Safety questions

[futureshock]

I have a Kamry bowl I think caused a short when I screwed the tank on tight. It has happened twice. The first time the battery vented and created some harsh fumes, the spring inside the kamry retracted, and the inside of the bowl was hot. The battery did not seem to be hot to the touch and there was no swelling or anything like that. I stretched the spring back out and let it cool, tried a new battery, every thing seemed fine. The battery is an efest 18350 IMR...is the battery still safe to use or should I toss it?

It happened again but I caught it very quickly because I realized what was happening a lot quicker than the first time. This time the battery was an AW 18350 IMR. It didn't get hot, just a tiny whiff of fumes, but the spring in the bowl retracted again and the inside of the bowl was hot also. Same question: is the battery safe or should I toss it?

I will be more careful screwing my tanks on, I promise.

This is kind of ironic because I just spent some money on four IMRs and a Nightcore charger so I could feel safer...

 

[eratikmind]

Not familiar with the Kamry.

Toss the battery, so to speak.

Once a spring has collapsed, replace it.

 

[eratikmind]

You are literally playing with fire. I would discard the Kamry, as well.

 

[daleron]

I had one of those Kamry's ... it never did work right
Got rid of mine.

 

[twgbonehead]

Toss the batteries and the Kamry.

Take the calzone.

And get a new spring!

 

[DaveP]

Any battery will produce heat when shorted. Li-ion batteries will produce extreme heat and eventually spew hot electrolyte on you and your clothes, and can even explode from the pressure. That can ruin your day and possibly blow off parts of the skin it affects. The pictures are pretty scary.

IMR batteries will get hot and steam off gases, but aren't known for explosion in most cases.

If your mod design shorts internally, get rid of it and search ECF for reviews on better constructed mech mods. If it's going in your pocket, you want it to be safe. It's too close to body parts you don't want to lose.

 

[tj99959]

My only question is WHY did you give it a second chance??!? Didn't you figure out that something was wrong the first time?

 

[futureshock]

Because the problem was user error, not the mod. I cranked the tank down on the connector. I have a bit of "you don't know your own strength" issues sometimes with my hands. I mean the mod is pretty simple...positive, negative, two wires and a connector, there's not much to go wrong there. Reading up about it, many people have made this mistake, many people have simply re-stretched their springs and gone on using their Kamry.

 

[eratikmind]

Because the problem was user error, not the mod. I cranked the tank down on the connector. I have a bit of "you don't know your own strength" issues sometimes with my hands. I mean the mod is pretty simple...positive, negative, two wires and a connector, there's not much to go wrong there. Reading up about it, many people have made this mistake, many people have simply re-stretched their springs and gone on using their Kamry.

Do as you please. You have been advised and cautioned.

 

[Baditude]

The spring is called a "hot spring", designed to collapse when the battery becomes hot enough to melt it. Once it has collapsed from a venting incident, its done its job and needs to be replaced with a new hot spring. The collapsing of the spring often prevents the battery from progressing into full-blown thermal runaway by discontinuing the battery circuit. DO NOT reuse a collapsed hot spring.

Any venting of the battery damages it. Discard.

Something is dangerously wrong with your Kamry. Choose a better, higher quality mod with some safety features. I have a pet peeve for mech mods with bottom-fire buttons; recessed side-fire buttons are much safer as they are nearly impossible to auto-fire when they are set down or in your pocket. Vent holes are essential to allow a venting battery's gas to escape, hopefully preventing the mod from becoming a pipe bomb. Consider using a safety fuse with your battery.

Mechanical Mod Safe Useage Guide

 

[futureshock]

Ok thanks for the advice on the spring. I know it isn't hard to replace. I've already looked into that. I had pretty much planned to put it away until I got that replaced (after the second collapse). I'm not new to electricity, I'm just new to lithium batteries.

The kamry has vent holes. That's how I figured out what was going the first time. Vapor came out of them, but not good vapor, haha. It doesn't go in my pocket, it goes on a stand on my desk. I put an eight inch churchwarden on it, I've yet to find a pocket it would fit in.

I'll recycle the vented batteries.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[tj99959]

Because the problem was user error, not the mod. I cranked the tank down on the connector. I have a bit of "you don't know your own strength" issues sometimes with my hands. I mean the mod is pretty simple...positive, negative, two wires and a connector, there's not much to go wrong there. Reading up about it, many people have made this mistake, many people have simply re-stretched their springs and gone on using their Kamry.

The real "user error" is that you haven't figured out that it's a Flawed Design.

 

[eratikmind]

Futureshock, with all good intentions, as is everyone else here, I am not comfortable with a device that shorts out when an atty is over tightened.

That is an inherent design flaw, which will catch up to the end user, as you have personally witnessed.

 

[DaveP]

Some atty connections have a spring loaded connector and others stop at a hard point when the center contacts meet. Neither type needs to be cranked down past a good connection. You do need to exert just enough light pressure to prevent the atomizer from backing out and becoming loose.

The male part of the 510 connection is just a steel thin walled pipe with threads cut on the outside. It doesn't take much to break it.

The strange part is that unless the switch was locked on somehow, there should have been no path for conduction. All bottom firing mechs complete the ground path to energize the circuit, don't they?

I agree with Baditude. A safety fuse is a must for a mech. They are resettable, so you aren't dead in the water if you pop one.

Resettable 7A magnetic mech fuse.
http://www.hoosierecig.com/7A-resettable-magnetic-fuse_p_118.html

 

[futureshock]

The switch wasn't locked on. Here's what happened.

I screwed the tank on too tightly. I pushed the fire button, nothing happened. No vape, no sound of juice sizzling, nothing. Ok, the instructions say to hold the button five seconds, fine. I did that. Nothing happened. I held the button down again and smoke came out the vent holes. That's when I knew something was wrong. I got the battery out as fast as I could. The spring had retracted and the inside of the bowl was hot.

Second time, I screwed the tank on again, too tightly. I got a little OCD and was trying to get the logo on the tank lined up nice and I gave the tank a half turn too much. Pushed the button, nothing happened. I knew immediately what was wrong, got the battery right out, but the spring had retracted again and the inside of the bowl was hot again. Slight, tiny whiff of fumes.

I already checked with my local vape shop, they have fuses. Thank you DaveP and eratikmind.