Anyone know of an exploding battery while vaping?

[rolygate]

ECF has about eight documented cases of a device exploding or venting violently while in use, although several more have been heard of but were not reported here. By 'documented' I mean full accounts, mostly with photos, by members in good standing. Many can be found by searching ECF for relevant terms.

All of the devices involved were metal tube APVs ('mods'), with no electronics, with two lithium batteries inserted in series.

No other type of device is implicated.

It basically means that if you have a mechanical or basic-electrical metal tubemod (one with no electronic protections), then if you decide to insert two batteries, there may be an increase of risk. It would be important to ensure no user errors take place (such as the charging and use of primary cells); that there are no faults (measure all battery and charger voltages with a multimeter, measure head resistance, check for physical damage such as torn battery covers); that you are not using unprotected Li-ion cells; etc.

TLDR version: don't do it unless you know what you are doing.

Any/all other types of ecig have never exploded in use, as far as we are aware. On-charge incidents are plentiful, so it's best to use a Li-Po charging sack for all lithium cell charging (get one from your ecig vendor or on Ebay); minor battery heat-ups in use or in the pocket are frequent - and occasionally meltdowns - but are usually inconsequential.

 

[CommaHolly]

ECF has about eight documented cases of a device exploding or venting violently while in use, although several more have been heard of but were not reported here. By 'documented' I mean full accounts, mostly with photos, by members in good standing. Many can be found by searching ECF for relevant terms.

All of the devices involved were metal tube APVs ('mods'), with no electronics, with two lithium batteries inserted in series.

No other type of device is implicated.

It basically means that if you have a mechanical or basic-electrical metal tubemod (one with no electronic protections), then if you decide to insert two batteries, there may be an increase of risk. It would be important to ensure no user errors take place (such as the charging and use of primary cells); that there are no faults (measure all battery and charger voltages with a multimeter, measure head resistance, check for physical damage such as torn battery covers); that you are not using unprotected Li-ion cells; etc.

TLDR version: don't do it unless you know what you are doing.

Any/all other types of ecig have never exploded in use, as far as we are aware. On-charge incidents are plentiful, so it's best to use a Li-Po charging sack for all lithium cell charging (get one from your ecig vendor or on Ebay); minor battery heat-ups in use or in the pocket are frequent - and occasionally meltdowns - but are usually inconsequential.

you mean stacking batteries, right??? Not safe, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Boden]

http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/pdf/research/rflithiumionbatterieshazard.pdf

Start at page 48

 

[Orobas]

A polar bear fell on me. What are the odds?

In Tennessee? Astronomical. Someone's trying to tell you something, buddy.

 

[bacc.vap]

In Tennessee? Astronomical. Someone's trying to tell you something, buddy.

Maybe he was in the jungle, on LOST island.

 

[jlew]

HAHA I love some of these posts! Funny Stuff...

Seriously though, I was not even thinking about it until I started reading on one exploding in that
man's face is FL... who by the way I hope will be ok.

I realize that this, by being a battery operated device, has the potential to explode, so does a cell
phone, flashlight, watch, or anything else that uses a battery.

One thing I have noticed is... with the 2 eGo type batteries I have - one is an eGo C/K type 1100mah
(the K8 Dragon etched to be exact - bought in a starter kit with CE4 and USB), and the other is an eGo
(not sure of make but looks like a Joye or Joyetech) 400mah, they both have a shutoff if you hold the
button too long (about 10 seconds) and when charging, the LED on the 400 blinks then stays off and
on the 1100, the LED stays on til done.
With Both batteries, they seem to have "Short Protection". I replaced a wick in a simple Vision v1 CE4
and I must have got the wires on the coil in wrong... when I pressed the button, all it did was blink and
then remained on until I tapped the button to turn it off.

So far, I have had no issues with mine but that is not saying I couldn't.

Thanks to such videos and news reports though... I now have a fear where there was none before!

 

[drsocal]

I read about an incident awhile back.

 

[tc1]

This is why a lot of people prefer devices with built in protections. (still not a 100% guarantee) As others have said, this can happen with tons of batteries.

If you ever drop a battery or otherwise "knock" it around ... ALWAYS inspect it to make sure it's not bubbling/melting or any other obvious battery damage has been done. If there is some doubt, take a good picture and post it on the forums here. While waiting for responses, store the battery in a SAFE place that would not cause a fire hazard and don't even think about using or charging it. You can buy battery bags that prevent fire damage.

In my time in the RC hobby I've dealt with different types of batteries, including LiPo which are probably considered the most "dangerous". I've never had an exploding battery, as this is fairly uncommon.

Always pay attention to the CONDITION and TEMPERATURE of the battery you are using. If it's getting hot, do NOT continue using it or else you absolutely will run the risk of overloading, which can cause an explosion/fire hazard.

 

[jlew]

I just noticed something about my 400mah battery - it is one of the mini 400's with the
little key lanyard on it.
I was told when I bought it that it was a Joye brand... it is NOT!
I looked up the Joyetech site and saw that all eGo manual batteries have the "eGo" name
on them and the C type have "eGo C' marked up the side at the bottom.
This one does not have anything but "400Mah" marked on it at the bottom.
No where on the battery is a name or make or model.

I read about an incident awhile back.

What was that one about?

 

[Awkwardly Awesome]

you mean stacking batteries, right??? Not safe, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

A guy I know who always stacks, took his tube mod, and added like 5 more vent holes in the body just to be safe. He said he has had 2 batterys vent in his mod since then and everything went according to plan and nothing bad happened.

 

[gimmieshelter31]

It can not be overstated to anyone that wants to use electronic cigarettes (or anything else using lithium ion batteries) the importance to have at least a basic understanding of battery safety. Everyone should own a multimeter and learn how to check their batteries to ensure they are not over discharged before charging and again checking them for over charge when coming off the charger. Some chargers have better safe guards than others ,yet even the most respected chargers contain components that can and will eventually fail.

It is easy to take it for granted that when the charger light turns green ,the charger has done its job and we are ready to vape. It only takes a minute to verify with a multimeter that indeed the charger is operating properly.

 

[Koman]

Exploding battery - never had one, but damn, that sounds scary.

 

[tc1]

There's tons of videos on youtube that show exploding batteries ...
"exploding lion battery" ... "exploding lipo battery" ... etc etc

Checkout this Li-Ion laptop battery ... lol

 

[Baditude]

The above battery exploded (vented) in a BB mod while in a pants pocket that was hanging in my locker at work. The power switch became compressed, causing the battery to fire continuously. It vented out of the BB's switch, which is what it was designed to do. By the way, the battery was a "protected" Trustfire 14500.

 

[Boden]

View attachment 149603

The above battery exploded (vented) in a BB mod while in a pants pocket that was hanging in my locker at work. The power switch became compressed, causing the battery to fire continuously. It vented out of the BB's switch, which is what it was designed to do. By the way, the battery was a "protected" Trustfire 14500.

The protection circuit won't stop a battery from thermal runaway. Basically, because of the prolonged discharge the exothermic reaction was greater than the cells ability to cool itself causing micro shorts between the plates which heat it further and a runaway occurs.

Luckily the battery is designed to do a controlled self-destruct, which it did.

 

[tc1]

Also, using protected batteries in a high draw device can cause major issues as well. I've seen several people say they were going to use protected batteries in a device that specifically states not to anyways.

Protected batteries are only "protected" on a device designed for those batteries. Otherwise you are pushing that battery to a place it isn't designed to go.

 

[DaveP]

Stick to single battery mods and respect your batteries and handle them gently. Buy a charger that is very popular that has good reviews and is reported to be proven. A mod with a sufficiently large vent hole and a sacrificial battery spring (melts and sags when current load exceeds safety ranges)is good advice. Electronics can fail and it's good to have several safety devices. The mechanical protection of the sacrificial battery spring is probably the best and most reliable of all. When current shoots up, it gets hot, sags, and the battery is disconnected from the atomizer.

Roly covered the bases well up topic.

 

[DC2]

Basically, because of the prolonged discharge the exothermic reaction was greater than the cells ability to cool itself causing micro shorts between the plates which heat it further and a runaway occurs.

That's EXACTLY what my wife said to me minutes before she got pregnant!

 

[merlin440]

Quick everyone send your laptops to me, message me for mailing addresses. Laptop Explodes at Japanese Conference!

These things can kill you! I'm doing my part to keep you safe!