18650 Battery sparked, help?

[Reconsider]

I feel stupid asking for help, but I can't find anything online as to why this happened-

First off, I just bought the RX200 Mod, brand new, and 3 brand new LG 18650s (rated 20A I believe, if not higher, bought them at the vape store, since my 25R's are still being shipped)

Just bought both yesterday, haven't had any problems. Just had a friend build me dual parallel coils (9 wraps/.3 ohms), and was vaping them at 115 watts for a bit. Batteries got low, so took them home and charged them.

Went to put the batteries in, and when I put the final one in, it sparked on the positive side. Took them all out, tried it again, and it sparked again. I'm not sure if it was the same battery- was really panicked.

Put them in a final time, no sparking, and my RX turned on, no warnings or errors. I fired my RX and noticed my coils weren't firing- it was a BRAND new build, had JUST been vaping it an hour ago right after it was built. One coil wasn't firing, one was. So I turned RX off, took cotton out, tightened posts a wee bit- they weren't really loose, fired it again and coils shorted out, I believe. One caught fire, and so I stopped firing the mod. Not sure what happened to my build, or if my battery had something to do with it?

I'm just really panicked/scared, don't even want to touch the RX or my batteries. Can't figure out WHY it sparked- thinking maybe because it was at 115 watts and as soon as it made that connection and turned the RX on, it was just a lot of amp load? IDK. I'd appreciate any help.

Brand new mod, brand new batteries, brand new build. Beats me. :/

 

[Clydde26]

First you need to do your battery test turn mod off and hold left (-) and power to check power of all batteries... They should all be around 4.1 something if not the fully charged 4.2.... Secondly check the top of your positive caps of you battery where it sparked there will be a burn Mark... I had This happen with efest when the black sticker came off the positive cap... I just put the sticker back on and used some scotch tape to keep in place and cut out a hole so the positive cap could make connection.... As far as your build you should probably use a stock coil in a cheap atty until you figure out your battery issue

 

[crxess]

You really don't know what you are doing yet, do you?

The Mod likely lights up(LCD) when the Batteries are installed(Power on mode?)
Spark is contact to a Live(LCD) circuit. Likely not an issue.(inspect battery covering)

After Tightening coils - Bump the power and read the OHMS to be sure it is not shorting. - Probably not, unless you twisted the Coil while tightening.
If Reading correctly(OHMS) then, not shorting.

Caught Fire - Hot e-liquid in open air with no air passing over, can easily ignite.

Mostly, it seems you need to spend a bit of time with Vapers experienced in equipment such as yours.

* Always confirm Battery direction while re-installing.*

 

[Eitje]

I feel stupid asking for help, but I can't find anything online as to why this happened-

First off, I just bought the RX200 Mod, brand new, and 3 brand new LG 18650s (rated 20A I believe, if not higher, bought them at the vape store, since my 25R's are still being shipped)

Just bought both yesterday, haven't had any problems. Just had a friend build me dual parallel coils (9 wraps/.3 ohms), and was vaping them at 115 watts for a bit. Batteries got low, so took them home and charged them.

Went to put the batteries in, and when I put the final one in, it sparked on the positive side. Took them all out, tried it again, and it sparked again. I'm not sure if it was the same battery- was really panicked.

Put them in a final time, no sparking, and my RX turned on, no warnings or errors. I fired my RX and noticed my coils weren't firing- it was a BRAND new build, had JUST been vaping it an hour ago right after it was built. One coil wasn't firing, one was. So I turned RX off, took cotton out, tightened posts a wee bit- they weren't really loose, fired it again and coils shorted out, I believe. One caught fire, and so I stopped firing the mod. Not sure what happened to my build, or if my battery had something to do with it?

I'm just really panicked/scared, don't even want to touch the RX or my batteries. Can't figure out WHY it sparked- thinking maybe because it was at 115 watts and as soon as it made that connection and turned the RX on, it was just a lot of amp load? IDK. I'd appreciate any help.

Brand new mod, brand new batteries, brand new build. Beats me. :/

Your batteries and mod are fine most likely. Check your batteries for any outward signs they are not.
Take the atty of the mod, put the batteries in with swift precision.
Check the battery voltage as described above. Should be similar over all 3 batteries. If not, charge them first

Connect the atty and check ohm reading. Better: take multimeter or ohm meter to check the resistance. If ohms are dangerously low (0.0x), rebuild.

If all as expected, rewick, put liquid, vape.

 

[EverPresentNoob]

You really don't know what you are doing yet, do you?

The Mod likely lights up(LCD) when the Batteries are installed(Power on mode?)
Spark is contact to a Live(LCD) circuit. Likely not an issue.(inspect battery covering)

After Tightening coils - Bump the power and read the OHMS to be sure it is not shorting. - Probably not, unless you twisted the Coil while tightening.
If Reading correctly(OHMS) then, not shorting.

Caught Fire - Hot e-liquid in open air with no air passing over, can easily ignite.

Mostly, it seems you need to spend a bit of time with Vapers experienced in equipment such as yours.

* Always confirm Battery direction while re-installing.*

Exactly. you can always go back to the local vape shop you bought that batteries and ask them to check everything out.

 

[Ryedan]

Went to put the batteries in, and when I put the final one in, it sparked on the positive side. Took them all out, tried it again, and it sparked again. I'm not sure if it was the same battery- was really panicked.

I just tried putting in the last battery in my RX200 a few times with the watts at 150 and there was no spark. It would worry me if there had been. Inserting that battery should not cause a spark because there is very little amp draw in the circuit when you do that.

Put them in a final time, no sparking, and my RX turned on, no warnings or errors. I fired my RX and noticed my coils weren't firing- it was a BRAND new build, had JUST been vaping it an hour ago right after it was built. One coil wasn't firing, one was. So I turned RX off, took cotton out, tightened posts a wee bit- they weren't really loose, fired it again and coils shorted out, I believe. One caught fire, and so I stopped firing the mod. Not sure what happened to my build, or if my battery had something to do with it?

That's just too confusing. There are way too many possible issues in that paragraph for me to get any real sense of what the problem(s) might be.

I suggest you take everything back to the shop you bought the RX200 from and get them to have a look at it.

Best of luck with it!

 

[Reconsider]

@Clydde26: All three batteries were fully charged (together) and read as 4.2 volts (LUC v2 charger). There are no burn marks, or any marks on the batteries after this incident occurred.

@crxess: I appreciate your need to tell me I don't know what I'm doing, but, thank you. I've been vaping for a year now, and you're right. I don't know everything and anything there is under the sun about vaping. But I do know the basics, such as battery safety, which is why I'm coming to this post regarding the incident because I don't want to chance anything.

I have reached out to more experienced vapers, namely the people who work at the vape shop I frequent. They have no clue what happened with the batteries when I asked them, nor do several experienced vapers who personally own the RX.

As far as the build goes, the atty was reading at .3 when built, but read as .4 when this incident occurred. I had thought it was my screws needing tightened, but after talking to a few people in some groups, they mentioned that it probably shorted out because I had fired it at 115 watts. I also believe I may have clipped a lead when tightening posts- regardless, the coils shorted out, I can't find the exact cause, but I will be getting a new build today and see if I have any problems with it.

Also, in regards to the coil catching fire- I'm fully aware that eliquid can catch fire. I guess I failed to mention that I had basic/general knowledge. What I'm not sure on, is why the flame engulfed the coil, and part of the post, unlike any other time I've ever had the eliquid catch fire/burn off.

I didn't come here to get told I "don't know what I'm doing" or that I need to hang out with more experienced vapers. I know that I don't know everything, but I know the basics, and more times then not I'm safer with my mods/batteries then others. I'm new to building, yes, but "don't know what I'm doing" is kind of a stretch. What do you mean by this? In regards to vaping as a whole, battery handling, or coil building? Because your statement is a little broad, and a little insulting.

If I "didn't know what I was doing" would I have reached out for help, on a pretty reputable ecig forum, to double check safety? No, if I didn't know what I was doing, I'd go on my merry little way and pretend the spark was no biggie. If I "didn't know what I was doing" then how would I have known to check and see if the screws are loose, or known that there was a problem at all? If I "didn't know what I was doing" then why did I spent weeks researching batteries and battery safety, and only use married sets of the SAME battery/brand/model that should be bought together, always check and make sure the wraps are good, always store them in a cool, dry place in their own case away from anything remotely metal. If I "didn't know what I was doing" would I have reached out to other, more experienced vapers here, as well as in real life?

Again, I'm not saying I know everything there is to know, but I know the basics, and enough to make sure I'm not an idiot who blows her face off. All I'm saying is, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing as far as safety/how to handle my mod- I just had a freak/weird incident happen, that I myself couldn't explain, and reached out to get help. But thank you, for being kind of a jerk.

TL;DR: If anyone is having the same issue, I highly recommend reading this posts on reddit. They were a lot more informative/helpful.
18650 Battery sparked, help? • /r/electronic_cigarette
LG HG2 (the brown ones) emit a small spark upon contact in my gfs sig 150 • /r/electronic_cigarette

 

[Hans Wermhat]

If you (accidentally)hold the firing button on some mods when set to high watts while installing the batteries, it can cause a spark.

 

[crxess]

I just tried putting in the last battery in my RX200 a few times with the watts at 150 and there was no spark. It would worry me if there had been. Inserting that battery should not cause a spark because there is very little amp draw in the circuit when you do that.



That's just too confusing. There are way too many possible issues in that paragraph for me to get any real sense of what the problem(s) might be.

I suggest you take everything back to the shop you bought the RX200 from and get them to have a look at it.

Best of luck with it!

You do realize the Op may well have been inadvertently depressing the fire button while inserting the battery?
Batteries Out and Charging........internal discharge of any/all capacitors, insert and they attempt to charge instantly.(capacitors do that) - not the same as remove/insert to test for a Shorted condition.

Op seems to clearly be out of depth and needs one-on-one assistance. Return to Shop and Learn.

 

[Annie56]

You really don't know what you are doing yet, do you?

The Mod likely lights up(LCD) when the Batteries are installed(Power on mode?)
Spark is contact to a Live(LCD) circuit. Likely not an issue.(inspect battery covering)

After Tightening coils - Bump the power and read the OHMS to be sure it is not shorting. - Probably not, unless you twisted the Coil while tightening.
If Reading correctly(OHMS) then, not shorting.

Caught Fire - Hot e-liquid in open air with no air passing over, can easily ignite.

Mostly, it seems you need to spend a bit of time with Vapers experienced in equipment such as yours.

* Always confirm Battery direction while re-installing.*

That's a pretty intense build, dual parallel coils, even for someone who actually can build their own coils. I do not believe that anyone is trying to be condescending, or anything to the OP.

Friends don't build other friends' coils (unless you all are in a building club). If you did not rebuild this atty, then you don't really know its 'anatomy'. That is a really low Ω setup for someone that does know how to build.

These batteries, protected or not, are very dangerous if used incorrectly.

I built a dual coil 0.5Ω on a FT clone atty. It was a genny, but batteries really don't give a damn about that. I was pulsing out, moving the wraps just a scosche. And a spark flew out from the center of the deck. And my mech mod got HOT. Not warm, electric stove-burner HOT. I shook my hand, disconnected everything. Battery wasn't piping hot, and i put it down.

My build looked beautiful, like they always do. But upon removing the build, I discovered that the cheap pos pin insulator had melted, rendering it useless, causing the short.

And that was that evening's anatomy lesson. And i don't use that make of atty anymore. And i'm not so jazzed about trying to get a good dual coil going on a genny. And i'm not really jazzed about vape shop people that think that they are doing anybody any favors by installing competition coils in attys for people that are inexperienced in rebuilding.

You can really hurt yourself. Suffer bad burns. Or worse, hurt the person sitting next to you.

 

[Kprthevapr]

Just because you bought it at vape shop, doesn't mean the people working there are experts.

 

[Kprthevapr]

I feel stupid asking for help, but I can't find anything online as to why this happened-

First off, I just bought the RX200 Mod, brand new, and 3 brand new LG 18650s (rated 20A I believe, if not higher, bought them at the vape store, since my 25R's are still being shipped)

Just bought both yesterday, haven't had any problems. Just had a friend build me dual parallel coils (9 wraps/.3 ohms), and was vaping them at 115 watts for a bit. Batteries got low, so took them home and charged them.

Went to put the batteries in, and when I put the final one in, it sparked on the positive side. Took them all out, tried it again, and it sparked again. I'm not sure if it was the same battery- was really panicked.

Put them in a final time, no sparking, and my RX turned on, no warnings or errors. I fired my RX and noticed my coils weren't firing- it was a BRAND new build, had JUST been vaping it an hour ago right after it was built. One coil wasn't firing, one was. So I turned RX off, took cotton out, tightened posts a wee bit- they weren't really loose, fired it again and coils shorted out, I believe. One caught fire, and so I stopped firing the mod. Not sure what happened to my build, or if my battery had something to do with it?

I'm just really panicked/scared, don't even want to touch the RX or my batteries. Can't figure out WHY it sparked- thinking maybe because it was at 115 watts and as soon as it made that connection and turned the RX on, it was just a lot of amp load? IDK. I'd appreciate any help.

Brand new mod, brand new batteries, brand new build. Beats me. :/

What atty are you using? If only one coil is firing, you may have a loose screw on the atty.