Bloog safety

[Newme]

While I'm sure that Bloogs are one of the safest vapers made, I would love to hear why they are. Especially considering the scare from the news with the guy having his vaper explode in his face.

There are some threads on ECF discussing this topic. There's speculation that he was using a mod. But there were also people who have said that they had an Ego explode on them. They also discussed measures that are taken to make sure that the batteries are safe, including the brand of batteries used in vapers, and some other safety features. What safety features are used with Bloog batteries to make sure they don't explode?

I have had a Bloog get extremely hot once. It happened when I dropped the battery on a very hard floor so it was my own fault not Bloogs. It just kept getting hotter and hotter. I really had no idea what to do, so I put it under cold water until it burnt itself out. But what should we do in a case like that?

 

[pmos69]

The circuit on the bloog should avoid almost any dangers from a short-circuit or instant over discharge.
It also should avoid discharging the battery bellow the recomended level or over-charging it.

What can go wrong?
Well, let's take your example. The circuit may have malfunctioned due to the drop, and made a short-circuit itself, or, the cell (the actual battery inside) may have been put in short-circuit by the fall (a direct short circuit in the cell). In that case, there is no way to avoid the battery overheating. That happens with any li-ion or lipo cell put under stress.
Anyway, the danger is not the battery exploding (it's not a bomb) but starting to overheat and releasing gases.
So the final extra protection measure is a physical one: Not putting the cell in an hermetically sealed container, which the Bloog battery isn't, but some unsafe mods are.
Well, on some devices, the cell is actually in a sealed container, but that container is designed to blow its bottom cap away from the user, not into his face.

About what to do in those cases... I guess what you did is a perfectly fine option, and getting away from the thing.
Avoid breathing the gases produced by a "melting" Lithium battery is another advice - they are toxic.

 

[redempti0N]

Here is the article incase anyone wants to read it

Electric Cigarette Explodes In US Man's Mouth | Fox News

 

[pmos69]

I suppose Leaford could arrange to document some safety tests with the BMF.
Stuff like shorting a cell inside a BMF battery and record maximum temperature reached and other relevant facts.

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[Marsai]

so ... hypothetically speaking ... what do you suppose would happen if some dumbass put an e-cig in their mouth, and tried to light the end with a cigarette lighter? how long do you suppose you would need to hold it under the flame before it explodes and shoots across the room? just a thought.

 

[pmos69]

so ... hypothetically speaking ... what do you suppose would happen if some dumbass put an e-cig in their mouth, and tried to light the end with a cigarette lighter? how long do you suppose you would need to hold it under the flame before it explodes and shoots across the room? just a thought.

Lithium cells don't explode.
You can have an explosion if you put them in a sealed compartment, with no vent holes, and let the preasure build up to the compartment limit.

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[Newme]

I'm assuming he already knows all the hazards and has done the safety tests. I'm just hoping he'll share some of that with us. Not only would it help us, but it will help when someone we're talking to about vaping is concerned about what happened to that guy. Then we would be able to explain to them why Bloogs are safe.

I suppose Leaford could arrange to document some safety tests with the BMF.
Stuff like shorting a cell inside a BMF battery and record maximum temperature reached and other relevant facts.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

 

[Marsai]

trying to wrap my head around the fact that the article says it exploded ... shot across the room ... and set his closet on fire. not sure thats possible.

 

[redempti0N]

Plus it was not stated as to which brand it was. It could have been one of those cheap disposables to a high priced model, yes they stated they saw chargers in his room but that does not mean the unit that "exploded" was re-chargeable. On a side note I like how they added how the battery became a projectile and set his closet on fire as if to make the story seem more scary.

 

[Newme]

I agree that the media is slanting this, and that we don't know what he was using to vape with. And we'll never know the whole true story.

 

[pmos69]

trying to wrap my head around the fact that the article says it exploded ... shot across the room ... and set his closet on fire. not sure thats possible.

Certainly not the battery cell itself. It doesn't have that capability.
Now, a cell in a sealed compartment is another beast althogether.

Another poster mentioned this here on ECF:

I just spoke to the Chief at North Bay Fire District in Niceville. The incident happened 2/13/12. The battery that failed was unrecognizable but they found several 3.0v (Cr123a) lithium ion batteries and a recharger so it strongly appears the man was using a MOD. For new people: Usually a tube like a flashlight that holds 2 of these batteries to create a more powerful ecigarette. ECF has been very vocal on the dangers of MODs using cheap, unprotected batteries or the incorrect load (rating) for the atomizer attached to it, etc.. These MODs are very common but this shows how dangerous they can be. Be careful people!
Hope Tom recovers quickly.

That would seem to indicate the possible usage of Cr123a batteries, which are simply unsafe batteries.
The matters could have got worse if he was using stacked batteries in a mod, which demand other extra safety precautions.

Just recently (January) a similar case happened, in which someone was using stacked batteries in a Prodigy V3 mod (with a sealed battery compartment). The results were equally disastrous.

 

[pmos69]

This quote actually tells a lot:

'The battery flew out of the tube and set the closet on fire.'

source: Smoker loses teeth after electronic cigarette blows up in his mouth | Metro.co.uk

The battery flying away from the tube seems to indicate a typical tube mod of some sort.

 

[Marsai]

It would have been nice if the media had stated "homemade" e-cig. good luck with that I guess.
​

 

[leaford]

Yeah, I checked into that, and pmos69 as usual has it right. The only explosion danger is if the battery compartment is sealed allowing pressure to build up from released gasses. Even our manual batts are not sealed in that sense, as the LED tip is not sealed, and would pop off even if any pressure did build up in the tube.

But, I am asking our manufacturer to get me copies of any safety testing data they have, whether tests they have done themselves, or from the battery supplier. Then I will evaluate whether we need to do any additional testing ourselves.

 

[prometheus]

From the article it sounds like they are referring to a mini e-cig as in the ones that look like Bloog however if you ask me he was probably using a stacked tube mod. For some reason the police keep saying they are unable to identify the e-cig... yeah right. I have actually had this happen to me twice.

Once I was cleaning out the battery hole on an auto and felt a pop like the needle I was using to clean it with punctured something. A moment later the battery started heating up. Can you say thermal runaway lol. Since I was outside and the ground was swollen with water from rain, I just shoved it into the ground. Removed it about 20 minutes later and it looked fine but I pitched it.

Second one was a V4L batt that I had charging. The sucker just launched off the charger and across the room. It was funny cause I was watching the show Merlin and they had flaming crossbows being used and I remember thinking, "Thats one heck of a 3D TV!?" As for fire... oh yeah these suckers will set fire to anything. Its a ball of molten lithium flying across the room ha!

So basically what happens it the batt goes into thermal runaway and once it reaches a certain temp (I think like around 450 degrees) the Cells fail. Some batts are designed to vent and release the gases. This is what causes the "Bottle rocket effect" like when it flies across the room. If it is sealed in something such as a metal tube then now you have gas pressure building quickly which makes it a nice little pipe bomb. Yep, runaway exothermic chemical reaction resulting if heat, gas, and pressure.

The Bloog type batts don't scare me though. 300-400Mah batts are dangerous but manageable. What worries me is if one of my 18650 3000Mah batts blows in the Mod! Stainless steal mod, screw caps, and unprotected high drain batts. If that sucker blows I WILL have a bomb lol.

In the end it comes down to this. We are buying devices that store a tremendous amount of energy in a small package so treat it with care and respect. Don't leave charging batts unattended and be weary ofter a charge because the first draw of power from it is when they tend to fail. Don't buy cheap and follow manufactures directions. And NEVER EVER STACK LI-ION CELLS

P.S. This is not new news. Laptops have done this, cell phones and even an RC car I had once. Li-Ion have never been 100% safe.

 

[leaford]

It's like I always say, have respect for the tech. We walk through our lives oblivious to the fact that we are surrounded by dangerous things. Batteries, cars, gas stoves; we've filled our lives with potential bombs!

 

[prometheus]

It's like I always say, have respect for the tech. We walk through our lives oblivious to the fact that we are surrounded by dangerous things. Batteries, cars, gas stoves; we've filled our lives with potential bombs!

Couldn't agree more! Life without danger doesn't exist. Just ways to minimize the danger if possible. Heck try driving in LA sometime. I almost die each time I head downtown lol. Over a dozen accidents including 3 cars totaled and still trucking HAHA!