i recognize myself in many of the posts above, but may i remind you that a couple of weeks ago an e-cig exploded right in the face of a man who suffered serious injuries in the face. (btw does anyone know the type of e-cig that was involved?)
Found online:
"Chief Butch Parker of the North Bay Fire District responded to the call. "I have never heard of or seen anything like this before," Parker told ABC News. Although the battery was unrecognizable after the incident, Parker reported finding several 3.0 volt CR123A type batteries charging in the room along with a scorched battery case that appeared to be one for a cigar-sized device.
Although the investigation is still not concluded, the battery type and "cigar" appearance of the device indicate Holloway may have been using a custom made "mod" or modified e-cigarette using stacked batteries similar to a flashlight, said Recio. These devices are unlike more popular e-cigs, which have built in digital monitoring and protections, he said."
From another place:
Rechargeable Lithium batteries (Li-Ion or Li-on Batteries) represent a great leap forward for many lithium-powered flashlight owners, but they come with risks as well as rewards.
The primary difference between the Protected and Unprotected batteries is that the protected batteries have a small circuit board, typically on the bottom of the battery, that stops the charging or discharge of the battery in certain circumstances. Some of the circumstances in which the circuit include: Over-Charge, Over-Discharge, Short-Circuit, and in some cases, overheating.
CR123a batteries, which power most Lithium-powered flashlights produce 3 volts of power per battery for most of their useful life. The standard flashlight configurations use 1, 2 or 3 of these batteries, only exceptional flashlights like the SureFire® M4 and SureFire® M6 use more than 3 batteries. CR123a batteries have been in production for more than 20 years, and they are very safe and reliable. Unless the metal body of the battery is ruptured, or the battery is burned in a fire, these batteries are very unlikely to have any problems. These batteries should NEVER be recharged, they will probably explode if you try to recharge them.
Due to the high cost of powering flashlights with CR123a batteries, the battery industry has developed a new class of batteries known variously as R123, R123a, RCR123, RCR123a, 16340, etc. batteries. Though these batteries are about the same size as the common CR123a batteries, most of the rechargeable batteries produce 4.2 volts of output when fully charged, so they will instantly overpower and destroy flashlights and other devices that are designed for CR123a batteries.
I would assume that they were unprotected, or he was being a dink or both. It's unfortunate but a nice reminder that if you don't know what you're doing it, leave it to the professionals. I'm sure we'll find out more eventually.
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