Bottom switch mechanicals: case for reversing battery?

[generic mutant]

I've read all the info both on this site, and elsewhere around the web, which says you shouldn't ever reverse the battery. I, and I think most people, take that to mean the body of the mod should be negative.

But I'm staring at my Sigelei #8 and can't get it out of my head that if you leave the atomiser on the mod when you're not using it, it would make more sense to have the plus where the switch is - at the bottom, making the body positive.

In case anyone isn't familiar with the mod, it's a mechanical with a little switch sticking out the side near the base. The switch joins the body to the negative post, and a hot spring joins the post to the battery. Something like this in standard battery position:

Battery + --> Atomiser --> Mod body --> Switch --> Hot spring --> Battery -

So if the battery loses its wrapper, it's bypassing the switch and hot spring. You're relying on the atomiser failing to break the circuit.

Conversely, if you flip the battery, positive at the bottom, you're bypassing the atomiser. Both the switch and the hot spring are still in the circuit (edit - although the hot spring isn't in the right place for gravity to break the circuit...).

Very confused (and probably wrong, I don't understand electrical things)... any help?

Edit - or does this in fact not mean the body is positive at all? The fact that the switch is in between the body and the positive terminal? That would make more sense. If that is the case, and I'm increasingly thinking that's the only thing that can possibly make sense: it seems like something that's not obvious to a new user, and is perhaps something that should be better emphasised in the battery safety threads.

 

[Sector000]

It depends on whether the battery wall is + or -. I think most are -, so if you're concerned about losing the wrapper, don't reverse the battery. The + end should be at the top of the device. In this configuration, if you lose the wrapper, it's effectively the same as having the switch stuck at "ON". Not good, but it's still better than shorting the battery.

BTW, don't worry too much about + vs -. For historical reasons, conventional current flow is + to -, but electrons actually flow from - to +. For most purposes, there's no practical difference. Just make sure there's always something between + and -, e.g. a working switch in the "OFF" position.

Personally, I don't use non-regulated devices because I'm paranoid.

 

[Cjax]

...not a good idea...

 

[generic mutant]

OK...

I've given it more thought, and think I've got my head around it. Thanks for the hints Sector000 and Porksmuggler (from the epic Sigelei thread).

Positive is where the load is - in this case the 510 connector. If the battery is positive to top, it only takes damage to the battery wrapper to complete the circuit - the switch and the hot spring are useless.

But if the battery is positive to bottom, it takes damage to the battery wrapper and the switch being on to complete the circuit. The hot spring is still in the circuit, but it collapsing isn't necessarily going to break it with the mod standing upright.

Undesired firing is less likely in the second scenario, but because resistance would be lower, the failure is more likely to be catastrophic.

This, combined with the fact that if you remove the atomiser completely, there's (theoreticallly) no risk of the body alone firing or shorting due to wrapper damage with the battery positive side up, means it's considered safer.

I think that's how it works anyway. It's still a weird quirk of bottom switch models though... Confused the heck out of me.

 

[calisun]

Found this in our forum

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-library/337497-warning-battery-reverse-polarity-apvs.html

 

[Thrasher]

Found this in our forum

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-library/337497-warning-battery-reverse-polarity-apvs.html

very informative link, and good to know.