Is my E-cig safe?

[rgm82]

Hi all,
I'm still a little new to this site and am therefore restricted to posting in the new member section...anyway, I'm sure the recent exploding cigarette incidents has been covered ad nauseum somewhere, but I wasn't able to find to information I was looking for...but I basically want to know how safe is my cigarette? I have a Riva 510 (I think that's what it is, I bought the lite bundle package on liberty flights) with boge cartomizers. I have zero mods. Can anyone tell me if this is a safe system? Or if there's anything I can do to make it safer? I'm a huge fan of my face, I'd really like to keep it if at all possible...

 

[Hoosier]

There have been no reports of a Riva 510 blowing up in someone's face to date.

 

[winfab]

The kit is very safe, you have nothing to worry about. Welcome to ECF!

 

[Scottitude]

The Riva is a very popular PV so the odds are in your favor. Only use the charger that came with your kit, never leave it unattended while charging, and always disconnect the battery from the charger as soon as the battery is charged.

There are no details about the unfortunate failure recently reported, only speculation but it's unlikely that it involved a pen style or Riva/eGo style e-cg.

 

[frosting]

I myself and others have a sneaking suspicion that the whole "exploding cigarette" may have been a propaganda stunt. Yes, these are Lithium batteries and as such they do have chances of "acting funny" however such force of an explosion? To blow out teeth?? Some wonder if that's possible. My brother yesterday when I told him about it and warned him gave me a funny look and said "The cigarette shaped ones? No F-ing way. That's Bullllllllonga. It's just not big enough to produce such force" Well he didn't say bologna but ya..

Suddenly no one's heard anything else to do with it. If the man comes forward with an interview, evidence of his injuries, then I suppose I'll have to admit I'm wrong. But.... Where is he? Wouldn't he want to tell his story? Warn others?

There are steps you can take to make sure your batteries don't go "bad". With anything that's a battery it won't last forever but untill the end of its days comes be sure to:

- Be around when it's charging. Most incidents seem to have been confirmed when someone is not keeping an eye. You don't have to have a staring contest with your charging batteries, but don't charge them while you sleep or run out for errands.

-Do your best not to let them drop. Lithium can be delicate inside

-If your battery feels warm, don't use it. Not "from your hands" warm but that's its actually heating up. Don't use it. May be just better to buy a replacement.

- Don't let your batteries over-charge. When you see they are charged, properly take them off the charger. Regularly over-charging can make a good battery go bad.


If I've missed something I'm sure someone else will add it!

 

[rgm82]

The Riva is a very popular PV so the odds are in your favor. Only use the charger that came with your kit, never leave it unattended while charging, and always disconnect the battery from the charger as soon as the battery is charged.

There are no details about the unfortunate failure recently reported, only speculation but it's unlikely that it involved a pen style or Riva/eGo style e-cg.

Hmmm...I leave it charging unattended all the time, I kind of have to because I'm frequently charging it while I'm at work and i have to walk away and do other stuff...are you really supposed to like, stand over and wait for it to be done charging? And while I do my best to disconnect it as soon as it's done, it doesn't have a timer on it or anything, so I don't always know when it's done and I'll frequently walk over and find that it's been done charging for who knows how long...is that exceptionally problematic?

 

[RocketRod]

Your kit is safe, I can attest to that after many weeks of hard use. The story that was reported by the media was not complete. Unfortunate for the person it happened to. Probably caused by many things. But notice there hasn't been a follow-up story? He might have Big Tobacco Lawyers advising him,

 

[rgm82]

...also, as far as using the charger that came with my kit...that just means using the same type of charger, right? my charger broke recently so I've been using my co-workers charger - he bought the exact same kit that I did, so that should be fine, right?

 

[ianlm]

Using any charger intended for your type of ecig is fine. Also, the never leave unattended during charging thing is more of a habit-forming thing than a rigid rule. You don't need to hover over it every moment that it's on the charger. But it would be a bad idea to, for example, slap it on the charger and leave for a day trip. If you need to walk around and attend to business don't worry too much about it. Check on it when you get back.

 

[stephpd]

Far more batteries have gone thermal while on a charger then most any other way.
Second most frequent way is they get overcharged and 'go off' the instant they are first used, usually right after coming off a charger.

Practice safety on these two and you decrease your risk significantly.
For the charger, check them while charging to see if the batteries are getting hot. If so stop charging.
For these PV and the second cause, push the button on the battery for a couple seconds, away from your face, before taking that first hit off a freshly charged battery.

 

[daniele25]

Being new to the e-cigs as well, hearing about that caught my attention and sparked a little bit of concern. But in speaking to some other people who read more about it than i did, I guess the guy had made a lot of modifications to his device himself to try and increase its performance, and it wasnt a stock product or in the form it was intended to be used in. Thought I'd share what I heard on this.

 

[Scottitude]

Just as a cautionary statement, aside from the reasonable belief that the news report is factual, nothing absolute is known about the e-cig/PV or what if any modifications the user may have made.

Everyone needs to understand that rumor and speculations do not constitute facts and every vaper needs to know their gear and vape safely.

Personally, I mostly use 5v GLVs from Great Lakes Vapor with the manufacturer specified 3.7v 750 mAh AW ICR123 protected batteries in pairs. I don't over-charge them, I don't mix the pairs, and when one battery seems to drain faster than the other, both are relegated to single usage in a 3.7v Mini or Super Mini, or discarded altogether.

Because I do everything I can to vape responsibly, I am not concerned my PV or batteries will cause me harm.

 

[Patrick21]

Your egig is quite a popular one and like Hoosier said no reports have risen yet. As always try and buy a common model and from a reputable vendor to ensure safety.

 

[Karstho]

Im not overly concerned myself. I have a feeling it will come to light that the person who had the explosion was using a modified setup of some sort. Besides that, the sheer number of e-cigs on the market and utter lack of other reports of these issues make me think the odds of that happening to me are slim...

 

[rgm82]

Thanks for all the response guys, I feel much better about my e-cig now.

 

[kilroy76]

On a lighter note... this exploding e-cig gent lived in Florida. Stuff like this is kind of what we do here. He probably had it hooked up to a forklift battery, or was trying to make it gasoline-powered, when it exploded. Seriously consider just cutting us off and letting us drift to Cuba.

 

[DC2]

Using a liposack when charging your batteries can greatly increase you peace of mind.

 

[borderlands1]

all great advice I was always told to keep your equipment clean, don't overcharge or mix and match different manufacturers products unless you know the mod is compatible.

 

[cags]

Hmmm...I leave it charging unattended all the time, I kind of have to because I'm frequently charging it while I'm at work and i have to walk away and do other stuff.................

I treat charging batteries the same as running the clothes dryer. I won't leave the house or sleep while the dryer is running....same with charging batteries....

 

[base234]

Nothing you plug into an electrical outlet or plug into a charger is 100% safe. Someone I know had his house burn to the ground because of a cordless drill battery charging in his garage. But I've only heard of one Riva battery exploding and that was while it was on the charger. I think after this latest episode and all the information that's now here on the forum, I won't leave mine on the charger unattended very long. Also, I'm now charging mine inside a metal coffee can. Why not, right? Cheap insurance. I also use a car charger but unplug it when I get out.