Vigil batteries now no longer field replaceable

[PhreeZone 20]

New SB from Vigil

https://www.vigil.aero/wp-content/uploads/PRODUCT-ADV-01-2017-1.pdf

All units have to go back for all battery changes from this point forward.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

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[goobersnuftda 0]

I call BULL PUCKY on this.

You can go to any Office Depot or Staples store and purchase a multitude of Lithium batteries for your laptop computer that are many, many times more powerful than the battery which is in an AAD. Then you can go to your local cell phone store and buy many Lithium batteries that are more powerful again.

For some reason these Lithium batteries are shipped all over the place by magic pixie dust and yet Vigil can not figure out how every other company on the planet can ship batteries. This is a business decision to make extra $$$ and if everyone just lays down and takes it without question then nothing will change and they will win.

PS. If someone gets a new battery from Vigil, where is it manufactured exactly? I'm guessing they found some way to ship it from the manufacturer to Vigil......

[sammielu 3]

The Vigil 2+ already required batteries from the manufacturer or US service center. I get the shipping concerns too, battery whatever is a big dumb mess these days, and it makes sense that all units now follow the same procedure.

[mxk 1]

Your laptop and cell phone use lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and must be shipped at no more than 30% charge. AAD batteries are lithium metal, which are not rechargeable.

Both UPS and FedEx put additional restrictions on shipping these types of batteries as of January 1st, so I doubt that this is just to make extra money. Here's the relevant IATA document: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dgr/Documents/lithium-battery-guidance-document-2017-en.pdf

[gowlerk 2,192]

I sort of agree. Ground shipping is available after all. I think (but don't know) that they just don't want people, including riggers in the field, opening them up and doing the change. And then sealing the gasket up again. You still have to do that to change the cutter or control head though. They probably have seen too many units messed up in the field by now.

But I do wish they would not blame it on battery shipping rules. It's pretty obvious there are ways around that.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[peter.draper 0]

I have had nightmare experiences trying to ship AADs for the last 6 - 12 months. I am based in Qatar and it took months to get a freight company to ship 68 Cypres in for maintenance...... no exaggeration MONTHS!!!! All companies refused outright, then after a lot of negotiation - submission of documents bargaining, pleading, demonstrating we got approval to ship air freight, dangerous cargo. It has been getting worse and worse every time we try to ship, they see the word LITHIUM and they freak the fuck out, then you have to start from the base of a freaked out cargo clerk and work your way up to the hazardous cargo manager......

[sammielu 3]

^^^^ makes sense considering global/international shipping wouldn't include ground shipping options (plus who knows what the customs requirements are!)

[BIGUN 1,314]

Here is the "Why" behind it. http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dgr/Pages/lithium-batteries.aspx

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[PeteS 0]

So how are you supposed to ship a unit in that has a battery installed and how do they expect to ship it back?? Huh?

[mxk 1]

PeteS

So how are you supposed to ship a unit in that has a battery installed and how do they expect to ship it back?? Huh?

If you read the links that I posted above, you'll see that UPS and FedEx are talking about "lithium metal and lithium ion batteries shipped alone that are not contained in or packed with equipment." Batteries installed in their intended equipment are in a different category.

[skytribe 17]

And a lithium ion battery contained within a device really made those Galaxy Note 7 batteries so much safer.....

[IJskonijn 45]

The Note is a story in its own, but in general it is easier to short-circuit (read: set on fire) a battery when it is not contained in the product. Throw a battery and your keys together in a bag and the keys might just do the trick of connecting the leads.

Makes me wonder, do the rules allow us to make a product that holds the batteries in a safe way, but allows an end-user to easily take out the batteries? How shall we call something like that... maybe 'holder' is a good word? =)

[skytribe 17]

That was my thought exactly - a device with a led and a button. So it technically is a real device and not just a carry case. But easy to remove and ship old one back.