**BOOM!** Battery Failure

[DaMulta]

Well I maned up, and put my 17335 batteries back in....

I have been running this set for a long time, and don't think I should fear it.

I was just wondering if these just happened to be brand new batteries, and or old ones that finally gave out then went boom.

Are you done with mods now Parma, or are you not going to let this one time stop you?

Also how long have you owed this mod?

 

[Parmacrafter]

Oh no! I am definitely NOT done with mods in any way. I still have several. The only thing I am done with is running 2 batteries stacked on top of each other and running unprotected batteries. I put away a few mods while I wait for my new protected batteries to come in. Otherwise I will continue to use and love my precious mods. The particular one I was using I had had for a couple of weeks or so. Nothing was particularly new but certainly not old either.

 

[quovadis]

Another question...
I have a brand-new RCR123A just charged for the first time today. I got a few good puffs from it, then dead as a doornail. Is this a warning sign? After I verify that it is a dead battery, not a dead switch or something, I need to decide whether or not to pitch it. I'm scared to charge it. Yikes!

And Parm, glad to hear you're ok. Thanks for sharing this info with us.

Just put it in the charger 2 seconds and you will see full power again.
Your battery tripped.
You atty exceeded the 1.5 amps that made that tenergy trip...
The problem is if you are not near a charger, you are stranded. (not good if you are on a trip!)

 

[geeker]

Did you check your atty? Sounds like you blew it out with 6v.
Id check to see if its working on another pv if you can.

Yeah, the atty is fine.

 

[latinochillin]

Hello, Just a quick question on RCR123A's 750 mah. I got the Silver Bullet a few days ago and I am using this batteries. I owned a few other mods and what made me buy this one is because of the batteries since the website posted this will never explode or catch fire. Is that a true statement ? I need to be concerned about this since the SB is completely sealed. Thanks for your replies

 

[YoMike]

You'd be nuts to use a 2 cell device without vents.
Read this from the flashlight guys..

ROAR of the Pelican (CR123 Explosion during use, firsthand account) - CandlePowerForums

 

[cddz]

Hello, Just a quick question on RCR123A's 750 mah. I got the Silver Bullet a few days ago and I am using this batteries. I owned a few other mods and what made me buy this one is because of the batteries since the website posted this will never explode or catch fire. Is that a true statement ? I need to be concerned about this since the SB is completely sealed. Thanks for your replies

Those are protected batteries latin

 

[quovadis]

The only device i have seen vents on is the Super T 1.

 

[Cisco]

The only device i have seen vents on is the Super T 1.

I would agree with that statement q. Its the only device where you can "See" the vent holes. FYI the SB has venting capability built in, you just don't see it, just because you don't see it doesn't mean its not there...


http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/altsmoke/46028-if-batteries-blew-up-sb-2.html#post686801

Cisco...

 

[AngusATAT]

The Chuck is designed with some venting at the switch hole, as well as through the threads of the battery cap. I asked Jeff, the manufacturer, about this after I read the thread in question. After testing it out myself, I can tell there is adequate venting in the Chuck body.

 

[Parmacrafter]

For those who are interested, I did take apart the mod once I was sure there was no more issues with the battery. There was no short. All of the wires were perfectly fine. Not even charred. The only issue in this case was the battery itself. After inspecting the mod and putting it all back together, I put a protected 3.7v 18500 in it along with the same atty that was on it when the explosion happened. As unbelievable as it is, it is working perfectly. It appears the only damage was to the batteries, And some soot inside the battery compartment. On the bright side it looks like I get to put this mod back in my daily rotation. Just not with 2 batteries. I will only use 3.7v from here on out. The inside of the whole battery compartment is charred and that is why the unit looked black. The whole mod was in fact red. The whole point here is not to bash anyone or their mod building skills. The point was to raise awareness when working with batteries. Even car batteries can explode. The biggest point is that ANYTHING that is mass produced such as these batteries can fail! If we as end users can pay slightly more to get a slightly safer battery to use and lesson the risks of failure I believe we should do so. That was my ONLY point.

 

[opuscroakus]

It would seem that the battery didn't just vent but failed catastrophically. I really don't think vent holes would have made much difference.

 

[Parmacrafter]

It would seem that the battery didn't just vent but failed catastrophically. I really don't think vent holes would have made much difference.

I do not think that vent holes would have stopped this from happening. What it might have done was put the force more towards vent holes (which I would have put in the rear of the mod) and less towards my face.

 

[Dave Rickey]

It's hard to say from the available information. Certainly the battery went into thermal runaway and pressurized auto-catalysis, and there was a buildup of pressure sufficient to emulate an explosion. Looking at the damage, and the description of the event, I *think* (because of the bulging of the casing near the top) that the battery did vent, pressure built up in the casing, and when the end-cap threads failed the cap was ejected from the body and the cell explosively burst because it could not release the pressure as fast as the body did.

The alternative is that the cell venting completely failed and the explosive expansion of the cell occurred inside the casing. Arguing against that is the lack of damage to the sleeve and the other cell.

But it's impossible to be sure, and either way properly placed vent holes could have increased the safety (because he's extremely lucky the explosive force was directed away from him, had the battery fitting and its mount been weaker, the force would have come out the other way and permanent damage of some kind would have been certain.

And think about this: That was a CR2. A *very* small cell, and it made a potentially lethal bang. Now consider an 18650 containing 4-5 times the energy....

--Dave

 

[tdstrike]

I guess if one was truly concerned about venting, they could fill up their mod with water and see where it leaks from. Make sure to let it dry for a few days before powering it back up though.

 

[raven9mm]

I guess if one was truly concerned about venting, they could fill up their mod with water and see where it leaks from. Make sure to let it dry for a few days before powering it back up though.

Whoa! I would think taking the endcap off and just blowing into it would be just a little bit easier... Being without my mod for a few days?!? No way!

 

[Parmacrafter]

When I said explosion that is exactly what I meant. There was quite a large red/orange flash and plenty of black soot on all internal parts to support that. Even though the threads in the end gave way there was quite a bit of forward momentum as well (I have the very black and bruised fat lip to prove that as well). I am beyond thrilled that the end cap gave way. I don't even want to think of how much worse it would have been had it not been able to send some force out the back. This was exactly why I posted this mishap. That is indeed a very small cell. I have since ordered/replaced all of my other mod batteries with protected ones. Again, that is no guarantee, but it certainly might help. At this point I am going for "Safer". Any battery you use for any purpose could fail. I am just going to aim for a hopefully safer route from now on is all.

 

[Dave Rickey]

You might want to consider LiPO4 (3.2V) or LiMN (3.7V) cells, then. Both are "safe" chemistries, not vulnerable to thermal runaway and pressure auto-catalysis. The downside is a lower overall capacity (25% lower, roughly).

--Dave

EDIT: Action/Reaction, the end-cap and bits of battery went one way, the rest of the mod went the other, like the kick of a gun.

 

[TommyGunBC]

I think the problem may be in some way how the magnum is made the only device I have had short out was my magnum , no battery explosion but it got warm and smoked a little and cracked the spacer sleeve for the batts . this may be caused by the atomizer connecter on the body of the magnum not being properly insulated thus causing a short .

 

[Dave Rickey]

After some more research, you may want to keep a watch for toxicity effects as well. Nausea, dizziness, poor muscle control, extreme fatigue. I just realized that after my own li-ion venting event (much less dramatic) a few months ago that the "flu" I had for the next couple of days afterwards was probably low-grade Lithium poisoning (check link for a full explanation of symptoms).

--Dave