Battery wear/ hot switch

[Valid]

Recently using this copper cartel clone for about 3 weeks now and noticed today I had hot switch for the first time. Took out the battery and noticed black marks on the negative contacts of the switch and the battery.
Is there any reason this would happen randomly? What do I do with the mech and the battery. Sorta clueless in this situation. Any information will help.

Thanks gang

 

[opticruby]

What ohm coil? And have you been cleaning your mech?

Also Welcome to ECF!

 

[Baditude]

All contact points (switch, 510 connector, battery contacts) should be routinely cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton tipped applicator (like a Q-tip). Battery cap threading should be cleaned with an antioxidant like Nolox; dirt and corrosion can degrade the electrical circuit.

Always routinely check and recheck your coil resistance. A loose post screw can unknown to you lower your resistance by as much as 0.5 ohms (discovered by personal experience).

Check your battery's voltage with a digital multimeter or voltage meter. It should be within normal range (3.5 - 4.2 volts); if not, properly dispose of the battery.

mechanical mod guide

A hot mod body, fire switch, or battery means there is a short circuit somewhere in your setup. A black mark on the battery end could mean electrical arcing from the short.

 

[Valid]

What ohm coil? And have you been cleaning your mech?

Also Welcome to ECF!

Anything from a .1 to a .4 ohm. right now a .1. Usually I give the contacts a wipe when I'm swapping batteries or changing rdas if I don't forget

 

[Wraith504]

First of all its arching. you probably do not have a solid connection between the switch battery and 510. second .1 is really wayyyy too low and is also attributing to your hot switch. Keep your build closer to .3 Make sure you have no battery rattle when it is installed in there.

 

[opticruby]

Anything from a .1 to a .4 ohm. right now a .1. Usually I give the contacts a wipe when I'm swapping batteries or changing rdas if I don't forget

Its is important on a mech to scrub all the threads often because the casing is part of the circuit. Dirty threads will cause arching.

.1ohms is to low even for VTC4's.

 

[Valid]

First of all its arching. you probably do not have a solid connection between the switch battery and 510. second .1 is really wayyyy too low and is also attributing to your hot switch. Keep your build closer to .3 Make sure you have no battery rattle when it is installed in there.

I tend to make sure every thing is snug and there is no rattle or loose connect. However one of my attys doesn't sit flush if the mech is completely tightened (my twisted messes clone) so I've been leaving a slight gap between the bottom and the tube and the tube and the top, just so the atty can sit closer to to the top without leaving a gap. But again I do make sure the connections inside are tight and actually connected

 

[Baditude]

Anything from a .1 to a .4 ohm. right now a .1.

Anything below 0.3 is TOO LOW.

What battery are you using? There are no batteries on the market higher than 30 amps (Sony VTC4 are the highest at 30 amps). A 0.1 ohm build will draw over 40 amps, too much for any battery.

1.0 ohm = 4.2 amp draw
0.9 ohm = 4.6 amp draw
0.8 ohm = 5.2 amp draw
0.7 ohms = 6 amp draw
0.6 ohms = 7 amp draw
0.5 ohms = 8.4 amp draw
0.4 ohms = 10.5 amp draw
0.3 ohms = 14.0 amp draw
0.2 ohms = 21.0 amp draw
0.1 ohms = 42.0 amp draw
0.0 ohms = dead short = battery goes into thermal runaway

​

Everyone is free to set their own parameters, and I can only say what mine are.

I try to never exceed 50% of the CDR (continuous discharge rating) of a fully charged battery (4.2v). The above Ohm's Law Calculations tell me that a 0.3 ohm build is as low as I would want to use with a battery with a 30 amp continuous discharge rate.

The reason that I place a 50% limit is because as a battery ages the mAh of the battery degrades, as the mAh degrades so does the batteries c rating (amp limit). So down the road, a 30A battery may only be a 15A battery.

The batteries we have can be quite safe if you use the correct batteries and do not abuse them beyond their recommended amp limit. Most battery incidents result from user error or wrong calculations, or ignoring safe battery practices.

A battery venting in thermal runaway will release extremely hot gas, toxic chemicals, and possibly flames. Once this chemical reaction begins, there is no stopping it. The gas can build up inside a mod, and if there is inadequate venting the mod becomes a little pipe bomb.

 

[Wraith504]

Anything below 0.3 is TOO LOW.

What battery are you using? There are no batteries on the market higher than 30 amps (Sony VTC4 are the highest at 30 amps). A 0.1 ohm build will draw over 40 amps, too much for any battery.

1.0 ohm = 4.2 amp draw
0.9 ohm = 4.6 amp draw
0.8 ohm = 5.2 amp draw
0.7 ohms = 6 amp draw
0.6 ohms = 7 amp draw
0.5 ohms = 8.4 amp draw
0.4 ohms = 10.5 amp draw
0.3 ohms = 14.0 amp draw
0.2 ohms = 21.0 amp draw
0.1 ohms = 42.0 amp draw
0.0 ohms = dead short = battery goes into thermal runaway

​

Everyone is free to set their own parameters, and I can only say what mine are.

I try to never exceed 50% of the CDR (continuous discharge rating) of a fully charged battery (4.2v). The above Ohm's Law Calculations tell me that a 0.3 ohm build is as low as I would want to use with a battery with a 30 amp continuous discharge rate.

The reason that I place a 50% limit is because as a battery ages the mAh of the battery degrades, as the mAh degrades so does the batteries c rating (amp limit). So down the road, a 30A battery may only be a 15A battery.

The batteries we have can be quite safe if you use the correct batteries and do not abuse them beyond their recommended amp limit. Most battery incidents result from user error or wrong calculations, or ignoring safe battery practices.

A battery venting in thermal runaway will release extremely hot gas, toxic chemicals, and possibly flames. Once this chemical reaction begins, there is no stopping it. The gas can build up inside a mod, and if there is inadequate venting the mod becomes a little pipe bomb.

Wheres the face?? I miss the face!

 

[Valid]

Anything below 0.3 is TOO LOW.

What battery are you using? There are no batteries on the market higher than 30 amps (Sony VTC4 are the highest at 30 amps). A 0.1 ohm build will draw over 40 amps, too much for any battery.

1.0 ohm = 4.2 amp draw
0.9 ohm = 4.6 amp draw
0.8 ohm = 5.2 amp draw
0.7 ohms = 6 amp draw
0.6 ohms = 7 amp draw
0.5 ohms = 8.4 amp draw
0.4 ohms = 10.5 amp draw
0.3 ohms = 14.0 amp draw
0.2 ohms = 21.0 amp draw
0.1 ohms = 42.0 amp draw
0.0 ohms = dead short = battery goes into thermal runaway

​

Everyone is free to set their own parameters, and I can only say what mine are.

I try to never exceed 50% of the CDR (continuous discharge rating) of a fully charged battery (4.2v). The above Ohm's Law Calculations tell me that a 0.3 ohm build is as low as I would want to use with a battery with a 30 amp continuous discharge rate.

The reason that I place a 50% limit is because as a battery ages the mAh of the battery degrades, as the mAh degrades so does the batteries c rating (amp limit). So down the road, a 30A battery may only be a 15A battery.

The batteries we have can be quite safe if you use the correct batteries and do not abuse them beyond their recommended amp limit. Most battery incidents result from user error or wrong calculations, or ignoring safe battery practices.

A battery venting in thermal runaway will release extremely hot gas, toxic chemicals, and possibly flames. Once this chemical reaction begins, there is no stopping it. The gas can build up inside a mod, and if there is inadequate venting the mod becomes a little pipe bomb.

I'm using strictly VTC 5's in my mech. consistently since I got it. Usually a .1 and have not experience any discomfort or heat until today.. I actually got a derringer clone in the mail today and started using it and now that I think about it that may have contributed to the hot switch I'm getting(because this has never happened before).
I'm pretty sure I'm just not cleaning it enough and this derringer I got is also a factor. Thanks for the heads up about the pipe bomb tho.. Not like I'm vaping below .01 and plenty of people do..I'll let you know first if anything explodes

 

[Baditude]

I'm using strictly VTC 5's in my mech. consistently since I got it. Usually a .1 and have not experience any discomfort or heat until today.. s

Sony has never, to my knowledge, published a spec sheet on what the VTC5's amp limit is. Most people incorrectly assumed it was 30 amps like the VTC4, but Mooch has independently tested these as only a 20 amp CDR battery.

18650 Safety Grades -- Picking a Safe Battery to Vape With

So, if the VTC5's are only 20 amps CDR, anything below 0.3 ohm is above spec for them.

 

[Valid]

Is the battery safe to continue using with these types of abrasions on the contact? and should I replace the negative pin in the mech?

 

[opticruby]

Is the battery safe to continue using with these types of abrasions on the contact? and should I replace the negative pin in the mech?

The battery could have already been damaged vaping at too low ohms (it is only a true 20Amp battery). The pin can be cleaned if its not damaged.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Yikes. This guy is gonna end up on the 10:00 news. "Another tragic e-cig injury... stay tuned." If the battery is in any way damaged or scarred, it's not safe. And the folks vaping at .01 are doing so onTC mods with nickel or titanium wire. .1 is WAY too low. You battery is not going to hold up. If you absolutely have to vape that low, get a regulated mod.

 

[Baditude]

Wheres the face?? I miss the face!

(edit: this is a fake image, although a reasonable simulation of what it would look like if a mod exploded in one's face. This actually happened to a Florida man a couple of years ago.)

 

[Valid]

Don't share a picture and not provide the source.

 

[MotoMudder]

Don't share a picture and not provide the source. Is the battery still safe to use?

Probably not safe to use anymore, taxing a battery that much really takes the life outta it. Your lucky as hell that you haven't ended up like the picture above. We're not here giving advice just because we have nothing better to do. What you are doing is extremely unsafe, and we are here to help people that do not know better.

 

[opticruby]

Don't share a picture and not provide the source. Is the battery still safe to use?

I wouldnt use it because there is too much chance the internal structure of the battery is damaged through over taxing.

It may look ok outside but inside is where the damage will be.

 

[Mooch]

I'm using strictly VTC 5's in my mech. consistently since I got it. Usually a .1 and have not experience any discomfort or heat until today.. I actually got a derringer clone in the mail today and started using it and now that I think about it that may have contributed to the hot switch I'm getting(because this has never happened before).
I'm pretty sure I'm just not cleaning it enough and this derringer I got is also a factor. Thanks for the heads up about the pipe bomb tho.. Not like I'm vaping below .01 and plenty of people do..I'll let you know first if anything explodes

If you're going to continue to vape with builds that low the battery I recommend is the LG HB6. It's the only one that can be run safely at over 30A. This is critical if your mech's button breaks, gets stuck on, or the button gets accidently pressed for a long time.

I recommend going to a higher resistance build though. Less stress on the mech too.

 

[Baditude]

Don't share a picture and not provide the source.

I admit that picture is a fake.

These however are real pictures of mods which exploded when a battery vented in them:

There Was a Vape Blast at Vape Blast

There's also a pic/story about a battery exploding on the first page in the Batteries & Charger Forum