Lithium battery failure = boom (I'm okay)

[eskimoroll]

I was sitting at home this morning happily vaping on my Magnum Box mod when all of a sudden it goes boom and gives off a small explosion with gas venting out of the box. It scared the crap out of me and I'm glad I wasn't injured. I made sure to get clear of the vapor immediately and once I felt sure that everything was okay, I opened the case.

What I found surprised me. It doesn't appear to be a short circuit but rather one of the CR2 cells had a failure. It may have been user error (overcharged, undercharged, etc) or a manufacturing defect but the bottom line is that the battery failed in a dangerous manner. On the positive side, the battery looked fine except that it flipped open a small tab on the positive end where it vented the gas. That's a safety feature that I'm glad worked otherwise I would have had an explosive fire failure which is far more frightening.

Oh and the magnum box? It's perfectly fine and working like a champ. I'm just a bit skittish around the CR2 batteries now though. Anyone have a good source of some reliable CR2s that are protected?

 

[ApOsTle51]

that's a major reason these things will be banned , having an unstable power source so close to the users face.
I wonder what kind off safeguards and standards mobile phones have with their batts.

Still , glad your all ok Eskimoroll. I'm guessing the failed battery was un-protected ?

and don't forget a protected batt will be a millimeter or two longer than the un-protected variety.

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Eskimoroll--Glad to hear you are alright there---must have scarced the vape out of you. I would hate to see what an 18500 would do. I do not know of a source for protected CR2's --only the Cr123's---if I come across one I will post-------again, glad you are ok----Sun

 

[Cobain76]

I had a similar problem with the spiderfire cr123's, I unplugged the charger with the batteries still in and placed them in my bag and left for work. As I got about a mile down the road something exploded and I thought someone had shot at me. Then I realized my bookbag in the backseat was on fire and the smoke was filling my truck up. I pulled over and got it put out the batteries looked like little grenades, there was copper all in my bag the charger was melted and the usb passthrough that happened to be in there also melted along with a bottle of liquid. Needless to say I would never use unprotected batteries again nor would I store them with my backup equipment. My guess is they were overcharged and one or the other exploded taking the other one with it.

 

[500KV]

that's a major reason these things will be banned , having an unstable power source so close to the users face.

Really makes you stop and think doesn't it?
Eskimoroll said the gas "vented out of the box".
What would happen to a sealed device with the same failure? That's the million dollar question.

 

[Walrus]

I'm holding my breath and waiting for it. If you don't know what it is... don't worry, you will.

 

[eskimoroll]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Yes, the battery was unprotected and my guess is that I probably overcharged it. If I knew where to get protected CR2s, I would have gone with them.

As for cell phones, laptop and cellphone lithium battery explosions have been going on for a while resulting in recalls and lawsuits. Hopefully e-cig manufacturers are using quality protected batteries from a reliable source. Me blowing myself up with a homemade mod is one thing but mass producing and marketing a device with cheapo batteries is asking for trouble.

Oh and I expected that vented gas + sealed container = shrapnel. Very scary thought.

 

[500KV]

Oh and I expected that vented gas + sealed container = shrapnel. Very scary thought.

Exactly. I'm gonna drill a couple of small vent holes in my pipe mods. The're ugly anyway so won't hurt the looks.

 

[youfillintheblank]

Holy fudge!!! Is this the one you made based on my idea?? I only ask because I've never had a failure on one of my batts thank god, but wondering if you've ever dropped a battery, had it in your pocket around other metal objects, or maybe run it really really low on charge, etc....something that made it go wonky before the explosion?

There was some discussion somewhere that these dealextreme batts ARE protected but I took the plastic wrap off an old one and it had no PCB so they can't be protected. The funny thing is that they behave like they are protected...when the charge gets low they just stop working, they go from big vapour to none, and that is one of the characteristics of protected cells. I play it safe with mine and charge them once a day no matter what. you can do that with Li-Ions, they like frequent charges.

I was sitting at home this morning happily vaping on my Magnum Box mod when all of a sudden it goes boom and gives off a small explosion with gas venting out of the box. It scared the crap out of me and I'm glad I wasn't injured. I made sure to get clear of the vapor immediately and once I felt sure that everything was okay, I opened the case.

What I found surprised me. It doesn't appear to be a short circuit but rather one of the CR2 cells had a failure. It may have been user error (overcharged, undercharged, etc) or a manufacturing defect but the bottom line is that the battery failed in a dangerous manner. On the positive side, the battery looked fine except that it flipped open a small tab on the positive end where it vented the gas. That's a safety feature that I'm glad worked otherwise I would have had an explosive fire failure which is far more frightening.

Oh and the magnum box? It's perfectly fine and working like a champ. I'm just a bit skittish around the CR2 batteries now though. Anyone have a good source of some reliable CR2s that are protected?

 

[LuckySevens4U]

Imagine that. Unprotected batteries going boom, and I get slammed for advocating for use of protective batteries. ::::::::sigh::::::: Glad you are okay. This is why I still am even concerned about the Janty Stick. I will not purchase a device without protective batteries and an on/off kill switch.

 

[Tone]

Imagine that. Unprotected batteries going boom, and I get slammed for advocating for use of protective batteries. ::::::::sigh::::::: Glad you are okay. This is why I still am even concerned about the Janty Stick. I will not purchase a device without protective batteries and an on/off kill switch.

I was waiting for you to comment

 

[eskimoroll]

Holy fudge!!! Is this the one you made based on my idea?? I only ask because I've never had a failure on one of my batts thank god, but wondering if you've ever dropped a battery, had it in your pocket around other metal objects, or maybe run it really really low on charge, etc....something that made it go wonky before the explosion?

There was some discussion somewhere that these dealextreme batts ARE protected but I took the plastic wrap off an old one and it had no PCB so they can't be protected. The funny thing is that they behave like they are protected...when the charge gets low they just stop working, they go from big vapour to none, and that is one of the characteristics of protected cells. I play it safe with mine and charge them once a day no matter what. you can do that with Li-Ions, they like frequent charges.

Yup, it's that very one. I don't think I've ever dropped them and I don't carry them in my pockets or store them near metal. As for how low the charge got, I can't say. I have a bunch of CR2s and I rotate through them but I'm not very disciplined in terms of keeping track of them.

 

[Walrus]

::exhale::

 

[eskimoroll]

Imagine that. Unprotected batteries going boom, and I get slammed for advocating for use of protective batteries. ::::::::sigh::::::: Glad you are okay. This is why I still am even concerned about the Janty Stick. I will not purchase a device without protective batteries and an on/off kill switch.

I can't speak for the rest of the guys on this site, but I'm definitely going to buy only protected batteries from now one. One close call is more than enough for me.

 

[nicowolf]

Eskimoroll, I am glad that you are ok and that the damages were so limited. The idea of that happening anywhere near my face scares the feces outta me. I went on a brief quest for protected CR2 batteries for my Magnum mods and got distracted with the Nicostick. I haven't looked back at the Magnums, sorry.

Lucky, please don't go stir up the Cowgirl, she won't understand until her precious expensive stick goes boom in her face like the exploding cigar prank.

Youfillintheblanks, it is real easy to attribute lack of vapor to other things besides the battery, and to continue trying to push that button testing each possibility. Add liquid, try again, check connections, try again, switch atomizers, try again, add liquid to the second atomizer, try again. Each time that button is pressed to try out another theory, it depletes the battery even further.

Walrus, wait no longer. I am not going to say "I told ya so". I am going to simply emphasize that this type of explosion is very much possible with unprotected lithium batteries. It is even more possible when those batteries are in the hands of someone who only knows NiMH and NiCd rechargeables or lithium batteries in cell phones that now typically carry their own protection in the circuitry to the phone. This is why I am so outspoken about using protected and why the modders' forum now requires that any step by step instructionals demonstrate and advocate protected batts. It is not to make life difficult, or to be a nanny state. It is to protect those who are too new to the whole thing to know the difference./lecture.

 

[Shreck]

I have been reading this forum since January and have yet to post, But I really just had to say this. Walrus, THAT was funny! I was waiting for the same thing!

 

[Ladycats]

I'm holding my breath and waiting for it. If you don't know what it is... don't worry, you will.

LOL Walrus I was wondering why your avatar turned BLUE ... breathe Walrus .. breathe !!!!!

 

[TnA]

Eskimoroll....definitely glad to hear you're okay and the damage was so minimal!

There was some discussion somewhere that these dealextreme batts ARE protected but I took the plastic wrap off an old one and it had no PCB so they can't be protected. The funny thing is that they behave like they are protected...when the charge gets low they just stop working, they go from big vapour to none, and that is one of the characteristics of protected cells.

youfillintheblank. I can tell you my original Nicostick was with the unprotected 10440 battery and I experienced something similar. I mistakingly wired a high output led that takes 3 volts to operate. So, when the battery is charged, it vapes well and makes a great led flashlight. But once the voltage drops below 3 volts, the led dies out and so does the vapor. I'm wondering what the cut-off voltage is for these atomizers is (think this might have been discussed in other threads). There has to be a threshold at which the voltage/amperage is not high enough to produce enough heat to create vapor. Thus the possible reason for your transition from big vapour to none.

Nicowolf, I'm glad we got to see a true-to-life example of your concerns and that it was a rather painless example!

 

[balldope]

Glad your OK, Wow... How can anyone avoid this other then buying protected bats?

 

[youfillintheblank]

I'm not sure about that.....these batteries do say the cut off for low voltage is 2.0v....byt that number I would assume 2 almost dead batteries would put out 4 volts, plenty to fire up the atomizer. That's what lead me to believe that they were protected.....the voltage got low, and the circuit board said "alright men, shut 'er down we're low on power" there could a PCB under the cap at the positive end of the battery....but I don't feel much like poking at it for fear of shorting it out.

I'm happy with my setup the way it is, I just charge the batteries often to keep a solid charge in them and I just keep on foggin' up the place!

youfillintheblank. I can tell you my original Nicostick was with the unprotected 10440 battery and I experienced something similar. I mistakingly wired a high output led that takes 3 volts to operate. So, when the battery is charged, it vapes well and makes a great led flashlight. But once the voltage drops below 3 volts, the led dies out and so does the vapor. I'm wondering what the cut-off voltage is for these atomizers is (think this might have been discussed in other threads). There has to be a threshold at which the voltage/amperage is not high enough to produce enough heat to create vapor. Thus the possible reason for your transition from big vapour to none.

Nicowolf, I'm glad we got to see a true-to-life example of your concerns and that it was a rather painless example!