New York Post and a deadly vape pen

[DaveP]

Smart lithium cells coupled with matching self tests in mods would help on the safety issues. We just don't have intelligent electronics in mechs and not enough in electronic mods as far as self testing a lithium cell for sufficient capacity would go.

Still, safety would be enhanced by monitoring circuitry that would shut down with an error message that read, "Your lithium cell failed self test. Please replace the cell with one rated at XXX watts/amps or higher."

There still would remain the problem of hardware caused shorted cells, but that could be controlled in mechs with a smart chip in the battery cap. But, then it wouldn't be a true mech.

 

[Skunk!]

I think he may have got it from a friend or ordered it online. If he did there is no way for the online stores to know his level of knowledge. He just has to be of age to buy it.

 

[Baditude]

Again...

Can't fix stupid.

Electrician you say?
Well he definitely shoulda known better.

As I said earlier in this thread, just because someone says they are an electrician doesn't mean that they understand Ohm's Law and batteries when it pertains to vaping.

Nothing personal to you and your opinion.

 

[Katya]

I think he may have got it from a friend or ordered it online. If he did there is no way for the online stores to know his level of knowledge. He just has to be of age to buy it.

We don't know what happened. Yet.

Texas Man Dies After Exploding E-Cigarette Sends Shrapnel into His Neck

"The pen exploded when Brown tried to inhale from it for the first time, with a piece slicing through his carotid artery, getting lodged in the vital passageway, which helps send blood to the brain.

Some of the details surrounding the faulty vape pen are unclear: Brown's grandmother claims he purchased the pen at the store, while the store's owner claims he made no purchase, he merely inquired for help about using his new pen. According to local CNN affiliate KTVT, the vape store owner called an ambulance for Brown, who was just two weeks shy of his 25th birthday when he was pronounced dead. He was reportedly found on the ground near the trunk of his car, with blood soaked across the interior."

Either way, he apparently was smart enough to ask for help. Too bad he didn't get any.

 

[Opinionated]

Dude had asthma and goes to a vape shop to buy a cloud machine....

This is the second person in the history of vaping to die.

not a bad safety record for vaping. We don't have to blame the kid. There are way too many things we don't know to even begin concluding this had anything to do with this kid.

As for him vaping because he had asthma, I doubt this tattoo'd up kid confused it with an inhaler.. He may have lied to his grandma (big surprise there if he did) about his reason for vaping, or he may have wanted to take up vaping instead of smoking because it's better than smoking on ones asthma.

We don't have information. And we darn sure don't have to conclude that his grandma is going to either automatically tell the truth or even know the truth...

So, maybe we should mourn the kid and wait to make judgments.

 

[SlowTalker]

So much money and so much energy is spent to spread false information demonizing vaping for all the wrong reasons when the same effort could be used to urge anyone using these devices to educate themselves. Do they care about vaper's safety or not?

 

[the wind]

There still would remain the problem of hardware caused shorted cells, but that could be controlled in mechs with a smart chip in the battery cap. But, then it wouldn't be a true mech.

They do have a thin fuse,i did receive one with one of the kits I bought in 2012.maybe not big enough for todays better batteries and low builds.
Even if they investigate and find the real cause,will never know.

 

[Zahlia]

Unless previously mentioned in this thread. It looks as though it was a Mechanical Mod according to this BBC article. Exploding e-cigarette kills Texas man

Very unfortunate that this man lost his life because of this.

 

[Old Greybeard]

“No other consumer product places a battery with a known explosion hazard such as this in such close proximity to the human body,”

Journalism like this is truly appalling. I've seen lots of aluminium 18650 torches on Amazon. Do they have venting holes or short circuit regulation? Then you have mobile phones, tablets, laptops, rechargeable power tools etc. And lets not forget lead acid batteries, which can release hydrogen when damaged. Aerosols are under pressure, and what about propane tanks for camping stoves? Lighters? The list of "known explosion hazards" is extensive. In the consumer sphere, batteries are only a small subset of these items. In a commercial, industrial or scientific arena, the risks are even greater. I've had too many close calls, and I take personal safety, and that of those around me, very seriously. To demonise vaping in such a crude way is at best, biased, and worst, irresponsible.

Safety is about mitigating, designing out and managing risk. All I see after incidents such as this is a plethora of moral panic whipped up by the media, rather than sounding the clarion call to inform, educate and enlighten the public concerning best vaping practice. If mod manufacturers can include a battery safety card, why can't the national media similarly inform and educate? As part of the vaping community, I know we will do the right thing. Those with other interests, it appears, cannot or will not. They would prefer to chase a cheap headline, rather than trying to bring comfort, understanding and closure to a family and community in grief.

 

[DaveP]

Ecigs, especially mechs get the blame for malfunctions. It's more of a poorly matched cell issue than an e-cigarette problem. People tend to buy the cheapest cell that will fit and work. As Mooch has shown us, all cells are not created equal.

Now, the lawsuit chasers are onto all lithium cell products, not just ecigs. Where there's a potential settlement check, there's a lawsuit.
https://theproductlawyers.com/led-flashlight-explosion/

 

[Eskie]

Ecigs, especially mechs get the blame for malfunctions. It's more of a poorly matched cell issue than an e-cigarette problem. People tend to buy the cheapest cell that will fit and work. As Mooch has shown us, all cells are not created equal.

Now, the lawsuit chasers are onto all lithium cell products, not just ecigs. Where there's a potential check, there's a lawsuit.
https://theproductlawyers.com/led-flashlight-explosion/

You also have to consider a poorly matched vaper to device. Handing a novice with no understanding of what they're doing a mech is just as much a problem. Sure, you can't control what someone chooses to buy, and you can't require training, but in a face to face transaction I would have hoped the salesperson had guided this person to a more appropriate mod choice. Even if you don't sell a regulated mod you can still sell an unregulated mod that at least has basic protections on place even though the power is dictated by the battery and the coil's resistance.

 

[AttyPops]

They do have a thin fuse,i did receive one with one of the kits I bought in 2012.maybe not big enough for todays better batteries and low builds.
Even if they investigate and find the real cause,will never know.

Vape-safe fuses. Doesn't work with the current "low ohm" craze...that I know of.

 

[Rockford]

I think he may have got it from a friend or ordered it online. If he did there is no way for the online stores to know his level of knowledge. He just has to be of age to buy it.

More speculation, you have no idea where he got it, so quit talking ....!!!

 

[Baditude]

Handing a novice with no understanding of what they're doing a mech is just as much a problem. Sure, you can't control what someone chooses to buy, and you can't require training, but in a face to face transaction I would have hoped the salesperson had guided this person to a more appropriate mod choice.

We don't really know yet how or where the victim purchased his "vape pen". It could have been at a vape shop, but it could have been purchased online, too.

Even most online stores have a warning about lithium ion batteries and vape setups at the bottom of the product page and in the owner's manual. But what male reads warnings or owner's manuals?

"How hard could this be? See button. Press button. Suck. Makes vapor. Seems simple enough." -- Novice vaper using a mechanical mod for the first time.

 

[greek mule]

I believe victim's Grandmother,no reason to lie.He bought it from Smoke & Vape DZ .
Otherwise why didn't explode earlier?
To me is criminal selling unprotected devices without testing buyer's level at knowing all about mechs and batteries and Ohm's Law.

 

[Rockford]

But what male reads warnings or owner's manuals?

More speculation, you're assuming he didn't read the manuals or warnings but you have no idea.
I'm male and I always read warnings and manuals. Quit assuming!

 

[Baditude]

More speculation, you're assuming he didn't read the manuals or warnings but you have no idea.
I'm male and I always read warnings and manuals. Quit assuming!

That's true, I am speculating. But if you read the true story that I shared earlier you'd understand my speculation.

And my "stereotype" of males not reading warnings or owners manuals is not fair to all males. Just most of us.

Do you stop and ask for directions when you are lost, too? You're breaking the mold.

 

[greek mule]

More speculation, you're assuming he didn't read the manuals or warnings but you have no idea.
I'm male and I always read warnings and manuals. Quit assuming!

Me too,always read them

 

[Rockford]

Do you stop and ask for directions when you are lost, too?

I absolutely have until GPS was a thing and no shame it it either.

 

[AttyPops]

If he purchased it online, there will be a money trail (CC record).
If he paid cash in a shop, maybe a receipt floating around...

Regardless, it will take time to get the details, if we ever do.

Electrician =/= battery safety expert. Or vaping expert, for that matter.

Totally tragic all the way around. Poor guy.

But the asthma thing? Yeah, interesting. What would he have been vaping "for his asthma"? Fishy. I suppose he told granny that, but IDK if it was true. Maybe it was, maybe...not.