Batteries exploding??

Status
Not open for further replies.

Thompson

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Apr 14, 2012
1,836
1,193
North of NorCal
The VAMO benefits from stacking batteries and this is where most complications can form. You want to make sure they are used in pairs, always charged together, switch one is on top, etc. I'm not that familiar with stacking batteries so somebody with better experience will chime in there.

You also want to make sure the battery is capable of a decent amperage output. Some vaping instances require a good bit of amperage and if a battery isn't rated for that type of drain, bad things can happen.

Protected cells generally won't work in APVs as they'll restrict the amperage drain and shut off. VAMO and others have built in protection so there is no need for the redundancy. Some protected cells will work you just have to find if they will give the output necessary.

AW IMR are probably the most popular cell. Panasonic CGR18650CHs are very popular too, as are the EFEST I believe (I think these have the highest rated amp drain).
 

Thompson

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Apr 14, 2012
1,836
1,193
North of NorCal
I think last year somebody had one vent and pretty much punch them in the face with their mod, I can't remember 100%. But they used a cell that wasn't designed for this kind of use that they swooped at Radio Shack I believe.

If you stick with the common batteries (AW reds IMR, Panny CGR-CH, EFEST, etc) you won't have an issue. Risk is greatly reduced w/o stacking. There are tens of thousands if not more people using them as we speak w/o any issue. I've got an AW IMR in my hand now.
 
Last edited:

NeilSwift

Moved On
Jan 21, 2013
431
334
59
United Kingdom
They don't "explode" they forceably vent, as in release all the power in a short burst.

Stacking doubles the connections thus doubling the risk as shorting is the main issue. The new V2 has a stronger spring and new circuit protection.

Just make sure you are educated regarding stacking batteries or just use one.

Don't not get a Vamo based on "exploding" batteries. There are many Ego batteries (Youtube) that have exploded.

Just do the research or if you don't feel comfortable don't stack.

I stack 350's and use single 650's and to be honest, can't tell the difference.
 

Baditude

ECF Guru
ECF Veteran
Apr 8, 2012
30,394
73,076
71
Ridgeway, Ohio
I had not had my mechanical mod very long and had a battery discharge too quickly because the power switch got stuck in the on position when in a pants pocket; I was not wearing the pants at the time this incident happened. :D The battery blew out its ends and melted, and the hot gases were vented out of the battery and the mod as they were designed to do to prevent an explosion. It was still a scarey experience.

BB.jpgTrustfire2.jpg

The mod was a BB, and it has a bulbous, protuding power switch as seen in the above photo. You can see how the power switch could get compressed in a tight space. The next photo is of the battery that vented.

This incident was the result of user error. It certainly taught me a lesson on proper battery use and precautions. Practice battery safety at all times, and respect the power these things have in them, and you should be fine.

All of the variable voltage battery devices have built-in safety features which will cause them to shut down before a dangerous situation can occur. Mechanical mods have no such safety features, so stacking batteries in them increases the risk of problems occuring.
 
Last edited:

Altaire Versailles

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Mar 17, 2013
955
999
Detroit MI
I had not had my mechanical mod very long and had a battery discharge too quickly because the power switch got stuck in the on position when in a pants pocket; I was not wearing the pants at the time this incident happened. :D The battery blew out its ends and melted, and the hot gases were vented out of the battery and the mod as they were designed to do to prevent an explosion. It was still a scarey experience.

View attachment 193414View attachment 193415

The mod was a BB, and it has a bulbous, protuding power switch as seen in the above photo. You can see how the power switch could get compressed in a tight space. The next photo is of the battery that vented.

This incident was the result of user error. It certainly taught me a lesson on proper battery use and precautions. Practice battery safety at all times, and respect the power these things have in them, and you should be fine.

All of the variable voltage battery devices have built-in safety features which will cause them to shut down before a dangerous situation can occur. Mechanical mods have no such safety features, so stacking batteries in them increases the risk of problems occuring.

Ok Im definitely not messing with this now.
 

Aoi~

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 28, 2012
998
1,807
Sunny So. Cal
You don't really need to stack 18350s in a VAMO. A single 18650 covers a pretty wide range already. 2000mAh > 700mAh just saying. You don't double battery capacity in series, just double the voltage. Now a 2x 18650 on the other hand ;) (Doable with enough extensions, and turns your VAMO into a walking stick/baton)

Single battery = less complications anyway.
 

Un-Loco

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 13, 2011
122
95
Ft Bliss, TX
www.facebook.com
All of the variable voltage battery devices have built-in safety features which will cause them to shut down before a dangerous situation can occur. Mechanical mods have no such safety features, so stacking batteries in them increases the risk of problems occuring.

VAMO has protection, and you can purchace a 2c for safety fuse to prevent this type of thing from happening. I would hate to see someone continue to smoke because they are scared of batteries melting down.

Also, all batteries in all situations come with this same risk, not just vaping. Before you say no to batteries, look up all the batteries melting down from cell phones, car batteries, and other high demand battery. There is a risk involved with everything we do, but the chances of you being struck by lightening are higher than a battery venting if the proper precautions are taken..

Imagine the worst possible battery "explosion" you can think of. Now add a 2c safety fuse to that scenario. It would have not happened with that fuse.
Now add in that you are using a VV device with safety, it would not have happened with the devices safety.

If you want to get crazy, lets say your VV device protection failed, AND your safety fuse failed... well then my friend, you might wnana move to a padded room cuz you are bad luck, but the battery would not explode. It basically heats up so hot over about a minute or more (from the video's i saw of people making them vent) you would not be able to hold it and not know something was wrong as the batteries have some protection, and mods have vents. I am sure there are weird cases here and there that I dont know about, but I did quite a bit of research on these batteries when i was making my purchase and found it is not as volatile of a reaction as people would make it out to be,

TLDR: just make sure you take the proper precautions and you will never have to worry
 

Baditude

ECF Guru
ECF Veteran
Apr 8, 2012
30,394
73,076
71
Ridgeway, Ohio
Ok Im definitely not messing with this now.
Your choice. I will emphasize that the reason that this happened was my user error. I should have known that the design of the power switch made this particular PV succeptible to accidental firing of the power switch when placed into tight quarters, such as a pocket. Had I been more battery savvy at the time, I would have known to either remove the battery when it was not in use, or remove the juice delivery device to break the electrical circuit to the battery. Pretty simple, really.

All the variable voltage devices have built in electrical protection so that what happened to me won't happen to you. The microprocessor can detect a dangerous situation and shut the PV down before an accident can happen. The unit I had the mishap with did not have these safety features, and relied on my common sense to avoid a problem.

I still use this PV but with a lanyard to prevent accidental firing.

bb-lanyard.jpg

However, if you are not responsible enough to practice safe vaping, perhaps this isn't for you.
 
Last edited:

supertrunker

Living sarcasm
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 12, 2012
11,151
52,107
Texas
My advice - don't buy a $3 battery and a $10 charger and expect miracles. As in all things buy what you think is best and can afford and treat them well. I have had a battery explode in a charger and my wife still chastises me over the mess she had to clean up.

i stack IMR batteries, 18350s in a vv Grand and no problems. Check them regularly too with a multimeter you trust or if they take longer to charge than usual and if they look old and tatty - then they are! Throw them out!

T
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread