onboard charging reliability?

[jwleonhart]

So I just picked up a smoktech m50. Nice little device. I bought a Samsung 25r battery for it...

Well when I first put the battery in I didn't know which side was positive or negative. I guessed wrong as you can imagine. So when I put it in and closed the cover the battery started smoking...and got warm pretty damn quick. Needless to say I disconnected it in less than a few seconds...

Why did it do this?

My ultimate question is after this scare I want to know how reliae the onboard micro USB charger is for this device or in general?

I charge this device literally a foot from my face while I sleep and the last thing I need is for the battery to pop... This ever happen?

I'm assuming when the battery reaches 100% it will stop charging it as well?

Can't find anything that says anyone has had an exploding battery in this device but it definantly freaked me out. Any input would be great.

Thank you so much

 

[InTheShade]

Wow, I find it incredible that that device does not have reverse battery protection like most similar devices on the market do. It's 2015 people, get your crap together Smok.

I personally wouldn't continue to use that battery, but that is probably just me being over cautious.

As for the onboard charging, that is a great question - especially as more and more devices are coming to market fitted with a micro USB port. I have no idea what charging protections they have built in. Apart from an iStick, I don't own any devices that offer on board charging, and even if I did, I don't think I'd use them.

Again, erring on the side of caution, I would purchase a good quality charger and recharge your battery externally if you have any doubts at all.

Hopefully someone who knows their stuff will be along shortly to educate both of us.

 

[drunkenbatman]

So I just picked up a smoktech m50. Nice little device. I bought a Samsung 25r battery for it...

Well when I first put the battery in I didn't know which side was positive or negative. I guessed wrong as you can imagine. So when I put it in and closed the cover the battery started smoking...and got warm pretty damn quick. Needless to say I disconnected it in less than a few seconds...

Why did it do this?

Because you let the magic smoke out, and it apparently doesn't have reverse-battery protection, so you basically dumped a huge amount of current into the circuitry and something caused smoke.

I honestly don't get it. You can't trust people to put the batteries in the right way, so companies generally add it because it's cheaper than warranties and support calls. Unless you aren't really offering those.

My ultimate question is after this scare I want to know how reliae the onboard micro USB charger is for this device or in general?

It'd be more worried about what was smoking: the battery, the circuitry or possibly a fuse... but fuses that go like that will generally put the mod down until replaced.

If it caused a short, your battery could be damaged. It may be you scorched some of the PCB or such due to arcing, and you seem to still be using it fine... On a PCB there are plastics and coatings and things, and if you arc you can get smoke. Or it could be you blew a few capacitors, and now stuff isn't regulated as expected, so I'd be very, very leery of it and not charge it unattended or while you sleep.

 

[jwleonhart]

Well it seems to be fine e so far. I mean it was literally a splint second it was there, felt heat, a small bit of smoke, and I took that sucker out quicker than you could blink.

I'm going to assume it is fine but it definantly is a concern ESO the fact this will be in my pocket. I don't want to lose half my leg or have my private area scorched lol.

Anyone have an m50 or anyone knowledgable about this kind of thing?

 

[chomper33]

I used the usb charger on my DNA 30 clone one time. It did work fine and fully charge, but I still don't trust it for some reason. I also don't know exactly how it is charging and if the way it charges could decrease my battery's lifespan. I just take my batteries out and charge them that way I have a better idea of what to expect.

 

[jwleonhart]

It says it has shor t circuit protection so I'm a little confused now....

 

[InTheShade]

It says it has shor t circuit protection so I'm a little confused now....

Short circuit protection is not the same as reverse battery protection.

Short circuit protection usually means if your atomizer either is built with a short or develops a short circuit during use, the device will recognize this and not fire.

 

[jwleonhart]

Unfortunately I have to remove 4/screws to remove the battery... This would become a constant hassle to remove the battery to charge. If this thing really is problematic I will have no choice but to break down and buy another device. This is a sweet little device though.

The store I buy stuff from which is myvaporstore.com does not carry the sigelei 50 watt which is why I got this instead, plus its only like $55 which is an excellent price.

Anyone have anything lime this ever happen to a battery?

Another funny thing is the battery just got to 22% and now when I press the fire button it says weak battery. Works when I charge it for a minute though. I guess that is the low battery thing..

I also heard this has no step-down feature which means it can't fire sub ohm coils under like 20 watts even if you set it to say 10 watts. What's with that, and what does that mean?

 

[chomper33]

The weak battery issue may be due to sag. The battery may be reading 3.7V, but it drops once a load is applied. This is normal, but if the battery was damaged when you let the smoke out then it could make it drop more than typical. Then your battery would become too weak to put out what you have your device set for once a load is applied. Try lowering the wattage the next time you get this error and see if it fires.

If you have any question in your mind that your battery was damaged, you should replace it.

The step down feature is one that is lacking in many devices. Your device will not put out voltage lower than whatever the battery's voltage is. Just use ohms law to figure the minimum wattage your device can do with your build.

 

[Rizzyking]

Bin the battery why take a chance for the sake of a few dollars makes no sense and whenever I hit something I'm not sure of it's off to the net or YouTube I go I never buy anything till I fully understand it and how it needs to be used safely. As for onboard charging I have little faith in it I'm sure most devices are fine but I like the peace of mind of taking my batteries out and charging them independent of my device.