eGO-T blew up!!!

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sailorman

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Dang this is scary. I have some older batteries. Should they get warm at all when charging?

Are they regular bare lithium batteries? They really shouldn't get noticeably warm. You should have a multimeter to measure their voltage when they come off the charger. They should be no more than 4.23 volts. Anyone who charges Lithiums should have a multimeter. It should be a law. It's more important than any LiPo bag.
 

Trilly

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Anyone who charges Lithiums should have a multimeter. It should be a law. It's more important than any LiPo bag.

Personally I find this idea scarier than a battery exploding, I am not trained with electrics (I'm a mechanical and hydraulic engineer by trade) and therefore sticking the probes from a multimeter anywhere I consider to be a little irresposible.

Lithium batteries are in so many things that we trust, mobile phones, camera's, even my sons satuaration monitor has a lithium battery pack, there may have been a fault anywhere, not neccessarliy with the battery itself, a faulty charger or a slight power surge (we had one that blew the element in the kettle but was not strong enough to trip the electrics for the entire house), by this method of thinking should we spend half our lives checking these, then what about the batteries that are actually in the multimeter (I know enough to know they have batteries)?
 

Kay1959

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I agree with sailorman. With soo many devices out there, there are bound to be problems like this coming up. But I also admit that it's the main reason I went from an eGo to a Provari. While the Provari can't be 100% fail safe (nothing is in this life) it has the most safety features on it of any I've seen so far. I'm soo happy no one got hurt!
 

Midi

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So last night I charged my eGO-T using a wall charger and within 30 mins I heard a really loud bang, ran into the kitchen and the thing fried. I've done some googling and it seems it's happened to other people before. When I picked it up it was so hot I dropped it. I'm so glad I hadn't left it unattended.

Pics attached of the plastic button totally melted and scorch marks along the side.

View attachment 102097View attachment 102098




At least it wasn't in your face... these lithium batteries "made in china" are scaring me...
 

dragonbone

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Are you aware of any battery NOT made in China, or at least Japan? There are only a handful of battery factories in the entire world and I don't think any of them are in N. America or Europe, except for possibly some very specialized batteries that you and I would probably never buy. .
Hey! Hang on... China and Japan are two VERY different countries with completely different cultures, values and languages. There are no such thing as knockoff products made in Japan, no 'third shift' either. Copy or counterfeit goods are illegal to import, and no one would be interested in them anyway. Just saying....
 

chinsk

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I had this happen once, BUT after I removed the battery from the charger I found a tiny splinter of metal in the charger, crossing the center post to the threads. Not sure how it got in there, but I stopped using PV's that have a hole recessed in the charger after that.



Charging a battery involves pumping electricity into them. I would think it's normal.

This is actually a good statement. Since these are metal threads the possibility of a rogue splinter is very much there. Good thing to be aware of and check for before you plug in your device, both on the charger and into a carto.
 

Wackyjak

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No, because unwarranted hysterics is not productive. Every time something like this happens, a wave of hysteria sweeps though this place like the plague. Last time, people were demanding that big slots and holes be cut in the perfectly adequately vented Silver Bullet. Everybody forgets the hundreds of thousands of these same units out in the world and suddenly people are running to buy LiPo bags like this has never happened before. I fear for what is going to happen when there are a million of these things in circulation and the standard consumer electronic defect rate causes this to be a daily occurrence. I guess then we'll all have to buy Provaris and Reos when the government crackdown comes. It's interesting that you don't see this kind of reaction on RCgroups, where people deal with Chinese made motors, speed controllers and LiPo batteries made gawd-knows-where but that make these e-cig batteries look like pop-rocks.

I fly rc planes, the chargers rc ppl use are way different quality than the e-cigs. Every thing is monitered with it, volts per cell,charge rate and balance between cells. All this is on a led read out for the user to watch. One thing I was supprized at was the charge rate on my first e-cig kit. 200mah, thats alright for the long batt but for a short batt 180mah thats just over the limit at what rate it should be charged at. Prob not a biggie. I've never had a lipo that didnt get warm while they charge including a cell phone. The price for rc equipment has gone down a lot, more ppl can enjoy it now. I always watch my joye batts while they charge. If they get hot I disconnect them till they cool a bit then finish charging them. Im no doubt a little over cautious. I have had a little one cell batt. (110mah) short out and "puff up" in my hand. Lucky for me I took care of the short before it went pop still burned me though.
 

rothenbj

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don't buy the ego-T. Not because of exploding batteries, but because it's a crappy system.

First, on the topic of Lipo bags. I never used one and I've been vaping nearly 3 years. However, with the growing demand for PVs, I can only believe that added stress has been added to the supply chain. After reading the accounts of battery issues, I spent the few dollars it cost for a charging bag and like the added security.

As to the Ego style batteries, Sailor is probably right. The components are pretty much the same and all made in China. The question of who assembles those parts might be an issue. I do know that, internally, the composition is different. Some have minimum components- a small wire soldered between the battery and the end cap, a couple wires running from the other end of the battery to the circuit board and finally the wire that runs from the other end of the circuit board to the center post of the adapter. Break any of those connections and the battery will stop working, best case. Worst case, perhaps a meltdown such as this.

I've taken apart different Ego batteries, some have the bare essentials, some have cushioning to absorb shock, thus attempting to prevent accidental failure caused by dropping the battery. As far as using a multi-meter on these batteries, I understand that you need to be careful not to short them out.

My experience has been to stick to the kits where the battery is separate from the unit itself. The batteries last a long time, are relatively inexpensive and the points of failure are reduced. I took the chance on a VV simply because I liked the idea of tailoring the voltage to the atty and the liquid, but realize it adds circuitry not required by purer designs. I bought mine from TW. I've also managed to drop it a few times, once from a three foot table onto a solid wood floor. It kept ticking, although I had concerns about potential damage. I've taken apart and re-soldered Egos that were dropped on carpet and a wire got detached.

I like the size of the Ego and the style for that matter. I just think the design could have been more fault tolerant. BTW and before I close, the TW Ego battery I took apart after it failed was put together pretty nicely. If I were looking for an Ego, I'd look for one from them or someone rlse with a great reputation. That being said, let's face it, batteries fail at some point and I'd prefer one that's easily tested for condition to avoid it failing unexpectedly.
 

rothenbj

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Trilly, I agree with your point to an extent, thus the reason I like standalone batteries. It doesn't take an engineer to set the dial to DC volts, put the red probe on pos and black on neg and read the voltage after a charge. You can quicky ascertain wether the battery is functioning correctly. The design of the Ego makes that task a dubious process. I'd like to see more chargers build in with that technology.
 

markfm

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On charging bags, you might also want to poke at the Dynamite charging bag. Some of the bags are known to have a bit of a scratchy interior, the Dynamite doesn't seem bad (I bought one, ended up not using it -- I use standard batteries with an XTAR charger and an outlet timer. Everyone has to decide what their acceptable risk is, but it's good to know what the potential problems and options are.)
 

LordDavon

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I have been working with electronics for many years. Heck, I am addicted to technology. One thing I have personally had happen is bad power regulators in the chargers. I have had one AA charger smoke up, and kill the 4 batteries in it. Another caught fire in the kitchen, but it never went past the wall outlet. Many have just died.

That being said, take a look at the cords running under your desk. The power supply on your laptop, and it's battery. Your TV, DVD player, game systems, refrigerator, stove, etc. All have been known to have an issue with someone, somewhere. All have caught fire, smoked up, or melted. Heck, how many house fires have been caused by a bad wire in the walls?

Now ask yourself, are you really prepared to remove all of these things from your home? There is a risk with any electronic device that you own. eGo style batteries are the second most popular batteries around. This will not be the last time we hear of a failure. This also should not cause mass hysteria.
 

NickZac

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Nickzak... would you mind sending me a message with details of your set up and where you got it? I'm not experienced enough to be able to tell genuine from knock off which is why I went to a vendor in person to buy but I'm really off eGo's now and would prefer to get something like the Provari but don't know where to start with it.

I'll shoot you a PM



There's no reason to be terrified. It's no different than charging your cell phone or anything else that you plug in that needs to be charged. Just use caution. Don't leave any charging battery unattended and if you see a battery starting to 'act up' don't use it.

I have to sort of disagree. It is slightly different from charging a cell phone because the amount of wear placed on these batteries by PVs is exceptional. Of the lithium type batteries used on PVs, most were not made for the type of discharge they see. Obviously, this places excessive strain on the battery and can affect how it functions. Also, cell phones and other devices have fail-safe devices in them where as not all chargers do nor do all standalone batteries. One thing that is critical to know is that you should NEVER place a freshly charged battery in your mod and you should NEVER place a freshly exhausted battery in a charger.



I hope all you people scaring people with talk about knockoffs realize that Joye licenses their design, sells their battery, and makes units for dozens of other companies. Just because it doesn't say Joye does not mean it's a knockoff. Open up a Riva and you will find a Joye battery and a Joye circuit board inside. Joye does a huge amount of private labeling. There are probably more unlabeled Joyes out there than there are labeled Joyes or knockoffs.

The, you have companies like Smoketech, who is just as big and just as reliable as Joye and does exactly the same thing as Joye does. There are a lot fewer knockoffs out there than you might expect. There are clones, but clones are not the same as knockoffs. Knockoffs are counterfeits. Clones are virtually identical and may even contain Joye parts.

That does not mean the products built by other makers are made to the same specs and tolerances. It also does not mean just because you find a clone online that it is even affiliated with Joye, given that is probably the best known of models and that in itself would make it one of the most likely to be copied, legal or illegal for that matter. A company like Smoketech will likely sell a product that is presumably made to meet minimum factory specifications where as a no-namer is not such an easy presumption.



Are they regular bare lithium batteries? They really shouldn't get noticeably warm. You should have a multimeter to measure their voltage when they come off the charger. They should be no more than 4.23 volts. Anyone who charges Lithiums should have a multimeter. It should be a law. It's more important than any LiPo bag.

This is the most important post of this thread. If they are any higher than that, don't use the charger or the batteries, as the charger is defective (or not designed for that battery) and the battery is likely damaged.

For those concerned about using a multimeter, here is a video showing a few of the many uses
 

ukeman

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what's wrong with it?
I have a couple and i just sent a newbie looking for one; i figure it is going to be genuine joye, 3.4v regulated, and matched with an LR carto, your home...
don't buy the ego-T. Not because of exploding batteries, but because it's a crappy system.
 
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