Hole in the Mech Mod for safety???

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Christopher Molina

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I've done quite a bit of research into Mech mods in the past couple of days and twitter honestly have scared the .... out of myself with the whole idea of a battery shorting. Based off of my build, there's little to no chance of that happening, but my mod does not have a hole for gas or anything to escape if it does. Is it a bad idea to have somebody who is qualified drill a small hole in it? Would this even make it potentially more safe? I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, or just info on Mech mods considering I'm still new to it. Adequately informed, but still a novice.
 

Christopher Molina

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599cd2e036d747f1006a07cebc1f4ff7.jpg

A not very good look at it
 
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SomeTexan

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Mech mods were on my roadmap until a month ago. Now I won't be going there. The tiny form factor is appealing but it's not worth the risks.
Nothing wrong with mech mods, just be careful and do your research. Personally I prefer a mech box, but that is because I don't want people to think I am performing fellatio on C3PO...
 

sofarsogood

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Nothing wrong with mech mods, just be careful and do your research. Personally I prefer a mech box, but that is because I don't want people to think I am performing fellatio on C3PO...
What's wrong with mech mods is they don't suffer fools or even small mistakes. Are there any viideos of intentional shorts or reverse battery situations to show typical or extreme results? When does the battery vent without overwhelming the vent holes and when does it vent so fast the mod is torn apart? "Doing my research" hasn't answered questions like that. Perhaps the force of the venting is entirely random regardless of battery quality and vaping mech mods is just a form of Russian Roulette. I'm not going to endanger the people I work with or socialize with for snobery.
 

SomeTexan

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What's wrong with mech mods is they don't suffer fools or even small mistakes. Are there any viideos of intentional shorts or reverse battery situations to show typical or extreme results? When does the battery vent without overwhelming the vent holes and when does it vent so fast the mod is torn apart? "Doing my research" hasn't answered questions like that. Perhaps the force of the venting is entirely random regardless of battery quality and vaping mech mods is just a form of Russian Roulette. I'm not going to endanger the people I work with or socialize with for snobery.

What is your point? Nothing wrong with mech's unless the user screws up. They are an advanced hobbiest item, not for beginners or intermediate users. Double and triple check everything and you will be as safe as you can be while working with high power batteries.

The boards in regulated devices can screw up as well and cause the same situation. iPhones are technical marvels and yet they have still had batteries explode...
 

sofarsogood

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What is your point?
It seems like every few weeks there is a serious accident in the news where somebody goes to the hospital. Advising someone to "do your homework" may be should be more specificc. I took my own advice and found a video of someone deliberately venting batteries in a mech mod. His batteries fizzled and poped and got hot but nothing exploded. I wonder what is different to cause an explosion. I'd say if you don't know the answer to that question may be you haven't done enough research.

 

SomeTexan

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It seems like every few weeks there is a serious accident in the news where somebody goes to the hospital. Advising someone to "do your homework" may be should be more specificc. I took my own advice and found a video of someone deliberately venting batteries in a mech mod. His batteries fizzled and poped and got hot but nothing exploded. I wonder what is different to cause an explosion. I'd say if you don't know the answer to that question may be you haven't done enough research.


Mech mods that are not vented can explode, but the batteries don't always violently vent. Sometimes they just slowly release gas and even an unvented mod can let the gas work its way out. Worst case scenario doesn't always happen.

You called mech mods dangerous, then couldn't find a video to prove your point. I've done my research. I ask again, what is your point?

Personally, I think the exploding mods in the news are publicity stunts. Anti-vaping propaganda stunts, if you will.
 
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Dopefish

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If the air is trapped in the tube of your mech mod, then an explosion is definitely possible though as others have pointed out variations in manufacturing and how the battery has been treated, ect are all factors that could add up to a catastrophic venting event as opposed to a slow vent. IF I were you I would still drill a hole in the mod to allow gas to escape just as a safety precaution
 

sofarsogood

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If a battery can explode regardless of vent holes it might be useful to know why. May be over-aged batteries are more vulnerable or may be fake products with defects are what we read about in the exploding mod stories. But if explosions are entirely random across all high output batteries then using them in mech mods is Russian Roulette.

There must be speific causes that can be controled. I've read that the Tesla sedan has a battery pack that consists of 7000 18650s. If one of those went bad it wouldn't be pretty.
 

Dopefish

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If a battery can explode regardless of vent holes it might be useful to know why. May be over-aged batteries are more vulnerable or may be fake products with defects are what we read about in the exploding mod stories. But if explosions are entirely random across all high output batteries then using them in mech mods is Russian Roulette.

There must be speific causes that can be controled. I've read that the Tesla sedan has a battery pack that consists of 7000 18650s. If one of those went bad it wouldn't be pretty.

When playing with currents running as high as vapers do, it kind of is a russian roulette game if you really think about it. There are plenty of factors that you can control such as how much current your build is suppose to pull for instance, but then there are factors that you can't such as manufacturing defects so it's honestly best to play it safe when you sub ohm ESPECIALLY if you use an unregulated mod. The explosions usually aren't entirely random (I've never heard of one that couldn't be prevented from going catastrophic) but are a combination of many factors leading to the failure
 

Mooch

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    If a battery can explode regardless of vent holes it might be useful to know why. May be over-aged batteries are more vulnerable or may be fake products with defects are what we read about in the exploding mod stories. But if explosions are entirely random across all high output batteries then using them in mech mods is Russian Roulette.

    There must be speific causes that can be controled. I've read that the Tesla sedan has a battery pack that consists of 7000 18650s. If one of those went bad it wouldn't be pretty.

    Batteries never really burst with the energy that I would call an explosion. It's the trapping of the expanding gas in the mod that causes the mod to explode. A venting battery can do so quietly or it can spew hot toxic liquid and lots of gas several feet. If in thermal runaway there is an extraordinary amount of gas produced along with heat and, occasionally, flames. That's when things get serious.

    A vent hole on the bottom could work to release the pressure before the mod explodes or it could be absolutely useless. If it's not big enough...trouble. If the battery case swells from the pressure (quite common) the path for the gasses exiting from the top of the battery can be blocked off...trouble. A single small hole in the bottom of a mech is completely inadequate in my opinion. I wonder if there's a single mech mod company that has brought batteries into runaway to test the adequacy of their mechs.

    If a battery has an internal defect, this is very rare for quality cells, then an internal short circuit can occur at any time. The consequences of this short-circuiting can be anywhere from gentle venting to instant, violent, flaming, bursting of the battery. It depends on cell construction, location of the short, how charged up the battery is, and the battery chemistry. Typically, it's external abuse that causes problems though.

    Just exceeding the battery's rating, even by quite a bit, can lead to venting but rarely to runaway. It's the short-circuits that cause these explosive events with mods in my opinion. The temperature and pressure builds up much, much faster diring a short circuit. Especially with the high-amp rated batteries we use for vaping.

    Old batteries do have higher internal resistance. This causes increased heating during use. If the battery was being run at the ragged edge of stability before then this increased heating could push it into venting. Typically it takes a lot more than this to enter thermal runaway though, like a short.

    All of the chemistries vent at about the same temperatures and internal pressures. But if the abuse is severe enough then the battery can go into thermal runaway before it can vent.

    IMR chemistry batteries have the highest thermal runaway threshold temperature of the chemistries we use for vaping...this is good. They also have the lowest "temperature of reaction". This lower temperature means a less violent reaction and it almost never leads to ignition of the flammable liquid(s) in a battery.

    INR/NMC/NCA "hybrid" chemistries, like the 25R and many others, has a lower thermal runaway threshold temperature and a higher temperature of reaction than IMR. The reaction can be more violent than IMR. But it is still pretty safe and only occasionally are there flames during runaway.

    ICR chemistry batteries, which includes LiPo, is another whole different ball game. It has the lowest thermal runaway threshold temp and the highest temp of reaction. In runaway the reactions are extremely violent and usually accompanied by flames. This higher reaction temperature creates a lot more gas a lot faster. This can lead to very violent bursting of the battery case and can easily send any nearby batteries also into thermal runaway. If an ICR goes into runaway in a tube mech....ohhhhh boy.

    The best way to prevent thermal runaway is to never short a battery....ever. Exceeding ratings, leaving it in a hot car, etc., usually just leads to venting at the worst. Tesla and other car companies severely derate their batteries to gain safety. They only charge them up to like 80% and only discharge them down to 30%, at the lowest. This reduces heating and significantly increases life. They also monitor the voltage of each battery (or small troup of batteries) and can isolate any particular group of batteries if there is a problem detected. Temperature is also monitored. Battery current is prevented from exceeding certain limits and active cooling is provided to give additional protection. About as different from the operating environment of a battery in a mech as you can get. :)
     

    sofarsogood

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    Batteries never really burst with the energy that I would call an explosion. It's the trapping of the expanding gas in the mod that causes the mod to explode.
    Thank you. I've been doing several of the following for the sake of service life and endurance. Are these also safe practices and is there anything I've overlooked?

    1. Buy freshly made authentic batteries and test them with a multimeter periodically.
    2. Square battery cases should vent more reliably than tubes.
    3. Higher ohms and lower watts are less stress than the reverse
    4. 2 batteries in paralell are less stress than single or series setups.
    5. Recharging batteries more often is better than running them down because operating at higher voltage is less stress.

    The ecig manufacturers like to sell mods with built in batteries, ie. istick 50. Is there any important safety or performance benefit? I'd prefer to be using regulated mods with replacable batteries.

    Thanks again
     

    zapped

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    Richmond, Va...Right in Altria's back yard.
    Thank you. I've been doing several of the following for the sake of service life and endurance. Are these also safe practices and is there anything I've overlooked?

    1. Buy freshly made authentic batteries and test them with a multimeter periodically.
    2. Square battery cases should vent more reliably than tubes.
    3. Higher ohms and lower watts are less stress than the reverse
    4. 2 batteries in paralell are less stress than single or series setups.
    5. Recharging batteries more often is better than running them down because operating at higher voltage is less stress.

    The ecig manufacturers like to sell mods with built in batteries, ie. istick 50. Is there any important safety or performance benefit? I'd prefer to be using regulated mods with replacable batteries.

    Thanks again

    Excellent post!

    Just wanted to add a follow up and say that if you use paired batteries, treat them as a single unit. Buy some wraps and color code them, charge them both at the same time and dont mix with other batteries.
     
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