Battery became extremely hot, then died

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Stormlark

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I recently got a 1300mAh KGO-type battery from Smokeless Image. All of their products have worked great so far and the only other issue I've had was sorted out quickly through customer service. I'll be returning this one soon for a replacement, but am just curious as to what might have happened.

I was on a road trip and had the battery in my lap, taking occasional puffs. It was cloudy and cold outside, a strange weather day for mid June. I say this to clarify that it wasn't hot in the car and the battery wasn't in direct sunlight. I noticed the battery was hot when I felt it through my jeans. After picking it up, I realized that the bottom part of the battery, where the mini USB connector sits for charging and passthrough, was extremely hot for some reason. I twisted off the cap that protects this USB connector and immediately smelled something burning.

There were no LEDs to indicate that the battery was stuck in the on position. Pressing the button showed that it was still working properly, though I had no plans to attempt to use it. Just to see if it would help, I clicked the button 5 times to lock it. I was a bit worried about the possibility of it exploding or leaking battery acid, but held it out the window to try to cool it off. It stayed hot, however, and this continued for several hours. As I expected, when it finally cooled off, it would no longer turn on (the charge was dead).

Taking a chance with destroying more equipment, I plugged it into the USB car charger to see what would happen. The LED lit up for a split second, then went out. Re-attempting this, the LED didn't flicker the second time. It is completely dead at this point, and it still smells funny(an acrid chemical smell).

Was something inside the battery making a connection where it shouldn't have? That's the only thing I can think of. I'm not knowledgeable in the area of electronics, though.:unsure:
 
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Stormlark

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I posted this in the Smokeless Image forum and got this reply:

Imagine said:
I am sorry this happened It sounds like the battery vented...and I am glad to hear it happened in a safe way. All batteries can vent ...cell phone batteries, AA batteries and ecig batteries. This is the first I have heard of this happening with a VOLT. It would seem to be the case as long as it did not get wet...

HOWEVER IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE HAVE THESE SYMPTOMS IN THE FUTURE PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIX IT OR PLUG IT IN.

PLEASE SIMPLY DISCARD IT SOMEPLACE SAFE (LIKE A TIN CAN IN THE BACKYARD ETC).

CS will send you out a replacement ASAP once they receive your email no worries. You will not have to return it!

So if anyone reads my post, don't be stupid like I was. :facepalm:
 

Stormlark

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It seems silly to keep replying to my own thread, but I just wanted to explain more of the situation if anyone reads this. The fine people at Smokeless Image have determined that the incident did not involve the lithium battery, but was likely a short in the circuitry for the USB connection, which drained the charge. Though it still killed the battery, it was not as dangerous of a situation as it might have been, had the lithium battery vented.
 
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