Travel with Big Batteries - Any Issues? (Chicago Battery Rental?)

[Jason Honeycutt]

I have a shoot in Chicago where I have to travel from LA... it'll be out in the field all day, no charging available so I need to bring as many batteries as a I can. I have the Anton Bauer plate and some Dionic 90s but they're slowly losing their charge capacity and I need to buy a new battery to get me over the hump for the shoot.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...CX_Dionic_HCX_Li_ion_Battery_120WH_14_4V.html

However... it's on backorder for another two weeks, called AB and every other place, nobody has them. AB said the "HD" version is available but can't travel in airports. Basically what I'm wondering is... has anyone been questioned about batteries by TSA? I'm tempted to just buy the HD version but if I don't want to get it taken away in security or check-in. This is what AB says about security;

http://video.antonbauer.com/Checked

On one shoot, though, I had a bunch of Dionic 90s in my carry on and the TSA guy didn't even know what they were. I actually asked him after they passed, no problem, if there was a limit to the size or quantity and he said, "I dunno... seems fine to me." Huh?

I'm just curious what people think.

Also... part two...

Does anyone have any Anton Bauer bricks they'd want to rent me for the shoot on Saturday? Like, pick-up Friday, can dropoff Saturday night or Sunday morning. The one rental house said they were charging $25/brick but they wanted a million dollars of liability... doesn't make sense to buy a policy for $700ish for a small rental. I have three of my own but I'd need, I'd say, 3-4 more to be safe, if they're 90's... but if you have an HD or HCX, that'd be all I need.

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Lots of threads on this. Here's the quick and dirty answer.

Travel with it has many batteries as you want at or below 90wh. Anything over that, up to 160wh, and you can take 3 (one being attached to the camera).

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

So 160 is the over/under. Not worth it, risking losing a $560 battery.

Hmm... I wonder if I should just buy some of these knockoff batteries for $100 each?

http://www.atbatt.com/amstron-anton-bauer-dionic-90-battery.asp

Seems like a big risk, if the flow is uneven... curious if anyone's had any success with them.

I just can't believe that Anton Bauer is having this massive shortage right now. They own that market and they can't put out the supply.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

I would suggest that you send out some PM's to Chicago based shooters.
Tom Greenburg is active on this site - he's about two hours outside Chicago but may be able to set you up with some names to contact...

 

[Justin Chin]

http://safetravel.dot.gov/larger_batt.html

Traveled to and from Chicago this year, no problem with carrying 3 red bricks. Plus, did the same deal last weekend to LA. All carry on. One thing though, I've had two lost cases at Ohare on two different trips last year. Both recovered but one took 4 days to get back to me. I hear it's a mess at that airport. If your concerned give Magnanimous a call, that's who I rented from on my last trip.

 

[John Ritter]

I can repair/Re-Cell your old Dionic 90 packs or supply good used packs

I can repair/Re-Cell your old Dionic 90 packs or supply good used packs

So 160 is the over/under. Not worth it, risking losing a $560 battery. Hmm... I wonder if I should just buy some of these knockoff batteries for $100 each? http://www.atbatt.com/amstron-anton-bauer-dionic-90-battery.asp Seems like a big risk, if the flow is uneven... curious if anyone's had any success with them. I just can't believe that Anton Bauer is having this massive shortage right now. They own that market and they can't put out the supply.

I can repair/Re-Cell your old Dionic 90 battery packs for $179.99ea. I also have some USED - Re-Celled Dionic 90 packs for outright purchase (all new internal cells) for $250 each or Dionic HCX for $350.00 each 90 day & 12 months prorated warranty. Regards John Ritter 954-557-9765 www.ritterbattery.com

 

[Tom Greenberg]

There are plenty of good rental houses in Chicago to grab a few AB batteries from. I'd recommend talking to Lawrence at Daufenbach Camera or James at Schumacher Camera. Both are extremely RED-savvy and super-helpful. If you decide you want to go the inexpensive battery route, I've had great luck with AB-mount batteries from Kerma.

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

http://safetravel.dot.gov/larger_batt.html

Traveled to and from Chicago this year, no problem with carrying 3 red bricks. Plus, did the same deal last weekend to LA. All carry on. One thing though, I've had two lost cases at Ohare on two different trips last year. Both recovered but one took 4 days to get back to me. I hear it's a mess at that airport. If your concerned give Magnanimous a call, that's who I rented from on my last trip.

Thanks for the heads up. What Wh are RedBricks rated at, out of curiosity...? The TSA guy I was mentioning in the OP really had no idea what was good or not, let alone if there was some limit, but with my luck I'd catch someone gungho TSA guy. I'm actually flying into Midway, which might be worse than O'Hare. I've lost a bunch of things there, like babyseats on regular trips. I had to fly Southwest because I need the free check-ins for my gear.

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

I can repair/Re-Cell your old Dionic 90 battery packs for $179.99ea. I also have some USED - Re-Celled Dionic 90 packs for outright purchase (all new internal cells) for $250 each or Dionic HCX for $350.00 each 90 day & 12 months prorated warranty. Regards John Ritter 954-557-9765 www.ritterbattery.com

Thanks for this... I definitely do want to recell my one Dionic 90 that can't hold a charge. For now though, I'd love to get an HCX. That's new.. for $350...? Can't be, right? I'm assuming recelled? I'm looking on your site for that, I'd love to get one asap before I fly out.

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

There are plenty of good rental houses in Chicago to grab a few AB batteries from. I'd recommend talking to Lawrence at Daufenbach Camera or James at Schumacher Camera. Both are extremely RED-savvy and super-helpful. If you decide you want to go the inexpensive battery route, I've had great luck with AB-mount batteries from Kerma.

Awesome information! I was calling a couple rental houses but they're all asking for the million dollar liability insurance. I'll check with these guys though, thanks for that.

 

[Nick Fury]

Thanks for the heads up. What Wh are RedBricks rated at, out of curiosity...? The TSA guy I was mentioning in the OP really had no idea what was good or not, let alone if there was some limit, but with my luck I'd catch someone gungho TSA guy. I'm actually flying into Midway, which might be worse than O'Hare. I've lost a bunch of things there, like babyseats on regular trips. I had to fly Southwest because I need the free check-ins for my gear.

Hi Jason,

What is the "...free check-ins for my gear." please?

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

Hi Jason,

What is the "...free check-ins for my gear." please?

With Southwest Airlines (which only flies into Midway), you get two free check-ins. So I just bring this big golf case and jam in my tripod, slider, etc., one for my luggage... then I just carry-on my case with the RED and my laptop.

 

[Justin Chin]

Thanks for the heads up. What Wh are RedBricks rated at, out of curiosity...? The TSA guy I was mentioning in the OP really had no idea what was good or not, let alone if there was some limit, but with my luck I'd catch someone gungho TSA guy. I'm actually flying into Midway, which might be worse than O'Hare. I've lost a bunch of things there, like babyseats on regular trips. I had to fly Southwest because I need the free check-ins for my gear.

The other useful info to have is on this page:
http://safetravel.dot.gov/definitions.html#lithium_ion

The RED bricks are rated at 153Wh which is safely within bounds of carry on travel. 1 on camera, and 2 bagged or contacts taped. Frankly I don't even bother to have the one on camera.

I have printouts of both pages and keep them with my carry on. I've never had any issue with any of my RED batteries. Not so say that there aren't any over zealous TSA officers out there, but lately, they don't even bother to check my gear anymore. I last year of over 20 flights I've had 2 checks. One to check what's in my camera case, and the other for a bomb swab check.

 

[John Ritter]

Thanks for the heads up. What Wh are RedBricks rated at, out of curiosity...? The TSA guy I was mentioning in the OP really had no idea what was good or not, let alone if there was some limit, but with my luck I'd catch someone gungho TSA guy. I'm actually flying into Midway, which might be worse than O'Hare. I've lost a bunch of things there, like babyseats on regular trips. I had to fly Southwest because I need the free check-ins for my gear.

The older Red Bricks are rated at 9.4AH and the later ones are 10.4AH (136 watts & 150 watts) both are above the 100 watt ATA rating. John

 

[John Ritter]

I definitely do want to recell my one Dionic 90 that can't hold a charge. For now though, I'd love to get an HCX. That's new.. for $350...? Can't be, right? I'm assuming recelled? I'm looking on your site for that, I'd love to get one asap before I fly out.[/QUOTE] --------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- "NOT NEW" The Dionic HCX is Used with all new internal cells (Re-Celled) Not listed on my website due to high turnover, Just happen to have 3 on hand ready to go at this time. (they usually don't last more than a few days) Regards John Ritter 954-557-9765 www.ritterbattery.com