Another battery goes BOOM

[Coastal Cowboy]

If that was for me, I don't put much more trust in joyetech than in the 'knockoffs'. Everything made out there seems to be part of a never-ending battle of knocking off by any company that can break into the game. I just know that many put too much faith in joyetech. Having a reasonably big name, with much to lose, does tend to make companies somewhat more conscientious, some of the time.

I think that all of the eGo chargers, regardless of brand, are essentially the same circuit, which was poorly designed from a safety standpoint. I believe that the market will eventually force a better design, though I think that it'll take a lot more bad publicity to get there.

Manufacturers in China don't care about US patent or copyright laws, so they certainly don't care about knocking off the products made by a manufacturer in their own country. As I said in the fasttech forum, Chinese manufacturers and patent laws are about as foreign to one another as oil and water.

There are some Chinese companies that care about QC and Kanger is one of them. I think they look long term. That's one of the reasons why I like to see that when I get a Bottom Coil Clearo, battery or coil for my Kanger stuff, I make sure the vendor only stocks Kanger stuff.

 

[bhswmc01]

Side note, there's an episode of My Strange Addiction where a girl sleeps with a hair dryer RUNNING next to her...

View attachment 232619

On topic, I don't charge anything via a USB port. It's slow and unreliable.

 

[kimbo55]

The Darwin Awards are coming up. There's still time to make the list.

 

[LucentShadow]

Manufacturers in China don't care about US patent or copyright laws, so they certainly don't care about knocking off the products made by a manufacturer in their own country. As I said in the FastTech forum, Chinese manufacturers and patent laws are about as foreign to one another as oil and water.

There are some Chinese companies that care about QC and Kanger is one of them. I think they look long term. That's one of the reasons why I like to see that when I get a Bottom Coil Clearo, battery or coil for my Kanger stuff, I make sure the vendor only stocks Kanger stuff.

In my experience with Kanger products, I agree that they seem to care about quality and consistency. Though they did just recall some of their batteries, thus pointing out a problem, but the fact that they did so is encouraging in itself.

I've no experience with their batteries or chargers. I'd bet that if they sell eGo chargers, they're identical to all the others out there.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

In my experience with Kanger products, I agree that they seem to care about quality and consistency. Though they did just recall some of their batteries, thus pointing out a problem, but the fact that they did so is encouraging in itself.

I've no experience with their batteries or chargers. I'd bet that if they sell eGo chargers, they're identical to all the others out there.

Recalls don't happen at companies that don't care about QC. Those that do care identify problems and take appropriate steps. Those that don't probably end up selling their wares on sites like [the one that shall not be mentioned outside of the FastTech thread or forum].

Manufacturers' defects are a fact of life in our mass production world. There's always a problem with something, somewhere. I saw where a woman was shocked when answering a charging iPhone. I saw another story where somebody got his hands burned badly when his laptop battery went Armageddon.

Batteries can be dangerous in flashlights, cell phones, electric razors AND...

e-cigs.

 

[crawler65]

I don't charge anything via a USB port. It's slow and unreliable.

It's not so much a matter of charging using a USB port for a power supply, if it is ONLY a power supply. It's much more a matter of running that USB power through a PROPER charging cricket for the battery you are charging.
Hope that helps.

 

[ennagizer]

Sherman man's e-cigarette explodes while charging

Check out the 1:40 mark in the video. There's a clear shot of the complaint letter. The incident happened on or about Nov. 5, 2012. The ecig in question is stated as being an Envy Electronic Cigarette. Wes Sloan is stating that damage included the carpet, furniture & computer by the fire, heat & molting metal pieces shot out by the battery.

What's interesting is that Wes went to the store the next day to inform them of what happened, showed the burns on his hand and also made it known that the fumes caused breathing problems. Then they went to a hospital emergency room for treatment.

Makes sense right? Get physically harmed by an exploding battery, go to the place of purchase the next day to complain, then go to a hospital emergency room for treatment. Wes went to the hospital again, 10 days later, for toxic fume inhalation as well as his wife, but it is unclear when she went to the hospital for this, but it seems it was a few days after Wes did (on the 16th).

The letter appears to be poorly written and I'd guess it was not written by an attorney. It also isn't dated, but it is now 8 months after the incident happened.

EDIT: Oh, and it appears the device was purchased at a tobacco shop, not a dedicated ecig shop. Not that it makes a difference, just wanted to mention it.

 

[SissySpike]

Problem solved!

 

[tA71ana]

Check out the 1:40 mark in the video. There's a clear shot of the complaint letter. The incident happened on or about Nov. 5, 2012. The ecig in question is stated as being an Envy Electronic Cigarette. Wes Sloan is stating that damage included the carpet, furniture & computer by the fire, heat & molting metal pieces shot out by the battery.

What's interesting is that Wes went to the store the next day to inform them of what happened, showed the burns on his hand and also made it known that the fumes caused breathing problems. Then they went to a hospital emergency room for treatment.

Makes sense right? Get physically harmed by an exploding battery, go to the place of purchase the next day to complain, then go to a hospital emergency room for treatment. Wes went to the hospital again, 10 days later, for toxic fume inhalation as well as his wife, but it is unclear when she went to the hospital for this, but it seems it was a few days after Wes did (on the 16th).

The letter appears to be poorly written and I'd guess it was not written by an attorney. It also isn't dated, but it is now 8 months after the incident happened.

EDIT: Oh, and it appears the device was purchased at a tobacco shop, not a dedicated ecig shop. Not that it makes a difference, just wanted to mention it.

If I was burned as bad I would not have spent time complaining to the vendor, I would have gotten myself to the hospital.
Burns can infect very easily.
I would not have waited until the next day O.O
And who is Envy? never heard of those guys.
Has anyone ever heard of them?

 

[ennagizer]

I'm guessing Envy is this company: envycig.com

 

[Baldr]

Any battery can fail. The one on your cell phone, the one in the car, whatever. Some of those failures can be very impressive.

I've said before that most battery fail while on the charger. Some folks have disagreed with me, but it looks to me like the majority of the time, when I hear of a vape battery "exploding" or "catching fire" or anything similar, it's either while charging or immediately afterward. The first time you hit the power button after taking it off the charger is the time that you are most at risk, since you are holding it. If it doesn't fail the first time you power it up after charging, it's not likely to go off in your face 30 minutes later.

One thing that you can easily do is to put your batteries in a charging bag when you charge them. I'm surprised that these aren't more popular with the vaping crowd. They were designed by the

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=lipo+charging+bag


I know some vapers are using them, but not most, and most of the vape shops don't carry them. I know a few vapers have built charging boxes designed to hold their batteries when they are charging and contain any explosion/venting.

Over 99% of the time, charging won't lead to a problem. But a charging bag seems a lot like wearing a seatbelt - it's there just for that off chance.