Exploding batteries is this a real thing?

[LessSaidTheBetter]

I'm looking to get a mechanical mod. So far I have 2 regulated box mods and some ego style batteries. When I wanted to get into dripping recently I went for the segelei 150 because I was terrified of batteries venting/exploding in a mechanical. Anyway I went to the vapor dynasty expo in phoenix AZ yesterday and about half the crowd are using mechs. I looked online and the only confirmed case of a public incident is the expo in San Antonio last year and that mech mod was further modified in a way that prevented battery venting according to the fire investigation team. I've looked at other claims of exploding mods and they all seem to be in a way not genuine in that it was not an accident. It is some extreme circumstance where the battery was stressed by over charging, not vented properly, or just hard shorted by some sort of modification. What I did find that was way more common is that incidents of thermal meltdown are happening with the smaller vv/vw devices while charging through usb but there is already a failure rate established with those kind of devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Seems to me that as long as you use the batteries, mods, attys as they are manufactured and observe amp draw under constant current limits and pulse limits subohm vaping is perfectly safe.

 

[dhood]

Mech mods can be used safely as long as you have the proper education. I'll leave the experts here (definitely not me) to leave links as they see fit. Understanding ohms law is key. As is understanding how a mech mod works. I prefer regulated mods because I find them easy to work with.

 

[IMFire3605]

You are pretty much correct, 90% or more of the battery venting or thermal runaway mishaps I've have seen reported here in my area have all been user error. Improper usage (pushing the limits), improper care (battery past its life span being rapid charged or pushed to its limits), improper marriage of devices (sub-ohm tank without an adjustable pin on a direct to battery connection mod), or using over hyped (overspecced) re-wrapped batteries (ie Efest or Imren Purple, Vamped, MXJO, etc), or like you said manufacturer defect in a charging circuit. Other 10% (think like 2 I've seen in this category), battery that passed QC but had QC problems and vented after about 10 charge/discharge cycles (earlier shortage of the Sony VTC4 and 5 we had era). Your average everyday hobbyist do not run into this often, the majority of incidents have all been with inexperienced vapers trying their hand at extreme vaping without the care not inclining to learn the ins and outs, to worried about the "Oh I want it now mentality of current society"

 

[LessSaidTheBetter]

You are pretty much correct, 90% or more of the battery venting or thermal runaway mishaps I've have seen reported here in my area have all been user error. Improper usage (pushing the limits), improper care (battery past its life span being rapid charged or pushed to its limits), improper marriage of devices (sub-ohm tank without an adjustable pin on a direct to battery connection mod), or using over hyped (overspecced) re-wrapped batteries (ie Efest or Imren Purple, Vamped, MXJO, etc), or like you said manufacturer defect in a charging circuit. Other 10% (think like 2 I've seen in this category), battery that passed QC but had QC problems and vented after about 10 charge/discharge cycles (earlier shortage of the Sony VTC4 and 5 we had era). Your average everyday hobbyist do not run into this often, the majority of incidents have all been with inexperienced vapers trying their hand at extreme vaping without the care not inclining to learn the ins and outs, to worried about the "Oh I want it now mentality of current society"

I can't imagine that there is a %10 failure rate I think you are just coming up with a number without really thinking. If I had to guess I'd say that batteries even when exposed to user error they have to have a less than %10 failure rate. Otherwise lithion cells wouldn't be used for almost every consumer product that uses rechargeable batteries. It's probably more like a fraction of a percent failure rate but out of all the things that use high drain batteries that explodethe media only reports on a mod exploding because vaping is new, some people don't like it, and the establishment hates that it is taking away tax revenue.

 

[Izan]

Not just mechs.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1714748/why-lithium-ion-smartphone-batteries-keep-exploding/

 

[r77r7r]

Anyway I went to the vapor dynasty expo in phoenix AZ yesterday and about half the crowd are using mechs.

I think that may say more about the crowd....

 

[AzPlumber]

I can't imagine that there is a %10 failure rate I think you are just coming up with a number without really thinking. If I had to guess I'd say that batteries even when exposed to user error they have to have a less than %10 failure rate. Otherwise lithion cells wouldn't be used for almost every consumer product that uses rechargeable batteries. It's probably more like a fraction of a percent failure rate but out of all the things that use high drain batteries that explodethe media only reports on a mod exploding because vaping is new, some people don't like it, and the establishment hates that it is taking away tax revenue.

I don't think a 10% failure rate is the same thing as 10% of the failures.

 

[wheelie]

I'm looking to get a mechanical mod. So far I have 2 regulated box mods and some ego style batteries. When I wanted to get into dripping recently I went for the segelei 150 because I was terrified of batteries venting/exploding in a mechanical. Anyway I went to the vapor dynasty expo in phoenix AZ yesterday and about half the crowd are using mechs. I looked online and the only confirmed case of a public incident is the expo in San Antonio last year and that mech mod was further modified in a way that prevented battery venting according to the fire investigation team. I've looked at other claims of exploding mods and they all seem to be in a way not genuine in that it was not an accident. It is some extreme circumstance where the battery was stressed by over charging, not vented properly, or just hard shorted by some sort of modification. What I did find that was way more common is that incidents of thermal meltdown are happening with the smaller vv/vw devices while charging through usb but there is already a failure rate established with those kind of devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Seems to me that as long as you use the batteries, mods, attys as they are manufactured and observe amp draw under constant current limits and pulse limits subohm vaping is perfectly safe.

You have it though out right. CHEERS!

 

[edyle]

I'm looking to get a mechanical mod. So far I have 2 regulated box mods and some ego style batteries. When I wanted to get into dripping recently I went for the segelei 150 because I was terrified of batteries venting/exploding in a mechanical. Anyway I went to the vapor dynasty expo in phoenix AZ yesterday and about half the crowd are using mechs. I looked online and the only confirmed case of a public incident is the expo in San Antonio last year and that mech mod was further modified in a way that prevented battery venting according to the fire investigation team. I've looked at other claims of exploding mods and they all seem to be in a way not genuine in that it was not an accident. It is some extreme circumstance where the battery was stressed by over charging, not vented properly, or just hard shorted by some sort of modification. What I did find that was way more common is that incidents of thermal meltdown are happening with the smaller vv/vw devices while charging through usb but there is already a failure rate established with those kind of devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Seems to me that as long as you use the batteries, mods, attys as they are manufactured and observe amp draw under constant current limits and pulse limits subohm vaping is perfectly safe.

The thread title seems to be a question, but what exactly is the question?

 

[bigrf85]

batteries turning into bombs is very possible even with an unmodified tube mod the best way to prevent this is regular maintenance and cleaning and a thorough knowledge of battery/build safety

 

[LouisLeBeau]

Hi @LessSaidTheBetter
It's only a thing if, as you say, someone does something they don't understand.
Even if everyone was an Einstein, there is going to be the rare manufacturing defect.

 

[OldSalt]

Batteries, no matter what their chemistry, are subject to failure. That failure can be due to poor QA, improper use, accident, abuse, and even old age. The higher the battery's capacity, the more violent the failure can be.

Any battery is never perfectly safe. All we can do is reduce the risk to an acceptable level. In the vaping world this means using the proper battery for our MOD, whether or not the MOD is regulated, and using the proper re-charger with the battery. It means locating the re-charger in an area where if it were to fail, damage is minimized. It means inspecting the battery for damage before every re-charge, and replacing any that are even questionable. It means doing the same for all the equipment we use the battery in, or with.

We need to maintain a healthy respect for not only our batteries, but our equipment. Poorly informed, or negligent users are those most likely to encounter battery failure. The rest of us will have reduced the risk to an acceptable level.

 

[sofarsogood]

I've decided to pass on mechs because things can go wrong. Simple tubes are what I'd want to use but just some holes in the bottom might not be enough if the battery expands and traps the gases. I think it's the mod that bursts from lack of ventilation, not the battery case. For that reason I expect a box style mech would be the safest because there is room for the battery to expand but if there's room why not add some sort of fuse and while you're at it how about some regulation and now it's not a mech any more. If a battery decided to vent at work that would be the end of vaping on the shop floor. The 4 other vapers wouldn't be too happy with me for that. TC exclusively for me. I'm a wimp.

 

[edyle]

I've decided to pass on mechs because things can go wrong. Simple tubes are what I'd want to use but just some holes in the bottom might not be enough if the battery expands and traps the gases. I think it's the mod that bursts from lack of ventilation, not the battery case. For that reason I expect a box style mech would be the safest because there is room for the battery to expand but if there's room why not add some sort of fuse and while you're at it how about some regulation and now it's not a mech any more. If a battery decided to vent at work that would be the end of vaping on the shop floor. The 4 other vapers wouldn't be too happy with me for that. TC exclusively for me. I'm a wimp.

I use mechs; but always with kick modules. Much better rock solid interfaces between mechs and toppers than with the prefab 'regulated' mods.

I shudder to think of all the otherwise perfectly good mods that keep getting tossed all because of a silly 510 interface problem which most time the user didn't figure out was the cause of the problem.

 

[ElConquistador]

I avoided mechs for about a year until I was comfortable with rebuilding and battery safety. No problems now.

 

[OldSalt]

I use mechs; but always with kick modules. Much better rock solid interfaces between mechs and toppers than with the prefab 'regulated' mods.

I shudder to think of all the otherwise perfectly good mods that keep getting tossed all because of a silly 510 interface problem which most time the user didn't figure out was the cause of the problem.

If those users couldn't figure out a silly 510 interface problem, aren't they safer staying away from mech MODs and rebuildable atomizers? It takes a certain degree of knowledge to use them properly. It's safer for them, and better for our community as whole to discard an occasional good regulated MOD than to have an incident. I think far more regulated MODs are thrown out by vapers due to advances in technology than undiagnosed easily repairable problems.

 

[AzPlumber]

I think that may say more about the crowd....

and yet, no reports of any explosions, now that's saying something about the crowd.

 

[kbeam418]

It's a real thing but it's %90 user error. It's the kids with .1 drippers and tube mods that it happens to. As long as you use good batteries (Samsung 25r, Lg HE4) and don't go too low they're safe, I used a .2 coil on some cheap imrens, in a parallel box mod, and the batteries never gave me a fuss.

 

[edyle]

I use mechs; but always with kick modules. Much better rock solid interfaces between mechs and toppers than with the prefab 'regulated' mods.

I shudder to think of all the otherwise perfectly good mods that keep getting tossed all because of a silly 510 interface problem which most time the user didn't figure out was the cause of the problem.

If those users couldn't figure out a silly 510 interface problem, aren't they safer staying away from mech MODs and rebuildable atomizers? It takes a certain degree of knowledge to use them properly. It's safer for them, and better for our community as whole to discard an occasional good regulated MOD than to have an incident. I think far more regulated MODs are thrown out by vapers due to advances in technology than undiagnosed easily repairable problems.

"If those users couldn't figure out a silly 510 interface problem, aren't they safer staying away from mech MODs and rebuildable atomizers?"
Yes they would.

"better for our community as whole to discard an occasional good regulated MOD than to have an incident."
The issue is MONEY.