I’ve debated posting this for some time because honestly, I’m an idiot and I was asking for it but for the greater good, I will humbly accept my role in what happened. I originally posted my story of my exploding CR2 rechargeable lithium batteries in the mod forum (currently a sticky) but I feel that this is important enough that it may serve a better purpose here in the General forum.
After my lithium batteries vented in my hands, I realized that I still had a few sets of batteries from available that I hadn’t thrown out. The mod I was using is a Magnum Box mod which uses two CR2 batteries in series in a AA battery box. I’m not a great modder but I have put together about 7 or 8 mods including various usb passthroughs, battery box mods (nicostick, etc), a Detonator mod, a Magnum mod, and this Magnum box mod. It was a super simple mod which I put together relatively well with clean soldering, a solid switch, and no real issues. The batteries in question are generic rechargeable CR2s which many of us purchase from online retailers primarily shipped from China.
To give you some insight as to my mindset, I absolutely LOVE 5-6 volts running through my atomizer and after a futile search for protected CR2s and vowing to never purchase another unprotected battery, I was in a sense saying farewell to my Magnum box, Magnum, and Detonator mods for good. I had put hours of time and effort into making these devices and I cringed at the thought of using 3.6 volt e-cigs that died after an hour of use.
Well, what happened next is where I play the part of the idiot. Wanting to see if my Magnum box still worked, I popped in two CR2s (not the ones that initially exploded but from the same purchase batch) and with some trepidation, I began to vape. I was definitely gun-shy using it at first but as it was cranking along perfectly as usual, I started to get more comfortable with it again. I hadn’t been vaping more than fifteen minutes when everything went crazy.
The lithium batteries both exploded simultaneously but this time rather than simply venting gas, flames and battery acid shot out of the device right in my face and around my couch. I feel fortunate that I didn’t get anything in my eyes which could have caused permanent damage. In shock, I threw the smoldering mod into the sink with the faucet on full blast, opened the windows, and turned on the fans in my kitchen and living room. I had battery acid on my couch blanket which I promptly put in the washer and I flushed my eyes with water just in case.
It was only then that I looked down at my hands and realized that I had sustained some pretty good burns (fortunately only first degree). Having some first aid training, I ran my hand under cold water for a while as I gulped down some asprin. As a guitar player and an outdoor sports fanatic (kayaking, biking, etc), I was extremely grateful that my hands seemed intact. The next few hours were agony as I alternated putting on burn cream and antibiotic ointment along with bandaging up the hand in gauze and using icepacks. I tried to sleep to avoid the pain but that was tough as well. The pain eventually went away and I was left with large red areas near my thumb, palm, and ring finger on my left hand. I had to tell my girlfriend later that night that I had burned myself cooking so as to not worry her and have her banish e-cigs from our home.
The burns have since all peeled off and healed although it is still red in certain areas. It doesn’t need to be said but all my CR2s are in the trash and honestly I can’t even use my nicostick mods these days because I get so nervous. I stick to my Dura and my passthrough mod to get my e-cig fix. I worry about the prevalence of 6v CR2 e-cigs out there these days both in mod and commercially manufactured forms. I hope the manufacturers are taking the necessary precautions to ensure that they are distributing a product that will protect their consumers in the event of catastrophic battery failure. I hope I will be the first and LAST person to have to go through this.
Sorry for the long post. I’ll post pictures of the burned out mod and batteries later. I kept it since I’m sure people would want to see it.
Keeping vaping and stay safe.
After my lithium batteries vented in my hands, I realized that I still had a few sets of batteries from available that I hadn’t thrown out. The mod I was using is a Magnum Box mod which uses two CR2 batteries in series in a AA battery box. I’m not a great modder but I have put together about 7 or 8 mods including various usb passthroughs, battery box mods (nicostick, etc), a Detonator mod, a Magnum mod, and this Magnum box mod. It was a super simple mod which I put together relatively well with clean soldering, a solid switch, and no real issues. The batteries in question are generic rechargeable CR2s which many of us purchase from online retailers primarily shipped from China.
To give you some insight as to my mindset, I absolutely LOVE 5-6 volts running through my atomizer and after a futile search for protected CR2s and vowing to never purchase another unprotected battery, I was in a sense saying farewell to my Magnum box, Magnum, and Detonator mods for good. I had put hours of time and effort into making these devices and I cringed at the thought of using 3.6 volt e-cigs that died after an hour of use.
Well, what happened next is where I play the part of the idiot. Wanting to see if my Magnum box still worked, I popped in two CR2s (not the ones that initially exploded but from the same purchase batch) and with some trepidation, I began to vape. I was definitely gun-shy using it at first but as it was cranking along perfectly as usual, I started to get more comfortable with it again. I hadn’t been vaping more than fifteen minutes when everything went crazy.
The lithium batteries both exploded simultaneously but this time rather than simply venting gas, flames and battery acid shot out of the device right in my face and around my couch. I feel fortunate that I didn’t get anything in my eyes which could have caused permanent damage. In shock, I threw the smoldering mod into the sink with the faucet on full blast, opened the windows, and turned on the fans in my kitchen and living room. I had battery acid on my couch blanket which I promptly put in the washer and I flushed my eyes with water just in case.
It was only then that I looked down at my hands and realized that I had sustained some pretty good burns (fortunately only first degree). Having some first aid training, I ran my hand under cold water for a while as I gulped down some asprin. As a guitar player and an outdoor sports fanatic (kayaking, biking, etc), I was extremely grateful that my hands seemed intact. The next few hours were agony as I alternated putting on burn cream and antibiotic ointment along with bandaging up the hand in gauze and using icepacks. I tried to sleep to avoid the pain but that was tough as well. The pain eventually went away and I was left with large red areas near my thumb, palm, and ring finger on my left hand. I had to tell my girlfriend later that night that I had burned myself cooking so as to not worry her and have her banish e-cigs from our home.
The burns have since all peeled off and healed although it is still red in certain areas. It doesn’t need to be said but all my CR2s are in the trash and honestly I can’t even use my nicostick mods these days because I get so nervous. I stick to my Dura and my passthrough mod to get my e-cig fix. I worry about the prevalence of 6v CR2 e-cigs out there these days both in mod and commercially manufactured forms. I hope the manufacturers are taking the necessary precautions to ensure that they are distributing a product that will protect their consumers in the event of catastrophic battery failure. I hope I will be the first and LAST person to have to go through this.
Sorry for the long post. I’ll post pictures of the burned out mod and batteries later. I kept it since I’m sure people would want to see it.
Keeping vaping and stay safe.
