A surprising and serious warning

[edyle]

I stand corrected then. I assumed that three side by side batteries would be in parallel.

That's too bad that the manufacturer chose that design. Parallel would have been safer than in series.

It's the norm;
regulated mods use series;
the only exception I know of is vaporflask.
unregulated mods use parallel.

there are 2 issues that concern me wrt parallel batt mods:
1: user error where the user accidently puts in the batteries the wrong way and gets instant short.
2: running on 1 batt unintentionally; a user can be running on 1 batt and not know it

 

[Hans Wermhat]

So, at the full 180W it won't fire anything lower than like .9 ohms unless it boosts the voltage? That's still about a 15A draw on the batteries. Or is my maths flawed?

 

[opticruby]

I stand corrected then. I assumed that three side by side batteries would be in parallel.

That's too bad that the manufacturer chose that design. Parallel would have been safer than in series.

I agree, it is like madness running 3 18650's in series. Almost like its unbeliveable.

 

[SpaceApe]

Wow, I wonder what exactly caused that... Glad you and your kitty are OK though. Although I wouldn't recommend it, be sure to exercise special caution if you continue to use that device.

 

[IronWolf]

Thanks for the heads up. I see I have a lot to learn. I'm a new vaper using a KangerTech Kbox mini.
I'm glad you're OK.

 

[Boden]

Boden, your pic is showing a green circuit board so that's an 180 the 180S has a blue circuit board and they must have seen that and changed the bottom contacts which are about 1/8 inch above the body base. the top contacts rest below 1/8 strip of foam rubber attached to the bottom of the plastic 2 screw cover at the top after you remove the wolf face back of the unit. as a side note, after the fiasco the first thing I did was check the contacts and all were in normal position , plus the new 18650's went in as tight as usual.

Well something flexed and touched something it wasn't supposed to. It's very likely that whatever flexed went back to its original position after the impact so you are not looking for something currently out of position.

 

[Amraann]

I would never use that mod again.. But if your going to then at the very least never leave it unattended and take the batteries out when not in use.

 

[Stinkytofus]

He rather blow his hands off than buy a new one

 

[mauricem00]

I thought of that so the first thing I did is delibertly hold the fire button down on the fresh batteries to see if the 10 second overtime safety still worked and it does ... plus it was darn near smoking the second it hit the floor so I'm stumped ...

first generation LI-ION batteries had a habit of developing internal shorts and many batteries were recalled because of this. with newer batteries this problem has been almost completely eliminated. but nothing is perfect and it is possible that one of your batteries developed an internal short.if these batteries operate in parallel one shorted battery would drain the other two at very high current.if everything else is working well. this could be a possible cause.although extremely rare it does happen

 

[Boden]

first generation LI-ION batteries had a habit of developing internal shorts and many batteries were recalled because of this. with newer batteries this problem has been almost completely eliminated. but nothing is perfect and it is possible that one of your batteries developed an internal short.since these batteries operate in parallel one shorted battery would drain the other two at very high current.if everything else is working well. this could be a possible cause.although extremely rare it does happen

This is a series box, an internal short would not drain the other batteries.

 

[suprtrkr]

Erm no. No insulator there.

I think you are right as to where to start looking.

Yeeeeeeeee, ouchie!

 

[stevegmu]

Some of these mods should come with ammo boxes to toss them in for such situations...
Someone could make some money painting and selling them. The vent box...

 

[crxess]

Most logical answer(IMO)
Single internal Battery short from impact. Short overloaded remaining batteries due to
extreme Resistance load causing the chain reaction.

This is based on Battery Fit in the mod and Mods lack of electrical damage after the incident.

Yes Batteries can short internally.

This is a series box, an internal short would not drain the other batteries.

Series = one higher voltage battery, Same as any Battery pack.

All are linked and if one Dead shorts all are dead shorts.

 

[crxess]

It's the norm;
regulated mods use series;
the only exception I know of is vaporflask.
unregulated mods use parallel.

Incorrect. I have seen many Regulated boxes using Parallel batteries for Longer Vape time rather than increased power.
Most gear is designed around the 3.7v norm and there is no need for most vapors to run 8.4v(max charge)
Running Parallel allows each battery to work at 1/2 its normal output while the mod still meets demand.

* Several UN-regulated mods are available running Series(bad idea), not to many Regulated mods.

Think overall Market, not special application.

 

[thetrucker]

Sorry to hear about your experience with vaping but glad to hear you and the cat and your house is in good condition.

 

[Boden]

Series = one higher voltage battery, Same as any Battery pack.

All are linked and if one Dead shorts all are dead shorts.

In order for a series pack to unload all three batteries simultaneously the terminus ends need to make contact. If one of the pack has an internal short that bridges the anode and cathode plates it would only act as a bridge lowering the total voltage to that of the remaining cells.

The problem with one of the cells shorting would be thermal runaway that would spread to the other cells in the pack. This sounds like a two stage rocket motor. One vents followed soon after by the others.

This is all ignoring the fact that in the vast majority of cases for an internal short to occur it happens either by something impacting the battery or during charging or discharging.

 

[Papillon61]

Thank god for you quick reflexes. Glad you and your kitty are ok.

 

[Spencer87]

Im not so big in the batteries but I believe when doubling the amperage, you also have to double the volts, so it works out to similar,no?

Anyways, yea, Ive hear things about the GOD MOD which is why Ididnt end up deciding on that one when I finally got my mod

 

[crxess]

Having many batteries apart and seeing 12v - 6 cell Batteries Explode from internal short...............I'll just agree to disagree on what happened.

Parts rarely jump out of place then return to normal position.
Mod failures rarely heal and return the Mod to full function.
Mod Protection rarely allows thermal runaway with out damage to the electronics system.

Could have been as simple as a damaged battery leaving the factory undetected.

 

[wizardofozone]

Well thanks to all for the various ideas on what might be the cause ... all I know is my cat owes me $34.00 for the loss of 3 new batteries !!