Do battery vent holes no longer matter?

[ScottP]

I have been seeing a lot of regulated box style mods lately (especially of the multi-18650 variety) that either have no vent holes at all or even have them pointed at your face. Have vent holes really become this much of an after thought or does no one care about safety anymore?

 

[VictorViper]

Examples? Any mods I own have lots of vents, all pointed away from my face. None of them especially new, I guess, but my reuleaux mini and Minikin V2 are both smartly vented, and my Therion BF just doesn't need it. None of my mechs, past or present had face-facing vents either.

 

[kbeam418]

Most of the mods without vent holes have doors that'll pop off in that sort of scenario. As long as the gas has some way to escape it's not going explode, if you can remove the door with your' hand the gas will pop that door right off.

 

[ScottP]

Examples:
GeekVape Aegis Mod - Vents on top right at your face
SMOK Alien - Vents on the upper sides close to your face
SMOK PRO Color - No vent holes (supposedly will blow out the USB port and go right into your palm)
Sigeli Kaos Spectrum - No vent holes
There was another I saw yesterday with vents on lower sides but angles upward toward your face.
There are more I have been seeing as well, don't recall all of the names.

 

[r77r7r]

Zelos has nice ones on the bottom. Unfortunately that was how I sat it to be charged.

 

[ScottP]

The Zelos has a built in battery, I am specifically talking about the newer dual 18650 regulated mods.

 

[sonicbomb]

Even poorly placed vent holes are better than none. Assuming a worst case scenario where the battery goes into thermal runaway and starts to violently vent gas and flame. A device that vents may burn you, a device that doesn't will explode.

If you care for you battery's wraps, don't abuse or overtax them then it's not something you have to worry about. The problem is that many people don't take the time to understand their gear and the batteries that power them. This isn't helped by the current trend of mod manufacturers to keep upping the power levels of the chipsets in their devices, while ignoring the fact that there are not batteries capable of safely delivering these power levels. By far the worst offender is the newest Sigelei squonk mod that claims to deliver 150 watts from a single 18650, which is just plain ludicrous.

 

[puffon]

By far the worst offender is the newest Sigelei squonk mod that claims to deliver 150 watts from a single 18650, which is just plain ludicrous.

They claim that using a 21700, but still an inflated claim.

"The Sigelei Fuchai 213 150W Squonk Starter Kit features 150 watts of raw power which can only be achieved using the 21700 high amp styled battery, but don't fret it can also handle your beloved 18650 batteries as well as a 20700 battery should you own those. With a sleek design and a color combination patterns that jumps out at out you, this mod was design for all day use. As of right now the 7ml capacity for the squonk bottles is a guesstimate but seems pretty on par in terms of size with other units we've seen on the market, 7ml bottle seem to fit perfectly into these tall mods so our guess seems pretty much on the money. While your 18650's might not reach the maximum output available they will get you pretty close and in reality how many us even approach 150 watts of power. In TCR mode this mod can go as low as 0.05 ohms but in wattage mode it starts off handling builds reading as low as 0.10 ohms."

 

[ScottP]

A device that vents may burn you, a device that doesn't will explode.

I get that 100%. My concern is top vs bottom vents. Venting that heat up to burn your face when a simple design change would vent it away from your face just seems silly. I am just wondering why multiple manufacturers are making this same mistake.

 

[sonicbomb]

They claim that using a 21700, but still an inflated claim.

"The Sigelei Fuchai 213 150W Squonk Starter Kit features 150 watts of raw power which can only be achieved using the 21700 high amp styled battery, but don't fret it can also handle your beloved 18650 batteries as well as a 20700 battery should you own those. With a sleek design and a color combination patterns that jumps out at out you, this mod was design for all day use. As of right now the 7ml capacity for the squonk bottles is a guesstimate but seems pretty on par in terms of size with other units we've seen on the market, 7ml bottle seem to fit perfectly into these tall mods so our guess seems pretty much on the money. While your 18650's might not reach the maximum output available they will get you pretty close and in reality how many us even approach 150 watts of power. In TCR mode this mod can go as low as 0.05 ohms but in wattage mode it starts off handling builds reading as low as 0.10 ohms."

20700s and 21700s offer greater runtime, but as a rule have similar amp limits to 18650s. The only 21700 that has a limit higher than 30 amps is the Samsung 30T which Mooch rated at 40 amps. But that's one battery, assuming that Joe ordinary would even know about it or 21700 at all for that matter, and even then pulling over 50 amps from it is asking for problems.

"While your 18650's might not reach the maximum output available they will get you pretty close"
No they won't. Even if you are using a true 30 amp 18650 it's going to voltage sag to oblivion long before you even get close to 150 watts.

Those in the know just wouldn't buy into this marketing pipe dream, if want a device to do more than 60-70 watts then you need multiple batteries, simple. The problem is these companies are exploiting uneducated consumers who most likely don't know one end of a battery from the other.

 

[englishmick]

Don't know if this is relevant but I seem to recall hearing that batteries tend to vent from the positive end. In tube mods the positive is at the top so it lines up with the positive pin from the tank. With tube mods if the battery swells even slightly there will be no way for gas to make it to the bottom of the mod, and if the hole is at the bottom it won't do any good. My Pico has holes at the bottom but the battery goes in with the positive down.

This wouldn't apply to other shapes of mod though. In a box the gas could go down past the battery and out the bottom.

 

[sonicbomb]

Yes 18650s are designed to vent from the positive end (top). And yes it's possible for the battery to swell in a tube mod invalidating the vent holes if they are in the bottom only. The fundamental thing is to understand your gear and how to safely use your batteries so you don't end up in that position in the first place. The chemistry and design of good quality 18650s is such that you are only going to get a violently venting cell if you short it or massively exceed it's amp limit.

 

[kbeam418]

Yes 18650s are designed to vent from the positive end (top). And yes it's possible for the battery to swell in a tube mod invalidating the vent holes if they are in the bottom only. The fundamental thing is to understand your gear and how to safely use your batteries so you don't end up in that position in the first place. The chemistry and design of good quality 18650s is such that you are only going to get a violently venting cell if short it or massively exceed it's amp limit.

Yea I would compare vent holes to air bags on cars, sure the airbag will save your' life but you still shouldn't drive like a maniac. Just because a mod has vent holes doesn't mean you can abuse batteries. If you don't exceed the cdr and make sure the wraps are good they should never vent.

 

[Baditude]

Because of protection circuitry, vent holes are nice but not a necessity in regulated mods. I feel that they are vital in mechanical mods.

Especially in mechanical tube mods, I believe the vent holes should be located in the top end of the tube, because batteries are designed to vent from the positive end. Many tube mods have inadequate air space in the battery compartment to allow venting hot gas to escape around the battery to vent holes located in the bottom of the tube.

Above is a mech which has a single vent hole in the bottom fire button, but notice there is no room for any gas to escape past the tight quarters of the battery to that vent hole. It is essentially an enclosed metal tube and therefore has inadequate venting. It is a pipe bomb waiting for a battery hard short.

In my opinion, the first thing you should do with a new mechanical mod is to seek out a machine shop with a drill press, and have them drill out two 2.0 mm holes strategically placed in the top of the mod body where the positive pole of the battery makes contact with the 510 connector. If all mechanical mods had this done, I predict there would be no more mechanical mod explosions.

Mods which use a "recessed" fire button will be less likely to accidentally fire in a pocket or purse, regardless of whether the button is located on the side or bottom. Protruding buttons can be easily and accidentally pressed, and over a very short time can cause a battery to go into thermal runaway. If your mod has a safety locking feature for the fire button, use it each time you stop vaping.

Mech Mods with top venting holes?

 

[stols001]

I have to say that vent holes don't make me feel that much safer, wherever they are located. I mean, I suppose it's a good idea in theory.... But I much prefer not overstressing my mods, not vaping up to highest wattage, and building reasonable resistance builds on RTAs, so the mod isn't straining to do anything, nor the battery.

With decent battery safety, the idea is that no venting *needs* to happen. I also agree that sometimes vent holes might work, others just don't. It's interesting to know that batteries start outgassing at the top end however. My steampunk has vent holes in the bottom, but one battery the positive end faces up, the other faces down. They're a fairly tight fit in there.... IDK what would happen in the event of thermal runaway, honestly, and I certainly never want to find out.

If anything's going to be regulated by the FDA, mod wise, I guess it sounds like strategically placed vent holes (i.e., if they're at the bottom, the mod should be designed for the negative ends to be closer to the face of the user, etc.) would be a reasonable thing to do.... With that said, I still think there are going to be people who think they can run a "high wattage" device at the HIGHEST wattage, simply because it is there. Those folks are most likely to have problematic batteries in the first place. Sigh.

Anna

 

[Bonskibon]

My favorite mod is the Pico and the vent holes are at the bottom where the positive pin is located. That was the first thing I noticed and was pleased with the placement.

 

[Carl2]

While looking for batteries for vaporizers, the 18650, I did notice they sold 18650 batteries that vent for protection against explosions. I'm under the impression that most 18650 batteries are made without the excessive pressure causing the battery to vent so it explodes instead. I had thought vent holes were for air flow to cool the batteries during use. Mass production save a few pennies by eliminating the venting and sell them for less, a lower price always means more sales.

 

[VictorViper]

The explosions you see are generally due to the lack of venting in the mod itself. The cells vent fine due to their construction and chemistry (assuming the "not-IMR" chemistry we're getting now has similar or identical characteristics), but when the pressure has nowhere to go, things go boom. Any mod with a sleeve type battery compartment, without appropriate venting, is a potential pipe bomb in a venting or thermal runaway scenario.