Question About Mech Mod

[condawg9]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post but its also a serious one. Yesterday i was vaping on my TugBoat mech mod and ended up falling asleep leaving the batteries inside it (which i never do) and woke up to the smell of smoke when i looked the mod had started auto firing and ended up starting a fire and melting the drip tip on my tank. luckily i was able to jump up and stop it in time. Now the interior wiring is a little burnt and i was just wondering if it would be still safe to use or should i just recycle it and get a new one.

Thanks !

 

[Zaryk]

I wouldn't use it. Any damage in an unregulated mod such as that, is unacceptable in terms of safety. From the pic it looks like more than just wiring is damaged. I would stay safe and get rid of it, or have it rebuilt by a professional (which could cost more than buying a new mod).

 

[zoiDman]

Hi condawg9. Welcome to the ECF.

I would consider that Mod Unsafe to use for Two Reasons.

One, the Mod has incurred some Damage. But two, the Big One, you Don't Know why the Mod had Auto-Fired in the First Place.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

... i was just wondering if it would be still safe to use or should i just recycle it and get a new one.

Thanks !

I hate to point out the obvious, but it seems it wasn't safe in the first place.
Even if it hadn't incurred damage, I'd remove the batteries & never use it again.

 

[stols001]

Nope you can't use it any more. I would no more consider re-using a REGULATED mod that went into thermal runaway, even less so a mech mod.

Are you able to determine why the autofiring happened, and by that I mean were you near enough to it to like, have depressed the fire button or whatnot, or it just happened all on its own as far as you can tell?

I am asking that because I am definitely thinking you should not vape that mod ever again, but probably if you can try to figure out what caused it (like, how regularly were you cleaning it, how much pressure does the fire button need to get going, etc.) because not only should you not use that mod, you may decide it might be smarter to buy a different mod entirely for your second go round. You might want to see if there are any other reports of other autofires with that product by doing an online search and etc.

Good luck.

Anna

 

[sonicbomb]

would no more consider re-using a REGULATED mod that went into thermal runaway, even less so a mech mod.

Thermal runaway is something that batteries do, not mods.

Thermal Runaway – The most extreme level of battery failure. Pushed beyond it’s limits, an exothermic chemical chain reaction occurs resulting in extreme temperatures, smoke, flames and the destruction of the battery.


OP are you saying the atomizer caught fire which then damaged the mod, or are you saying the batteries caught fire?

 

[Eskie]

OP are you saying the atomizer caught fire which then damaged the mod, or are you saying the batteries caught fire?

Had to be the atty. That battery sled is clean. It couldn't look clean like that if the batteries had vented or certainly burned.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

Not arguing here, because I don't know enough about it- so I'm curious. What caused the thing to fire while he was asleep? If the atty was fine before dozing off, it had to be firing to overheat the atty. And it does look clean on the sleds. A short/stuck fire button? On the chance that the batteries were venting, do batteries that have been pushed past their limit have a potential for a long delay before doing this?

 

[NealBJr]

Judging by the picture, it looks like your resistor and other safety features are burned. Without knowing the state of the 510, I can't say for sure on that. It would probably need totally new wiring inside. If it got hot enough to burn the drip tip on the atomizer, it probably got hot enough to burn any protective insulation inside the 510 itself or any hot glue. From the heat standpoint alone, it is unsafe.. but what made it extremely unsafe, was the fact it auto-fired while you were asleep. If it had fired by itself before, If you put new batteries in, chances are it will fire by itself again.

And like others have said before, I recommend getting a regulated device. Mech mods were needed in the old days, since there weren't electronics that could use the full potential of the lithium ion batteries. Now that vaping has been fairly established, the regulated devices not only have surpassed the power that a mech mod can produce, but they offer multiple redundant safety features as well as having abilities that mechanical mods cannot do like temp control.

I strongly urge to chunk it.. It was unsafe when it auto fired, now it is doubly unsafe due to it being burned.

 

[NealBJr]

Had to be the atty. That battery sled is clean. It couldn't look clean like that if the batteries had vented or certainly burned.

If you look at the picture he provided, the mofset is burned as well as the 15K resistor.

Look at this picture of a normal tugboat.

Now look at his...

Definitely not something I'd keep.

 

[diagrammatiks]

I love that in this boutique high end expensive mod the protection resistor is a 2c radioshack dude just hanging out in midair. quality.

 

[Baditude]

What caused the thing to fire while he was asleep? If the atty was fine before dozing off, it had to be firing to overheat the atty. And it does look clean on the sleds. A short/stuck fire button? On the chance that the batteries were venting, do batteries that have been pushed past their limit have a potential for a long delay before doing this?

Something caused the electrical circuit to be closed and allow the batteries to fire continuously. Depressed fire button? Maybe. Misused/abused batteries with a delayed reaction? Possible.

What model and brand batteries were being used? What resistance coil was in the atomizer?

I tend to believe what happened here was battery venting and not battery thermal runaway, based on the amount of damage in the photo. With thermal runaway there would have been evidence of more flames or explosion.

I recommend reading about venting and thermal runaway in this Mooch blog post:

• Li-Ion Battery Chemistries - What are the differences in their safety?

In addition to the ruined mod, I would also discard the batteries in the appropriate fashion. Tape both ends of the batteries and drop them off at the recycle bin at a hardware store.

Might be worth the OP to review this blog, too: A Beginner's Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod

 

[NealBJr]

I love that in this boutique high end expensive mod the protection resistor is a 2c radioshack dude just hanging out in midair. quality.

It was actually hot glued... the mofset got so hot, it melted the hot glue off. There was also hot glue keeping the diode from touching anything... But I do agree.. they should've mounted it on some sort of PCB. I think it was a marketing reason not to.. anything that looks remotely like it has electronics would probably confuse people and they think it's regulated somehow.

 

[BrotherBob]

i was just wondering if it would be still safe to use or should i just recycle it and get a new one.

Welcome and glad you joined.
You second suggestion: "just recycle it and get a new one", good choice.
Might like to view:
(8) A Beginner's Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod | E-Cigarette Forum
Mech Mods
why do people choose a mech over regulated?
(15) Inexpensive Mechanical Mod/RDA Setup | E-Cigarette Forum
Mech mods exploding: history repeating, with no end in sight
Tobeco Volt Meter
Mech mods & RBAs: Basic to advanced user guide: Pts. one & two | E-Cigarette Forum