Local NW Floridian with severe injuries from exploding ecig battery

[Codrut Popescu]

I don't think we can compare mobile phones with e-cigs. I am vaping way more often than talking on my phone. As about laptops, they usually sit on a table and only seldom we use them over our feet. An e-cigarrete is something much more intimate! It's a different product.

 

[mwa102464]

I don't think we can compare mobile phones with e-cigs. I am vaping way more often than talking on my phone. As about laptops, they usually sit on a table and only seldom we use them over our feet. An e-cigarrete is something much more intimate! It's a different product.

Not so sure about that, laptops have on AVG 6-10 18650's in parallel and they sit right in front of your face and when they do go they have and will be much worst the a single or double cell ecig.

 

[Rocketman]

Well, for us old guys, we spend a lot more time vaping than texting on the phone.
I'm not worried about my phone. The odds of my phone getting me is slim

 

[thenut]

I do use scissors to open up my new Carto packages.
Thanks for the advice folks. Don't have a hybrid car, but I've already taped a laptop to myself, have my cell and my PV ready to go, and a pair of scissors with me.
I'm about to run up the street in my neighborhood.
If I don't post again, you'll know they've put me in mental hospital somewhere.
With a little luck, I'll be back. ("Oh, boy, we can hardly wait wait")

 

[Batsu]

I don't think we can compare mobile phones with e-cigs. I am vaping way more often than talking on my phone. As about laptops, they usually sit on a table and only seldom we use them over our feet. An e-cigarrete is something much more intimate! It's a different product.

with that said, the only way to be 100% safe is to stop using the ecig.

 

[Rocketman]

Have seem some of the videos of laptops going nuclear?
Pretty impressive.

 

[Batsu]

I do use scissors to open up my new Carto packages.
Thanks for the advice folks. Don't have a hybrid car, but I've already taped a laptop to myself, have me cell and my PV ready to go, and a pair of scissors with me.
I'm about to run up the street in my neighborhood.
If I don't post again, you'll know they've put me in mental hospital somewhere.
With a little luck, I'll be back. ("Oh, boy, we can hardly wait wait")

you should add a digital camera to the mix so we can document this

 

[Rocketman]

Don't want 100% safe. That would be boring
Something around 90% would be OK.

Until 10% of the stacked battery mods blow, I'm not worried.

 

[DaBatMan]

So many posts. Has this article been posted yet? The last paragraph might interest some of you....

E Cigarette Explosions: The Rest Of The Story - World News Report

It seems no one is really talking about this article. I am on the road with no time to read through all of the post but is "Moding" behind this? I know we have lot of people who build their own devices and such so It seems to be logical that maybe that's where the problem lays. I'm no engineer and I doubt I'd ever start messing with batteries, switches, soldiering guns and such searching for that perfect vape.

 

[Rocketman]

you should add a digital camera to the mix so we can document this

My camera uses a LI-ion battery that comes out a plastic trap door in the bottom. Tried to take a picture of it with the battery removed to show you, didn't work

 

[orson]

A little tip for those stuck using propitiatory batteries and chargers (like the eGo or other various 510 equipment for example) you will likely be 100% safe from this occurring to you if you just take a few precautionary steps.

First and foremost, never leave a charging battery 100% unattended, you don't have to sit there and watch it like a hawk, but leaving the house or leaving it charging while you sleep is a bad idea. ALWAYS take it off the charger as soon as it is done charging, I absolutely cannot stress this enough! Leaving it on the charger to trickle charge after it is fully charged is what can cause the battery to be unstable, and not only that but its lifespan will be drastically reduced if trickle charged. I would go even further to suggest you try and remove it from the charger when it is around 90% charge (that is if the charger lets you know how full the battery is). One nifty thing to know about li-ions is that undercharging them is not bad for them at all, in fact it will greatly increase their lifespan and it is much safer.

I just wanted to mention that last night I plugged my battery on it's usb charger into my iPad's USB adapter wall plug.

I noticed in the morning that the LED light on the charger was not on/green like normal. Initially I thought that the charger/battery may have gone bad, however I think what happened is that the iPad adapter has a chip that cuts off the power completely when a fully charged battery is plugged into it.

I can't say that for sure, but maybe someone here knows more and can verify if there are wall adapters for USB plugs that lock out voltage to the USB port once charging is complete.

 

[Codrut Popescu]

with that said, the only way to be 100% safe is to stop using the ecig.

That's not the point. I am only trying to educate myself as much as possible and learn how to properly take care of batteries/chargers and stay as safe as possible. There is much more info available now about safety on ECF than before.

 

[Batsu]

That's not the point. I am only trying to educate myself as much as possible and learn how to properly take care of batteries/chargers and stay as safe as possible. There is much more info available now about safety on ECF than before.

quality batteries, quality charger, common sense, really nothing else you can do. meter batters before/after charge, give them a good once over, and when in doubt toss it out.

 

[Rocketman]

Good point of view Codrut.

One day when we find out the details,

anyone with the same type of setup, e-cig/batteries/charger,

may need to rethink their level of concern.

Or not.

 

[ThinkGeoffrey]

Do you have a link to a story like this? I'm not doubting you in any way, but I don't recall in recent history a cell phone blowing someones ear off.
But for me, that's beside the point anyway. As far as I'm concerned, one accident like this is one too many. And at the very least, I think we should know how and why this happened.
I suspect in the Cell Phone incidents, there was some type of recall.
In this incident, there's nothing at all....not even simple information as to what type of device Tom was using...go figure.

You can Google it just like I did! I personaly have had a cell phone battery melt down. It was years ago in my Motorola Razor it was in my pants pocket and burned my thigh. No there are no reports I have seen of people having there ears blown off by exploding cell phone batteries nor did I state that as fact. Point I'm making is S#*t happens with batteries under load in consumer products all the time.
Hell for fun Google the recalls for battery powered tooth brushes!!!
It is a shame when good innocent people are injured by these events but it should not be cause for Panic! Until all facts are known about the events leading up to the explosion are made public. Then we can all make edudated informed decisions regarding our PV's of choice.
And by the way I still use a rechargeable toothbrush and a cell phone and still put my phone in my pants pocket.

 

[dirquist]

We will be making an announcement this coming week on a new specification specifically for metal tube mods.

One thing it will almost certainly include is three (or more) milled slots in the body, to vent gas no matter what goes wrong. It's become clear that you need both gas vents and a blowout plug - but large slots would do both jobs, and are the easiest solution. Slots can be milled in any metal tube of any kind, and that basically fixes it.

It would also be nice to have a master on/off switch, and either an electronic fuse or collapsible spring fuse, as well. But it looks as if milled slots are the easiest to achieve in any tube mod. Of course, they have to be done on a mill, which many garage workshops don't have. Or, it costs $5 or something to have a machine shop do them.

This problem isn't going away soon, and as usual we have to increase the pressure on vendors, in order to fix it. Too many of them are still selling solid metal tube mods, along with two-battery configs, and even selling batteries with a C rating way too low for the duty. If you can go out and buy a solid tube mod that takes two batteries and the cells with it are under-rated, then you are pushing the envelope from Day 1.

OK for cheap risk takers maybe, not OK for people who just don't realise the risk they are taking. One day soon a mod maker will get sued for his house, car, and the clothes on his back. And when that day comes, I will be in court to give evidence against him - and be glad to do it. It's gone too far.

The only people who could actually fix this is a trade association. The main reason that vendors won't form a trade association is they don't like the idea of being told what to do. A lot of us think that day is way past and they need to wake up.

Did you see my earlier post about you. I would like to know who you are and what your qualifications are. Im sure you must be an engineer in this field but I would like to know that so when Im telling someone else I can say what the quals were of the person telling me. A footnote at the bottom of you big "official" post would be a nice thing, please. It would make me and Im sure some others feel much better about accepting your advice. Please refer to my earlier post.

Thanks,

Ethan

 

[Batsu]

some people just dont care about warnings/safety i mean we all used to smoke.. knowing good and well that it was bad for us. people just need to use their heads a little when dealing with batteries. and a good start is battery university

 

[thenut]

You can Google it just like I did! I personaly have had a cell phone battery melt down. It was years ago in my Motorola Razor it was in my pants pocket and burned my thigh. No there are no reports I have seen of people having there ears blown off by exploding cell phone batteries nor did I state that as fact. Point I'm making is S#*t happens with batteries under load in consumer products all the time.
Hell for fun Google the recalls for battery powered tooth brushes!!!
It is a shame when good innocent people are injured by these events but it should not be cause for Panic! Until all facts are known about the events leading up to the explosion are made public. Then we can all make edudated informed decisions regarding our PV's of choice.
And by the way I still use a rechargeable toothbrush and a cell phone and still put my phone in my pants pocket.

Oh, I'm sure your right...I could Google and find out about all kind of accidents and subsequent recalls. But all kidding aside, I had a post a while ago about why this causes me some concern.
That's the fact that there is no specific information about this 'exploding' e-cig batt at all.
And I keep asking myself why that is.
Like I said, something is going on here, and I don't know exactly what it is yet.
If this were a cell phone, laptop, automobile, electric toothbrush, electric razor, or any other number of things, we would have had all of the details by now....news would be everywhere about recalls.
Don't you think it's a bit strange that we don't know any details at all about this event, even though it's been a while now?

 

[Rocketman]

Ethan,
he is staff. with a ban button.

anything further could be considered personal.
Some don't do personal on the interweb.

 

[Batsu]

Ethan,
he is staff. with a ban button.

anything further could be considered personal.
Some don't do personal on the interweb.

not to fan the fire, but he could always PM, i for one do not think it is unreasonable to know the qualifications of people who are posting these kinds of guidelines and rules. these are the people we look to for advise and guidance because they are "trusted" there has to be something that makes their words more prudent than the words of any other member of ECF