Mech mod disfigures a e-cig user, sad.

[vapeNoob4]

Explosion just happened and messed this guy up, not sure if posted yet.

URL:

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/e-cigarette-explodes-in-bentonville-mans-face

Link: E-Cigarette Explodes in Bentonville Man's Face

1:28 timemark shows the mod all jacked up. Figured someone might know the models perhaps. Looks like the mechanical mod peeled apart possibly. Sucks for this guy.

 

[Bad Ninja]

I've said it before.

1. Premade coil heads and mechanical mods are a disaster waiting to happen.
(That's a TVF4 tank with a triple coil head )
2. Not everyone should use mechanical mods. Know your limitations. Mechanicals are for advanced users who understand he risks and how they work.


This was an example of a novice vaper incorrectly using the wrong gear, and paying for his carelessness.

Education is the way to vape safe.
Know your gear.

 

[roxynoodle]

It doesn't help when the local B&M employee is vaping his tube mech at 0.09 ohms with a 20A battery, and telling everyone its perfectly safe.

 

[YoursTruli]

I'm not going to lie, (well about this anyways) I took an almost 2 year break from the online vaping community world and when I returned not long ago I was really surprised at the turn vaping in general had taken. While I love the advancement in equipment (yes I do!) I was shocked to learn it had also become (for some users) a competition sport, was being done (by some users) at super high power levels and super low ohms, in short, I hardly recognized vaping anymore.

Honestly, if I were to just discover vaping today I probably would not have taken it up, the whole culture of it has changed that much to me. While I realize the majority of vapers still use "tootle puffer" levels of gear and are not involved in the online communities it felt to me like vaping in general had really taken a turn away from simply a way to quit smoking and harm reduction in general.

I get that a lot of active community onliners are hobbiest, but, it's it really the hobbyist that have push forward these advancements that have spilled over into the general population now for the better ...and worse? Like I said back in 2011-12 people were using mech mods and they were a new advancement in gear being used by inexperienced users, because it was a new advancement in gear, yet, exploding mech mods were a rarity, why?

I feel like vaping has taken a wrong turn somewhere here and it bothers me that whenever one of these exploding events happen and someone gets hurt the online communities are quick to speculate and pick it apart jumping all over the injured party as being an ignorant newbie that got basically what they deserved for being so stupid even if those might not be the facts at all.

 

[VHRB2014]

In other news, ha, ha. The human conditions shortsightedness and complacency know no bounds.
Model rocket hits, kills man at Southern California Boy Scouts event

Ban ALL model rockets NOW!! Don`t be a pin cushion for a model rocket, just say no to the model rocket. And whatever you do, don`t look up you Id*&t!

I am so sick of this, story should read: "inexperienced ecig user attempts to use an advanced device and pays for his complacency with a missing tooth."

LOL, I used to drink, and I have a few missing teeth. Ban all Alcohol NOW!

 

[Bad Ninja]

Expecting a vape store employee to educate you about vaping is like expecting a McDonald's employee to educate you about nutrition.

Educate yourself.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Re-wrapped battery+mech mod+sub-ohm tank+ignorance=this. I call BS on the whole "I saw flames shooting out of the garage" bit. It's ironic that a guy in Arkansas got hurt by an ecig though. They have some of the toughest laws in the US. Goes to show that legislation is ineffective. If he had been able to walk into a vape shop and get the knowledge he needed to vape safely, this might not have happened.

 

[DC2]

It always amuses me how in threads like this a certain group of people ASSUME that the idea that batteries can be extremely dangerous would be common knowledge for anyone but the stupid people. Well, actually, I don't find it amusing at all, but the inability to realize how false that assumption is does kind of make me wonder.

Before a person can do basic research on the safety of batteries, they have to know that there is a reason for such concern. The average person walking down the street doesn't know any such thing for the most part. Now you can argue that the average person walking down the street is stupid, and I may not argue the point. But regardless, it's a losing argument.

 

[sonicbomb]

I have drilled out most of my mech mods with addition 2mm holes, aesthetics be damned.

 

[Stratm69]

Wanted to quit smoking, bought a mech mod...

That's like buying your toddler a 16 piece kitchen knife set for Christmas and expecting them not to get hurt.

This is why vape shops need to be stern about ohms law and battery safety. Any newbie can stroll in with a pocket full of cash, walk right out, and have no idea what they're doing. And the employees let them leave that way!

 

[ScandaLeX]

Re-wrapped battery+mech mod+sub-ohm tank+ignorance=this. I call BS on the whole "I saw flames shooting out of the garage" bit. It's ironic that a guy in Arkansas got hurt by an ecig though. They have some of the toughest laws in the US. Goes to show that legislation is ineffective. If he had been able to walk into a vape shop and get the knowledge he needed to vape safely, this might not have happened.

With all due respect I highly disagree. As an experienced vaper, I've been inside more vape shops than I can count & it's a rarity to see a new vaper being taught anything or given any type of knowledge. I usually end up being the one walking up to the counter while the transaction is under way & become the one sharing the knowledge.

Recently I met a guy in the ER. We stepped outside together; I was vaping- he was smoking & he said he really wants to quit. I told him of the nearest vape shop in my area & even went out on a limb & gave this stranger my phone #. 3 days later he phoned me happier than a kid with a new toy. He bought his first mod- an eGo One. The only thing he learned from this vape shop was to use the 0.50 coil to make big clouds!

 

[Hans Wermhat]

so ...what has changed so drastically in the last year

Clouds, bro... the clouds...

 

[WattWick]

That's just sad. Sounds like a new vaper was sold the wrong starter gear and never got told what batteries to use.

Regardless of venting - our batteries of choice do not blow up instantly like this one apparently did. Regardless of that - that is not a setup for someone just wanting to kick the cigs.

There are no vent holes that will make the wrong kind of battery vent less violently. How well a battery handles a thermal runaway is not a function of the mod - regardless of protective features like short circuit protection or even temperature shutdowns. What does it matter if the tiny little screen reads "temp hi" for a fraction of a second (or not) before the battery (not the mod) goes boom.

Don't let safety features be a replacement for knowing how to safely operate a battery powered Anything, folks. Scares me when people who apparently know next to nothing about batteries think their mods will magically keep them safe regardless of what they throw at it or stick in it.

 

[sonicbomb]

I really want a Fu Chai, is that wrong? Too soon?

 

[Rizzyking]

Mech mods may well be the sacrifice the community has to make, don't get me wrong I love my Dimitri and it gives me a better vape then some of my regulated but too many new people are buying mechs and just haven't got a clue what they are doing. On the face of it for non vapers ecigs must look dangerous as more and more stories like the one in the op are happening and while we know they can be safe non vapers just are not going to delve too deep to find the facts. B&m's need to take their share of the blame as most don't care as long as they get the cash and I've had to help out friends who went into a b&m admitting they were totally new to vaping and walked out with mechs, sub ohm tanks and crap batteries usually with a massive markup. The "victim" of this story is likely a victim of a sloppy b&m and his own laziness in not bothering to research his new setup just putting the battery in slapping that tfv4 on and boom.

 

[Racehorse]

Unfortunately, how many people realize they need education before going out and buying a mod? Little to no education comes from the people selling them either in a B&M or from a website. They might watch a couple of "reviews" on YouTube but those generally focus on the quality/performance of the gear and little to do with safe handling.

They just think, "that looks cool," and they buy it without doing any sort of research. As in the case with my Apollo clone.... Didn't realize what I was getting into until I was already there. And that was my own stupidity. If I had taken the time to look before I just grabbed at the cool shiny thing, I never would have messed with a hybrid. And if I had never stumbled onto this forum, I might have never known what I was doing was wrong/dangerous until it was too late. (Putting the Kanger Subtank Mini on the Apollo.)

Until people learn to look before they leap, there will continue to be problems like this.

And while the problem may be lack of education, the REASON for that problem is the resistance. If we wre all still using cartos and eGos, this wouldn't be an issue. Vaping has advanced. People just aren't advancing their education with it.

You are not a newbie vaper, and are probably, like me, an "intermediate to advanced" user. That means we know quite a bit about battery safety, etc. etc.

BUT I have to admit, (and appreciated your story about the apollo) that if I bought a SMPL mod, there would have been the *possibility* that I would have been at risk for placing the wrong (and dangerous) atty on top. IF I did not fully research my new purchase.

I guess my question is, just "how much" should we expect the general vaping population, or the person who just wants to switch from smoking, to know/learn in order to vape? I mean, I use a microwave, a digital camera, a zorjirushi electronic rice cooker, and cell phone on regular basis, and didn't feel I had to take a "course" in how to use any of them.

How "involved" should one have to be to use a vape device? Is it, or has it, or should it, reach the level of flying RC planes, etc.?

(I really do not have a fully formed opinion or solution yet.)

 

[ENAUD]

Our culture has changed, a lot. Two years ago these instances were just warning blips on the radar, people warned folks that if you are not careful and do your homework, "this" might happen to you. Fast forward to today with the rapid expansion of the marketplace, B&M's popping up everywhere, and many more folks getting in on the game, and I'd bet most are unaware sites like this even exist. Why would they, they can get everything they need right from their friendly salesperson at the store...so education and information is a concept lost on this new generation of vapers...they sell it at a nice store, so it must be safe. Many people don't know that 9 volt batteries casually tossed into the trash could potentially burn their house down. Yet this has happened. Imagine the dumbest person you know, then imagine the dumbest person they know. Would you expect that person to have a clue as to the safe operating limits of batteries and builds... or how to check an atomizer and mod for a possible dead short. Everything in their life is plug and play, if it fits together it must work? Right? These people are going to sue somebody if they get hurt, maybe the shop that sold the gear, maybe the online vendor. It will only take a couple of successful cases to bring the ambulance chasers out of the woodwork. Vaping seems to be doomed on so many levels, and we, as a group, in some ways are our own worst enemy.

 

[IMFire3605]

I have seen a lot of comments in this thread that breaks it down to, IMO, mechs are not the friendliest of New User devices. Yes there are new users that can jump right in with a mech and sub-ohm atty on top, "IF" that user does their research properly, and "IF" the peers he hangs out with "KNOW" just what they heck they are doing also. A one hour crash course discussion at a B&M just does not cut it, if that B&M were so inclined to do so. Honestly I imagine as most, the battery at issue in the OP was a re-wrap from one of the many offenders on the market, Efest, IMRen, MXJO, AWT, take your pick.

When I was working at a vape shop and had a new or newish vaper wanting to dive in head first, this was the list (updated now with newer things on the market) I told them they needed to research before I would take liability selling the devices to them...

1) Ohm's Law - read about it, get a good understanding about it, and how it works (there would be a quiz)
2) Battery Safety and Battery Chemistry - this included what types of batteries, proper charging and discharging, proper handling and care (there would be a quiz)
3) Mod Designs - does the mech have venting, if so, where is it, what are the warning signs the battery isn't venting properly (mod is hot, hissing, foul smell, etc) (there was a quiz)
4) Coil building - I guided mentorship process, I would not sell them any wire or tools until I felt they were competent enough to this on their own (this excluded ohm readers, on a mech you need an ohm reader), this mentorship I'd build the first few coils with them watching me, next couple work together, then the next couple just observing them doing it and give pointers and such. They were welcome to come in any time and ask questions and advice any time they wanted, especially during slow hours if they could, I was happy to sit and discuss things, if I got busy I'd pause the discussion, especially if a new vaper walked in
5) Choose your equipment wisely, this includes batteries, chargers, battery cases, mods, atomizers, etc. Personally IMO, if you are running a mech, especially below 1Ohm, the minimum battery you need is a Sony VTC4, best batteries are Sony VTC3 (if you can find them) and now added to the list is the LG HB6, all of them true 30amp or capable of handling 30amp loads. So with 30amp limits, lowest you will ever want to build on a mech with these batteries is a 15amp to 20amp load, giving you 15 to 10amps spare "UH OH" room in case of a mishap. Chargers, buy the best charger you can afford, light user near or above 1ohm regularly used, a 2 bay and 4 batteries, Nitecore i2 or D2, Efest LUC2, or an Xtar VC/VP/WP2 minimum, 0.6ish and below, 4bay charger and at least 8 batteries, Nitecore i4/D4, Efest LUC4, Xtar VC/VP/WP4 minimum. Have enough 2bay or 4bay battery cases to carry your batteries safely, and never in your regular pants pocket or purse pocket where keys and loose change and such can cause an issue, if need be, a cheap fanny pack is a great investment, even an old ego carrying case works real well.

I always forced the shop owners to always have Sony VTC 3 and 4's on hand in good quantity, with for mods like a SVD or such, there I would sell an MNKE or other 20amp battery for use with those, made them angry at my sales tactics for a while, but they soon learned the value of it, when one of them on my day off sold a mech, patriot clone, 4 of the first versions of the Purple Efests, 2bay trustfire charger, spool of 26awg wire, and such to a kid, and let him out the store. 2days later kid came in with an attorney, kid's hand wrapped up in a cast, mod and atty in pieces and scraps of one of the Efests, "Make it right or we are suing..." I spent six hours explaining things to everyone, replaced the mod, atty, 4 new Sony VTC4's, and an XTar WP4 all for free, just to make it right and keep the glaring attorney happy. Shop owners really wisened up after that incident.

 

[JavaJunkie]

I'm torn on where I see this going in the future.

On one hand, I've spoken to more vapers than I care to count who can't even tell me the name of their gear or even the basic classification of their gear (eGo style, mod with internal battery, mod with removable battery, electronic mod, mech mod, or hybrid or "tank", "cartomizer", "dripper"). These people bought what the vape shop shoved at them and then they go back there asking for "coils/replacement for this". We expect people who don't even know the brand and model of their device to do their own homework to use higher end gear safely. I just don't see that happening. I've done more spontaneous safety lessons at events and other not-in-my-house (shudder) activities than I care to count.

On this same hand, we have hair dryers that warn us to not use them under water, curling irons that tells is it's not designed for internal use, jars of peanuts that warn us that peanuts are in fact inside peanuts, and a gallon of milk contains dairy. We're surrounded by warnings and dummy-proofing and every single one of those is the result of a lawsuit. Companies aren't using ink and paper because they want to spend the money. They have to because their liability insurance company says, "Do this or you're not covered."

On the other hand, coffee pots with internal hot plates are such a huge fire hazard that they'll void most non-residential insurance policies. When the Flavia machine came out, it was the first machine meant for office use that would not void such policies. This is a very little known fact. I only know it because of the job I was working at that time and yet how many offices don't have a coffee pot with an internal hot plate? Yet, when the Keurig machines came out, a lot of offices switched to them because of the convenience. They were switching to a safer design without knowing it.

On this same hand, is it possible to even regulate such an issue. Let's say our government bans mech mods or requires labels. Is that going to stop a Fasttech shipment? Can such a thing be effectively policed and enforced? If not, what's the point?

Right, wrong, or indifferent, I don't see a product with such a large gap for user error lasting too long in the US market. We're a bit too litigation happy for that. At the same time, they've already lasted longer than I figured they would. Back to the first point, most of that time the devices have been in the hands of the first wave of early adopters who take the time to educate themselves. Most second wave early adopters do to. Now we're getting into the mainstream and those people aren't really hobbyists. They're users and users are apathetic, lazy, and expect information fed to them. These are the people who at best come here and say, "tell me what I need to know" and at worst just buy stuff and talk like they're an expert without even knowing how to calculate wattage.

Furthermore, and it might be tin foil helmet time for me, does it seems terribly convenient to anyone else what we're seeing an uptick in D/AP concerns and discussions, battery and mod explosions, wrong-charger-on-eGos, and a 5P lawsuit while dealing with HR 2058, state level legislation, the 2016 Agricultural Appropriations Bill, and waiting to hear back from the FDA. I feel like some special interest group is really good at manipulating the media OR I really need a new hat.

Hat. Probably the hat.

God, I hope it's the hat.

 

[ScandaLeX]

The bad part is with so many people converting and not learning anything, this is going to happen more often. Many people get a mech. because of price but never learn the ins and outs of using one. Now with temp control gaining popularity and some tanks coming with temp coils or reg. and temp coils, someone is going to use the wrong one at the wrong time and boom. Everyone involved in more advanced types of devices are going to have to play a part in safety. People need to research and learn on their own, local shops need to provide better instruction on safety (to consumers and employees) and we ourselves need to educate people we see or hear doing something unsafe.

Many people I'm betting don't even realize they are doing something unsafe but there are the few who ignore the information and do whatever they want. Those are the people I worry about, as they are the ones that help fuel the fire on unsafe practices and will help usher in regulations. We live in a world of stupid, where we have to make things over engineered for safety, due to the few ignorant folk that refuse to follow any rules, regulations and/or guidelines.

We started a losing battle with sanity when people could sue (and win) over coffee being too hot. If anyone want's a fun read, go into your bathroom and look at the warning labels on shaving cream, soap, shampoo and such or do it the next time you're out shopping. There are a few that actually say do not use near open flame, really how many people shave by candle light these days.

I agree with much of your post. In regards to "the bad part is with so many people converting and not learning anything, this is going to happen more often."

I see this happening because many new vapers don't seek out information beforehand! Sure, they may want to quit smoking & the steps taken is to enter a B&M as opposed to the person who starts looking online where one search of something leads to another search of something else & before you know it, that person has found ECF or the like.

It is my belief that out of every 10 new vapers, only 1 or 2 have found themselves either reading forums or watching Youtube. And much like myself when I began vaping, it was thru these 2 mediums that I gained the knowledge I have to this day about vaping, safety, ohm & batteries.

My B&M experiences were horrible. So horrible in fact that I'd leave a store cringing & coudn't wait to get back on ECF where people actually made sense & knew what they were talking about.

It's so sad when you're the one new to this & have more knowledge than the people actually selling this stuff to you.


Sent from my i6S+