifying the purpose of sending it for a RMA.

I'm trying to read the regulation for the USA right now, and there's no difference made between Li-Ion and Li-Po. Both types are classified as Class 9 dangerous goods. This is really a mess as you have to calculate the Lithium equivalent content of your battery to determine if it's shippable or not. But even with this, that doesn't solve my problem as japanese post refuses to take it in charge (tried in 2 different post offices, same answer).
Edited by frenchbat - 6/3/11 at 1:22am

Thanks for chiming in Qusp. The best part is that Hong Kong also has these rules since 2009, but obviously they're not checking anything given the shear number of PMP shipped from the city.

 

On my side, my package has been shipped and arrived to Hong Kong this morning. That means that either the japanese post doesn't check, or the rules for the check at the airport are less stringent than at the counter. I've been reviewing the IATA rules, it's here if anyone wants to have a read http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dangerous_goods/Documents/Guidance%20Document%20on%20the%20Transport%20of%20Li-Batt_2011.pdf, and you can supposedly ship any battery assuming that it's tested, packed, and classified appropriately, and also assuming that your transportation company accepts to take it in charge.

 

In the case of our PMP's batteries we're supposed to be clear. The classification in Class9 (dangerous goods) isn't necessary if the individual cell W/h capacity isn't north of 20W/h, and the total (all cells added) doesn't surpass 100W/h. Also you can't ship more than 4 cells within an equipement without labelling, or more than 2 batteries To calculate the W/h capacity you have to take the nominal voltage (3.7V in the SFLO2) and multiply it by the A/h capacity (2500mA/h for the SFLO2), and then multiply again by the number of cells. So in my case 3.7 X 2.5 X 2 = 18,5W/h. I'm under the limit. But even with that we have to label it specifically on the airway bill, and that's probably what the post doesn't want to hear about.

 

Problem is what about the strong batteries we have in our portable amplifiers ? My pico slim is ok, but the Justaudio AHA-120 I'm waiting for is probably north from that limit.