BOOM! Battery Failure

**Parmacrafter** · 10-29-2009, 07:05 AM

Ok I have read one other post where a non-protected li-ion battery exploded. Luckily the user was in no way hurt. Today I got to see for myself what kind of force is created by these tiny cells when they explode. First the basics:

The batteries were almost new. Only recharged maybe 4 times
They were 2 CR2 3v in a magnum mod that was set to run at 5volts
The batteries were charged the night before on a charger with built in protection.
The mod was used maybe for 4 or 5 drags during the morning before the explosion.

So basically this was definitely not a case of over-charging. It was a case of the batteries allowing a serious over-discharge. I DO NOT vape on 5v all day. This is an occasional (maybe once an hour) hit just for a boost. This was also on a relatively new mod. Only a few weeks old. Nothing showed any kind of wear or any other sign of trouble to come. I have learned that the 801 atty's last a lot longer on high volts if you keep your drags to a 3 second draw. So, this is what I have been doing. No power draws lasting 5 or more seconds here. Leaving my atty connected all night must have sucked some of the juice from my batteries while not is use. I do not usually have to charge these batteries more than every couple of days due to my light usage.

So I go to take my next drag and 2 seconds in BOOM!!!! Holy cow! Ok, I am definitely awake now. If I did not know better I would have sworn someone just fired a shotgun in my living room. It was that loud. On top of that there are pieces of debris everywhere. And lets not forget the smell.

Time to assess the damage.
Ok, as unbelievable as it may seen, the atty is perfectly fine and still produces great vapor and flavor. The batteries did not come out so well. One battery appears perfectly fine (threw it away anyway) the other battery is in several pieces from one end to the other of my living room. So now I collect all pieces and make sure there is no fire anywhere. So far so good. The magnum mod didn't fare well either. The end cap bent in the middle and blew off. The body has a bit of a bulge. Suprising in this is that the top where the atty connects looks just like new.

Now for myself. Well I didn't come out clean either. I have black soot from the massive flash all over my face and the hand that I was holding the mod with. So I clean my face to find that I have the fattest purple lip I have ever had. Well now I can just say I ran into Tyson in the alley. I have also singed my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. No wonder it stinks so bad. While showering and washing my hair for the 3rd time I realize that my tongue hurts. Sure enough I look in the mirror and I have a "V" shaped cut in the middle of my tongue. I have no clue how that happened. It is not possible for me to have bitten my tongue in that spot. I think the force of the explosion pushed the end of the atty into my tongue and the shock just kept me from realizing it at the time.

All said and done, I was very lucky. Nothing that won't wash or heal itself in a few days. What have I learned????? No more unprotected batteries. I will be using protected 3.7 volt batteries until they start making protected CR2's. I can wait to use 5v until then. I still have my backup 5v mod to use at that time. For now it's 3.7v for me. Since I own several other mods that currently use 10440 batteries that are also unprotected, I will put them away for a few days until my new protected 3.7 10440's batteries come in.

Many of the veteran members have warned of the hazards of unprotected batteries. I wrongly assumed that the issues would be from charging. So, I never leave charging batteries unattended., Never charge longer than needed. And, I only use protected charges that have 2 separate charge adapters so that one battery never gets over charged while a weaker one is filling up. This is obviously not enough! For those of you who have not experienced one of these tiny batteries blowing up, take my word for it. The explosion will be far larger than you think!!! Protected 10440 batteries can be bought here 10440 PROTECTED BATTERY
Do yourselves a favor, spend the extra few dollars and replace any unprotected batteries with protected ones. If your mods don't have protection in them put them away until you can get protected batteries that fit them. I was home alone today. That was a good thing. I usually have an infant here that I babysit. Imagine if that had happened while I was holding her???????? And do not blame other when/if this happens to you. There are warnings all over the modders section of the dangers of using unprotected batteries. I saw the warnings and though the danger was minimal. I only found one post where a battery had exploded. This is why I am posting this. This is NOT an isolated event. I am sure there are others that simply don't want to look like idiots for not listening to those who know. I for one don't care if I look like an idiot if it saves someone else from what cold be a very serious injury. Please take my advice and go get those protected batteries!!!

For those who asked for pictures: The first pic shows the inside of the pvc spacer tube with the faulty battery fused inside. The second pic shows the end cap, the good battery, the other side of the spacer tube and a piece that I am pretty sure used to be part of the battery. The third pic shows all of that plus the totally charred inside of the mod itself (not that yo can actually see anything in there. There were also about a dozen tiny pieces of parts that I cannot find in the trash at the moment.

The one thing I cannot illustrate is just how much force was involved in this. I found the mod nearly 12 feet from my chair. The thing was so hot when it exploded from my hand that it left a charred stripe 6 inches long down the arm of my chair. That little deformed metal piece that I am assuming used to be the top of the battery I fond behind my couch clear on the opposite side of my living room. Now that is some force! Imagine that locked inside a much more sturdy and solid mod???? How's that for scary? VENTS are a MUST on every mod!!!!! Even protected batteries can have issues. I will be drilling tiny vent holes on all of my other mods first thing tomorrow.

I did take apart the mod once I was sure there was no more issues with the battery. There was no short. All of the wires were perfectly fine. Not even charred. The only issue in this case was the battery itself. After inspecting the mod and putting it all back together, I put a protected 3.7v 18500 in it along with the same atty that was on it when the explosion happened. As unbelievable as it is, it is working perfectly. It appears the only damage was to the batteries, And some soot inside the battery compartment. On the bright side it looks like I get to put this mod back in my daily rotation. Just not with 2 batteries. I will only use 3.7v from here on out.

**catwoman19** · 10-29-2009, 07:14 AM

You need to post this on How to spend a saturday thread. There a lot of folks on there that need to hear this story

**Parmacrafter** · 10-29-2009, 07:22 AM

Actually I just posted it in the modders battery mods section. I should have put it there to start with. I don't want to be posting it all over the place and anger the moderators. Don't the chuck's use cr123a batteries? Those can be bought in a protected version.

**Sun Vaporer** · 10-29-2009, 07:25 AM

Parm--Glad you made it out with minor injuries---I am sure you know it could have been a lot worse. This is an excellent case in point of what many of us have been advocating for so long since Modding became much more mainstream starting in April of this year. Heed the warnings my friends---protected batteries are the only way to go.

Again I am glad to hear you made it out ok!!!

Sun

**Parmacrafter** · 10-29-2009, 07:34 AM

I too love the 5v option that some of the mods offer. But when I think about the fact that this could have seriously hurt an infant in my care I just cringe! In my case a good part of my good fortune in not being more seriously hurt was the actual mod I was using. It was a very light weight aluminum flashlight mod. Just imagine if all that power had been inside a much more solid mod like a Chuck or Silver bullet or even a Prodigy! It would have been a lot more like a small hand grenade. I am just lucky that the back threads pulled loose instead of all of that force coming out of the front which was in my mouth at the time. I was very lucky and will NOT be taking that fact for granted.

**forcedfuel50** · 10-29-2009, 07:39 AM

Good you are ok! Got any pictures?

David

**randpost** · 10-29-2009, 07:51 AM

Just threw away a handful of unprotected batteries I had. I have never purchased unprotected batteries by themselves. They all came with mods I purchased. Puresmoker Protege being one of them. They usually just sit to the side unless I was too lazy to charge my supply of protected batts. Anyway, glad you are okay, and thanks for sharing.

**crashtestjeep** · 10-29-2009, 07:53 AM

http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx...;20battery#400

There is a great selection of protected batteries here..maybe you can edit and add this to ur post? This way people have a point and click source.

i always thought it wouldnt happen to me, but never thought of it happening in my face!

You really woke me up, and Im very glad u didnt get hurt, Im def going to help spread the word!

**crashtestjeep** · 10-29-2009, 08:10 AM

..........speechless.

**mpetva** · 10-29-2009, 08:39 AM

Unprotected 3.7V batteries is what kept me from ordering the Protege for quite a while, but I finally broke down and got one, got it today. I even posted on the PS forum about my concerns and to ask about it...but now after reading this, I want to get protected ones ASAP. They they did suggest some, but I want to get good ones, even if they are a little more expensive, and I would like to get them quickly.

I have read quite a few posts/threads about protected batteries for the Protege, but to be perfectly honest, i am utterly confused as which one is the best to buy!!!!!!!!!!

Could someone PLEASE, PLEASE post a link of a good quality PROTECTED BATTERY for the Protege????????

I don't want to order from the place in China either, simply because I have read too many posts about the variance in quality/size.

Also, I need protected batteries that fir the charger that comes with the Protege. I just don't have the funds to spend on another charger.

Please post a link to the BEST POrotected ones to buy!.
I will be forever grateful!

Thank you in advance for any help.