Hoverboards are one of the top-selling Christmas gifts this year, but there are some concerns about the high-tech gadget's battery safety. A Victor company has designed a product to help. Time Warner Cable News reporter Wendy Mills explains.
VICTOR, N.Y. -- It's one of the hottest selling gifts this holiday season; the hoverboard or balance board.
But this personal transport board is also under investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission after nearly a dozen hoverboard-related fires across the country.
Major airlines have banned hoverboards from flights due to the fire risk associated with the lithium batteries inside, and Amazon no longer sells hoverboards that do not have proper UL battery protection requirements. That's where a business in Victor comes in.
Newtex in Victor specializes in high temperature textiles and thermal management products -- fire protective apparel and covers that can withstand heat as hot as 1800 degrees.
The company saw videos of the hoverboard battery fires and decided to make and sell a case for storage and charging.
“You see the hoverboards and everybody is having fun with them, and then you see the risks associated with it, so we felt in the supply chain we could bring some value in developing these containment covers," said Rich Lanpheare, the general manager at Newtex. “The intent is if were to catch fire then it is fully contained and minimizes damage and reduces the risk of a fire breaking out.”
Newtex’s hoverboard cover is $49.95 and is available through Amazon.
Hoverboard retailers tell customers that any product with a lithium battery should not be charged overnight and that consumers need to look for products that are UL certified.
Newtex is offering families piece of mind for hoverboard storage and charging -- just in case.
“It lets parents feel a little bit more safe when they are charging and it is in the house it can potentially reduce the risk of a fire happening," Lanpheare said.