E Cig Fire Scary Lesson Learned

[Shizzle]

i had this happen with an ego when i accidentally bumped the cord while charging it on top of my sofa (yes, i'm a complete idiot), which caused the button to accidentally get depressed...sparks went flying, it made a horrible zapping noise, smoke billowed, it stunk to high heaven, and scared the crap outta me.

(needless to say, i no longer charge my pv's on top of my sofa )

 

[meems]

I'm wondering how it's really possible to charge these & not have them out of your sight...I can't be the only one who tends to charge over night..

 

[StormFinch]

This is MUCH more complicated than any of us would need, but very, very cool; HeliFreak - View Single Post - How to make a portable battery charging / storage box for $23!

 

[Cigarman]

This is scary, I think I'm going to start charging mine in a cheap metal ammo box, you can get them at army surplus stores, gun shows for $5.00 or so. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[bstedh]

This is MUCH more complicated than any of us would need, but very, very cool; HeliFreak - View Single Post - How to make a portable battery charging / storage box for $23!

I like that... Just put a power strip and multiple chargers in a toolbox and your done...

I may just do this as I have several different batteries for multiple types of devices that are always getting charged at some point. Then you can divide the top tray to store dead and charged batts separately.

 

[bstedh]

This is a long known risk as cell phones and laptops have had to deal with this issue at some point or another. The safety factor has increased over the years but it is a risk with almost every device with a re-chargeable battery.

 

[six]

An old computer case will work. Take the motherboard and power supply out and run the cord through the power supply hole. - Old steel antec cases with the side panel that latches would be easiest, but any old computer case would do.

 

[AttyPops]

I'm going with the glass aquarium... about $22.00. I need to find a vented fire-proof lid and a power strip.

All Glass Aquarium AG 5.5GAL Tank Black 16x8x10

Heck... That's what they used in the video for the $22.00-$25.00 (and up) bag. lol. They showed a less expensive solution in their demo. Then, if my batteries don't blow up, I have an aquarium/terrarium (And I'm not dis-ing them, they probably pay a lot just for liability insurance...)

EDIT: That metal tool box that StormFinch linked to looked like a good idea too (post #23)

 

[Flebo]

I have a similar story when the switch on my saber touch failed. I had left it on the dinner table, standing on its it (the switch was only touching air)and proceded to get ready to go out. About 5-10 minutes later I go "what's that smell?" and go looking around around the apartment to find the saber touch shooting out a huge plume of smoke and the carto melted on to it. Luckily I was able to get the battery out. Could have burned the place down. That scared the heck out of me.

 

[GIMike]

from what it sounds like, something glass or a bowl may not be the way to go. if they actually explode, the glass shatters and you lose any protection you had from the glass that is no longer there. a bowl would just help to direct the flying *edit* glowing-hot-fire-causing *end-edit* pieces up the side of the bowl and then directly towards your ceiling which is probably not a very good idea either.....

 

[espresso]

Becareful with batteries of all sorts that are made in China,
numerous reports of explosions.

 

[GIMike]

so, who charges their batteries in a pcc while carrying them on their person somewhere?

 

[bstedh]

I'm going with the glass aquarium...

Glass + Exploding projectile ????????????????????????????????

 

[Primalrib]

I found an old metal electrical box that is the perfect size and has a flip open lid that shuts pretty tightly. It's about the size of the image below. Gonna use aluminum tape to seal any extra holes. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

 

[DC2]

I just sent an email to LipoSack to find out if they felt it would work for a 3000 mah 18650 Lithium-Ion battery.

 

[AttyPops]

Glass + Exploding projectile ????????????????????????????????

from what it sounds like, something glass or a bowl may not be the way to go. if they actually explode, the glass shatters and you lose any protection you had from the glass that is no longer there. a bowl would just help to direct the flying *edit* glowing-hot-fire-causing *end-edit* pieces up the side of the bowl and then directly towards your ceiling which is probably not a very good idea either.....

See that video for the liposack in post #12... Go to the site and look at the demo. It Looks like they use a glass aquarium. IDK. I don't think it is that "quick" of an explosion. But you can be your own judge on the matter. It's a nasty reaction, but not that bad assuming the device has vent holes. You be the judge...... Of course, if your PV is built stupidly (no vent holes or other safety measures) ... switch PVs. It shouldn't explode... it should vent/flame. It was assumed that the bowl would have a vented lid over it... besides, the bowl was a discussion from another post...

Oh, and disclaimer.... all my posts in this thread are for discussion/entertainment purposes only and should not be considered guarantees of safety...........

So, yes.... besides.... I like aquariums.

EDIT: And yes, I realize they used a glass aquarium so they could film it and you could see it........ But it looks like it worked well. I want to see the lights on the charger for my 14500 batteries and the eGo unit chargers without having to open a vault.

 

[jlarsen]

I saw a brand new incandescent light bulb literally shoot out of one of those aluminum clamp on type shop lights once, the second it was plugged in - how does a tightly screwed in light bulb shoot out of a light socket with no damage to the socket and without the bulb breaking until it hits the floor several feet away?! Accompanied by an explosion of sorts, it was as if it had been plugged into a 220 instead of a 110, but it hadn't. Don't know what caused it. Thought the outlet might have been defective, but never had another problem with that outlet again. Thought the lamp might have been defective, it worked fine with another bulb. Bad bulb? Just a weird electrical anomaly? A ghost maybe?

 

[mylose64]

In my last post I was kidding by the way, I was making fun of the OP. Having the metal fly off and be so hot that it melts to something is rather extreme. I could MAYBE see battery fluid causing some problem, but heat? C'mon...

 

[six]

In my last post I was kidding by the way, I was making fun of the OP. Having the metal fly off and be so hot that it melts to something is rather extreme. I could MAYBE see battery fluid causing some problem, but heat? C'mon...

throw an 18650 in your fireplace and see what happens. Reverse the polarity on an unprotected batt in your mod, tape down your switch and see what happens... preferably from a safe distance. Take a bag and put keys and coins in it and toss in an 18350 to simulate what might happen in a pocket - shake it around with a rope or something from a safe distance. There's some pics of what happens to a batt in a pocket with keys and coins somewhere on the forum posted maybe 80 or 90 days ago...

Batteries like these are nothing to be careless with and mishaps happen even under seemingly safe circumstances.

 

[StormFinch]

mylose64 there is absolutely no reason not to believe what stretchpants posted. She's been a member here for 4 months with nothing but supportive things to say about vaping until this incident and she still isn't condemning it, just putting out a warning. I see nothing that she could gain from telling a tall tale at this stage of the game. That's a 2 or 3 post troll's M.O., not someone who's been contributing for this long.

We're talking about a volatile chemistry sealed in a metal tube with minimum venting and mass produced by the Chinese. Stretchpants stated that "the wires and filament part flew across the kitchen counter and soldered itself to a metal bowl on the counter". In other words, the part of the e-cig that still had solder on it. For more on the batteries used in e-cigs see the official ECF stance here; http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/announcements-rules/76078-exploding-mods-current-situation.html#post1128521. That post is mainly referencing mods as at that time there were no known stock battery explosions, but there has been at least one other report on this forum of a kr8 exploding the same way as stretchpants' did within the last couple of months.