another battery venting. User error by my opinion.

[NealBJr]

This was posted five hours ago on facebook, and probably happened last night. A person just bought a new mod, put batteries in it, then walked out of the store. The batteries vented and exploded in the vape parking lot. This is why vape shop owners need to warn them. In the end, I think it's the user's error. From the pictures, it looks like a dual battery mech mod, and if you look at the burn marks, the right battery was in correctly, the left one was backwards (like what you would do in a regulated, or a series setup). Let me know what you think.

 

[Baditude]

From the pictures, it looks like a dual battery mech mod, and if you look at the burn marks, the right battery was in correctly, the left one was backwards (like what you would do in a regulated, or a series setup). Let me know what you think.

Just from that one photo, I think its difficult to come to any conclusions at all except that this was a major catastrophe. Most battery incidents end up being some sort of user error, so making that conclusion seems a safe bet.

I can't really tell what type of mod (mech or regulated) it is other than its a dual battery. Who can really tell if it was a series or parallel circuit without knowing the wiring circuit? Just judging by the battery contacts being the same left to right, I'm guessing it was a parallel circuit. Who can tell from the photo what orientation the batteries were in? Not me.

I can't tell what type of atomizer (clearomizer, RTA, or RDA) was used.

I can't tell what batteries were used. The shrinkwrap looks like it was green, but half of the 18650 batteries are green. Who can tell if the battery compartment walls were plastic or metal? If they were metal, a tear in the battery wrap could have caused a battery short. But I repeat, without more real info we are just jumping to conclusions.

 

[evan le'garde]

Shame it didn't happen in a tobacco/cigarette factory, and , oh no, burnt the place to the ground. That would be a disaster. I think there would be some irony in there somewhere too.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Without knowing all the particulars, not even worth a guess.

Sadly most vape shops wouldn't know anything about safety, amp draw / CDR authentic vs fake / rewrap cells etc...

 

[untar]

What am I looking at? Did they try to extinguish the mod with sand? Did the sand come from an exploded battery? (wouldn't be the first time, I remember some china fakes filled with sand and a smaller cell)

I agree with baditude, too early to say anything definitive.

What I'll say though is: if the error is indeed putting in the batteries incorrectly, how in the name of balls can that happen in a vape shop?

 

[Asbestos4004]

Shame it didn't happen in a tobacco/cigarette factory, and , oh no, burnt the place to the ground. That would be a disaster. I think there would be some irony in there somewhere too.

huh? What am I missing? What does a tobacco/cigarette factory have to do with a mod venting? And why would you like to see one burn down?

 

[ImThatGuy]

Fairly early to come to conclusions. We all are not there to investigate and/or part of the investigation. One can sum it up as user error; because at the end of the day...it's the user who uses the product.

 

[stols001]

There have been previous explosions in vape shops, I believe one happened during a cloud competition.

If the vendor was selling rewraps, then I'm not that surprised. Unfortunately vape store owners seem incapable of understanding that battery safety may be THE most damaging thing to vaping, in the end. The LAST place I would ever buy a battery from would be a vape shop. Unfortunately for vaping, if even the vendors won't/can't teach battery safety, I despair of who will. This is one area where I think there should be more oversight. I don't care as much about kids vaping (although I wish they wouldn't) as I do vapes EXPLODING.

I also agree with Batitude, way too soon to try and dissect the incident. It may well be that everyone did everything right (although I doubt it) and this happened. I just hope no one was badly injured, although every time I see one of these posts it makes me wince about a) what I didn't know before I got here and b) what a large number of vapers don't know, either. I actually think that given current equipment and practices that I am surprised there are not more of these incidents, and I think it is a shame.

Anna

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Wouldn't be user error at all if the vape shop sent the user out the door with improper / insufficient / fake / counterfeit / re wrap batteries, or never mentioned proper battery orientation or any warnings about the dangers of misuse.

 

[stols001]

Oh, and I don't love big tobacco either but I would hate to see a factory (with all the live human beings inside) burn to the ground.

How quickly we forget we used to be dependent on cigarettes. Tobacco is not the enemy, in fact I sometimes wonder what would happen if big tobacco AND vaping banded together while each keeping their "piece" of the pie. They are both going to be equally attacked.

Also, @evan le'garde , where on earth do you think your nicotine comes from? Tobacco is not the enemy we need to most guard ourselves against, it is the anti-everythings, and the government who wants to tax everything.

I'm also not a fan of wishing doom on my "enemies" real or imagined. Come on now.

Anna

 

[NealBJr]

Well, The mod itself looks similar to the Geekvape mech pro, or a clone of one of them. I'm not convinced it's a mech pro, because of the curvature on the button side.

Just judging by the pictures, it looks as if the batteries were put in series mode... reason being, the burn marks. Batteries vent from the weakest point.. which is the top. the bottom of the batteries are solid metal (as shown in the pic), so they vent from the top (positive side). Both the burn marks on the mod, and the fact the heat shrink is burned on the negative side and blown upwards indicate they were hooked up in series style, and vented. Seeing as it took just a few minutes after the batteries were inserted, They were probably put in incorrectly at the shop. Or in the car. My guess is the user was used to regulated mods, and put them in series.

My guess, would be the left battery vented, and the in tact battery was the right.. which is the one shown.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post someone elses facebook page, but this was from facebook from one of my wife's co-workers.

 

[Bonskibon]

WOW... that car.... amazing no one was injured.

 

[NealBJr]

Oh, and I don't love big tobacco either but I would hate to see a factory (with all the live human beings inside) burn to the ground.

How quickly we forget we used to be dependent on cigarettes. Tobacco is not the enemy, in fact I sometimes wonder what would happen if big tobacco AND vaping banded together while each keeping their "piece" of the pie. They are both going to be equally attacked.

Also, @evan le'garde , where on earth do you think your nicotine comes from? Tobacco is not the enemy we need to most guard ourselves against, it is the anti-everythings, and the government who wants to tax everything.

I'm also not a fan of wishing doom on my "enemies" real or imagined. Come on now.

Anna

No, this is where I have to disagree about defending the tobacco company. Tobacco is not the enemy, I agree about that. But the companies that make cigarettes not only hid the truth once they found out, but also have engineered the tobacco to be more addictive, and worked around the system to include other chemicals. One case that comes to mind, is ammonia which increases the decay time of nicotine in the body. They did research on it, found out that small doses of it increased the power of the nicotine.... so.. they added that in.

Trust me, I have no respect for tobacco companies.

 

[NealBJr]

WOW... that car.... amazing no one was injured.

Luckily, Jake and Josh were fine. I they got out fast enough for it to not hurt them, and most of what you see is from the extinguishers.

 

[untar]

Dunnoh what that mod is but it is certainly not a GV mech pro, battery door is on the wrong side and battery door "recepticle" looks different and the mech pro has a locking switch.
Maybe they're covered in sand (why is there sand?) but on the photo I can't see any battery orientation indicators.

Again, if the story is true and he put the batteries in in the vape shop (a.k.a. in soft sexy voice range of the sales person) then how could they let that happen? In that case I'd say it's user error only in the technical sense, he put the batteries in, but I also see some serious failure on the shop side...

 

[Asbestos4004]

Deleted

 

[Topwater Elvis]

No, this is where I have to disagree about defending the tobacco company. Tobacco is not the enemy, I agree about that. But the companies that make cigarettes not only hid the truth once they found out, but also have engineered the tobacco to be more addictive, and worked around the system to include other chemicals. One case that comes to mind, is ammonia which increases the decay time of nicotine in the body. They did research on it, found out that small doses of it increased the power of the nicotine.... so.. they added that in.

Trust me, I have no respect for tobacco companies.

Actually the FDA required those additions to guarantee a consistent product & a consistent measured dose. Just so happens the additions are far worse than an inconsistent finished product except when any certain crop exceeds the normal or expected levels of whatever due to plant, growing area & growing conditions variances. Add 10lbs of fertilizer per acre too much or have extended 90+ degree days during late term growth and you have a real problem.

Leaf tobacco varies from leaf to leaf, plant to plant & growing area & conditions.

Lets all pound on big tobacco while the same folks we trust to ensure our safety bend us over, repeatedly.

Sure did get off topic quick,
back to your regularly scheduled exploding mechanical theory thread.

 

[stols001]

I agree that big tobacco has done its share of harm. I just don't see how that's any different than if this vape shop sent this person from the store with rewrapped batteries possibly in the incorrect configuration.

I guess we shouldn't have vape shops then? I simply refuse to be anti-anything related to tobacco. Pitting big tobacco against vaping does nothing for either.

And, we still do get our nicotine from tobacco, and I still don't believe that most of the workers in said fictional plant that "catches fire" are to blame for big tobacco's missteps and lies. I merely am pointing out that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. IMO, the government is currently seeking to starve/tax/extinguish BOTH. I am aware of big tobacco's deceptive practices and lies. I was a grown adult (well 18) when I started, and already knew that stuff. I don't blame big tobacco, I blame myself.

I do think that vaping and big tobacco have a "common" fight, although I will agree that vaping is vastly less harmful and should be prioritized. But if we wander around wishing misfortune on Big Tobacco, we do nothing "good" for vaping, and nothing "good," generally. It's easy to point at big tobacco as the enemy, and I agree that their practices and lobbyists were misleading from the very beginning. I still do not wish them harm, and driving a wedge between similar "interest" groups is pretty standard government practice, in my opinion.

Anna

 

[ImThatGuy]

Wouldn't be user error at all if the vape shop sent the user out the door with improper / insufficient / fake / counterfeit / re wrap batteries, or never mentioned proper battery orientation or any warnings about the dangers of misuse.

Of course it wouldn't be, but you're talking about steps that aren't needed/required in a retail store. You're asking for users to be consulted about what they just received as though they were picking up prescription medicine from a pharmacy where a pharmacist is attending to the customer; a pharmacist who knows of the prescribed medicine; a pharmacist who has the knowledge of it's prescribed directions; a pharmacist who has extensive knowledge through formal education, a pharmacist who is employed by the pharmacy; a pharmacist who is required by law to consult if needed (IF NEEDED);a pharmacy that is heavily governed by regulations; etc.

There needs to be accountability; personal accountability. We all know most of the sellers have no education in vaping/engineering/etc to sell these items in a vape store nor are required to consult. It's time we do our own research before making that purchase; before using it. You don't hear people crying foul when we make vape purchases online and not get consulted, warned, and informed of possible dangers of misuse.

 

[Eskie]

@NealBJr if this is from a coworker of your wife's perhaps more concrete information might become available. Right now there is nothing to conclude about what happened based on the photo alone. Other than that car is going to need a lot of detail work to get all the fire extinguisher residue out. Hopefully no one was injured.