This happened to me a couple of days ago. I wanted to share, but almost didn't for fear of getting flamed. But I decided to do so in the hope that it might save someone else getting injured.
I was putting a fresh build on a Cigreen steel and copper Stingray X clone setup with a hybrid adapter. For those that don't know, this replaces the usual top cap of the mod with a threaded disk with a central hole. This allows the atomizers 510 connecter to make direct contact with the battery rather than via a pin, reducing voltage drop.
The rda center pin was setup for another mod, and in my haste I neglected to readjust it for Stingray. This meant the battery was in direct contact with the adapter and I got a complete short. As it happened, simultaneously the fire button got stuck.
Immediately it started hissing and ejecting gas and liquid so I dropped it. Within a couple of seconds flame and smoke started jetting out of it, and it started to shoot around the floor bouncing of the furniture like a pinball. After about ten seconds it stopped venting and started burning it's way through the wooden floor like an out-take from Alien. I managed to get it into the bathroom sink, but badly burnt my fingers in the process, and got a good face full of the thick sooty smoke that the room was still full of.
I'm just glad I was test firing it, and it wasn't in my face when it stuck/shorted. However I'm still counting the cost of the damage, and the room still smells like someone has been MIG welding in it.
Lessons learned -
1. I've seen videos of batteries being intentionally shorted for demonstration purpose, and none of them even come close to the violence and immediacy of how this 2500mAh Purple Efest 18650 reacted. Battery safety is paramount, and not just in terms of using the right battery for a sub-ohm build. When I imagined a battery vent, I wasn't thinking it would be the 4th of July.
2. The majority of Stingray X clones have issues with sticky buttons, even the high quality ones. This can be mostly rectified with a modified rice pin and some up rated magnets. But straight out of the box they WILL stick, so be careful.
3. The hybrid adapters that come with the Stingray and some other mods are in my opinion inherently high risk, and completely unforgiving of errors. The stingray isn’t the only mod with this type of top cap, the Praxis has one as standard. Use with caution and don't get complacent like I did.
Here is a picture showing what is left of what was a beautiful bit of kit.
View attachment 413194
I was putting a fresh build on a Cigreen steel and copper Stingray X clone setup with a hybrid adapter. For those that don't know, this replaces the usual top cap of the mod with a threaded disk with a central hole. This allows the atomizers 510 connecter to make direct contact with the battery rather than via a pin, reducing voltage drop.
The rda center pin was setup for another mod, and in my haste I neglected to readjust it for Stingray. This meant the battery was in direct contact with the adapter and I got a complete short. As it happened, simultaneously the fire button got stuck.
Immediately it started hissing and ejecting gas and liquid so I dropped it. Within a couple of seconds flame and smoke started jetting out of it, and it started to shoot around the floor bouncing of the furniture like a pinball. After about ten seconds it stopped venting and started burning it's way through the wooden floor like an out-take from Alien. I managed to get it into the bathroom sink, but badly burnt my fingers in the process, and got a good face full of the thick sooty smoke that the room was still full of.
I'm just glad I was test firing it, and it wasn't in my face when it stuck/shorted. However I'm still counting the cost of the damage, and the room still smells like someone has been MIG welding in it.
Lessons learned -
1. I've seen videos of batteries being intentionally shorted for demonstration purpose, and none of them even come close to the violence and immediacy of how this 2500mAh Purple Efest 18650 reacted. Battery safety is paramount, and not just in terms of using the right battery for a sub-ohm build. When I imagined a battery vent, I wasn't thinking it would be the 4th of July.
2. The majority of Stingray X clones have issues with sticky buttons, even the high quality ones. This can be mostly rectified with a modified rice pin and some up rated magnets. But straight out of the box they WILL stick, so be careful.
3. The hybrid adapters that come with the Stingray and some other mods are in my opinion inherently high risk, and completely unforgiving of errors. The stingray isn’t the only mod with this type of top cap, the Praxis has one as standard. Use with caution and don't get complacent like I did.
Here is a picture showing what is left of what was a beautiful bit of kit.
View attachment 413194
