vtc5 help

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truskme

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so im pretty sure i just fried my battery, i put in a fully charged 18650 vtc5 battery in my mech and it didnt fire so i hit it again and again, all of this no more then 5 seconds. so i take out the battery and its ridiculously hot, so im assuming there was a short on my rda.. i go to put it on the charger thinking it just took some off of the top and now it wont even charge, so after some reading its either entered a state of sleep or entered a state of forever sleep. if its just asleep does anyone know how to wake it back up? cause i just got this in like 2 days ago and i really dont want to throw it away and order another one.
 

Stosh

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"Going to sleep" references protected batteries which have a circuit board that trips, your VTC5 is not this type, The only way to see the battery condition is to check it with a meter, check the voltage. Voltage under 2.5 volts would mean it "toast", the short discharged it enough to create copper shunts inside the battery rendering it unsafe junk.

A meter would also be the best way to check your RDA and mod for shorts before risking another battery in usage.
 

truskme

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"Going to sleep" references protected batteries which have a circuit board that trips, your VTC5 is not this type, The only way to see the battery condition is to check it with a meter, check the voltage. Voltage under 2.5 volts would mean it "toast", the short discharged it enough to create copper shunts inside the battery rendering it unsafe junk.

A meter would also be the best way to check your RDA and mod for shorts before risking another battery in usage.

oh well thats a shame about the vtc5 if its not protected, i thought it was protected. is it the same with the vtc4 and what is the benefit if i was to vtc4 instead? and in your opinon what is the better battery? purple efest? mnke? im getting a hana clone and i wanted something that would last all day or at least most of the day at maybe 18 to 20 watts. looks like im gonna have to order a new battery.. what do u recommend?

ps. it wasn't a fresh build, i was just changing batteries and i guess i some how moved one of the coils and it was making contact with a center post. its actually the first time this has happened and it freaked me out a little.
 
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Stosh

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The VTC5 is a very good battery, and well suited for a DNA mod. "Unprotected" refers to the type, usually an IMR which is a safer chemistry, it won't vent with flames when something like what happened to you occurs.....:)

Protected ICR batteries are only recommended for flashlights, not suitable for vaping.
The IMR and new hybrids are the ones you want, here's some recommendations from a modder that's been building DNA mods since they were first available...http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/battery-mods/514871-preliminary-testing-dna30.html#post12018902
 

truskme

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thanks for the tips, i ended up ordering another vtc5 and ill try to be more careful next time when swapping batteries. im still wondering though although it was a fully charged battery, did it go below 2.5v and fry because i was repeatedly hitting the switch while it shorted out or does it just take one hit to destroy it automatically. cause sometimes i test fire when putting in new batteries, and since i dont want to accidentally do this again id like to know if im automatically screwed
 

Stosh

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The "repeatedly hitting the switch " is definitely not recommended....:)
If it doesn't fire, particularly on a mech mod, check for a short in the RDA, switch, 510 connector, etc....as soon as it's apparent it doesn't fire properly. It may have been an internal short, inside the mod that overheated the battery, destroyed it.

I always give the button a very quick hit of the fire button when changing a battery or topper and listen for the slight crackle, popping from the coil. If there's no sounds -- start checking for problems.
 

truskme

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thanks stosh for the help, i usually open up the top to make sure my build is still holding up and producing maximum vapor. they were brand new batteries i just got 2 days ago from an ebay reseller so i figured they might be a dud so i kept on hitting it, i adjusted the coil put a different battery in and it fired fine. just a lapse in judgement, you can read countless threads and articles but i guess the best way to learn is through experience... just glad i didnt get a cheap battery that would have blew up in my face
 

KenD

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How long (in total) did you fire the mod? Weird if it craped out quickly. I had a short on my Kayfun on a Hammer, using an purple Efest 18350 (a lot less capacity = a lot quicker to go down to unsafe voltages). I fired it repeatedly before I figured out I had a short. The battery was down to 2.27v, but recovered nicely. The vtc5 should be able to take a lot more punishment.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 

Baditude

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Any battery can go into thermal runaway, no matter if its a great battery or a bad one. A hard short is still a hard short.

Repeatedly firing the mod like you did with a likely hard short in the setup is what ruined the battery. If a mod doesn't fire correctly on the first attempt, stop firing it and check for hard shorts in the entire setup.

I didn't see you say if you have an ohm reader or a digital multimeter (DMM). These are basic tools that anyone building their own coils should have in their rebuildable tool kit. You also didn't mention the ohm of the coil that you were using. You shouldn't just assume that making a coil from so many wraps will automatically make such-and-such resistance coil. ALWAYS measure the coil's resistance prior to firing it on a mod for the first time. Also re-check the resistance of the coil from time to time. Resistance can change, especially if the coil is physically nudged accidently or unknowingly.

You should gain a better understanding of batteries, in particular with which batteries are protected vs unprotected, ICR vs IMR, low drain vs high drain. All of this information can be easily found here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/batteries-chargers/546143-batteries-chargers-multi-meters-forum.html and putting a little self-learning time in. It might just save a hand or your face.
 
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Kemosabe

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"Going to sleep" references protected batteries which have a circuit board that trips, your VTC5 is not this type, The only way to see the battery condition is to check it with a meter, check the voltage. Voltage under 2.5 volts would mean it "toast", the short discharged it enough to create copper shunts inside the battery rendering it unsafe junk.

A meter would also be the best way to check your RDA and mod for shorts before risking another battery in usage.

How do you regard chargers / the process of charging that can "resurrect" overly discharged cells?
 

Stosh

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How do you regard chargers / the process of charging that can "resurrect" overly discharged cells?

If the battery has been discharged to the point of creating copper shunt, changing the chemistry of the battery, it could be dangerous. Over discharged batteries can be "resurrected" and charged with some chargers, but it's impossible to know if any internal changes have happened, or changes in the internal resistance.

For the cost of 1 1/2 packs of smokes, I'd rather buy a new battery....:)
 

Kemosabe

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If the battery has been discharged to the point of creating copper shunt, changing the chemistry of the battery, it could be dangerous. Over discharged batteries can be "resurrected" and charged with some chargers, but it's impossible to know if any internal changes have happened, or changes in the internal resistance.

For the cost of 1 1/2 packs of smokes, I'd rather buy a new battery....:)

The reason why I ask is because I, like you doubt the ability of "resurrection". Kinda goes against everything I've read. Yet I myself came across a situation where I had a cell discharged to around 1.6v (faulty locking ring). It was a vtc3 and I had just gotten an Xtar vp1 that touts the ability to resurrect..so I tried it. And I'll be damned if I can't tell the difference since it was new. Took a damn long time to get it back to 4.2 but I feel this cell wasn't harmed.
 

Baditude

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Are the red efest 18350's protected? When I had them still, they would just stop functioning at ~2.8volts...my friend is actually using them to start out with, and he's stated that that has happened on a few occasions..

The red Efest 18350 batteries are not protected (ICR), they are un-protected IMR batteries. (These are the correct batteries to be using BTW). No battery should be run down under 3.4 volts - buy an inline voltmeter or digital multimeter to test the batteries before they run that low during use. If you don't, you'll be going through batteries by the bucketfull.
 

Baditude

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I just don't understand how they don't continue to discharge from that point.. I did that a few times when I first got into mechanicals...but I'm pretty spot on with getting them out at ~3.7Volts.
As a battery is drained, it reaches a point in voltage when it will no longer fire an atomizer and create vapor, generally around 3.4 - 3.5 volts in my experience. The atomizer doesn't receive enough power from the battery to vaporize the e-liquid. An experienced mechanical mod user will be able to determine this easily BEFORE this happens by the weak vapor before it reaches this point.
 

suspectK

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Well, taking 2.8Volts with a -0.5voltage loss=2.3Volts, with a 0.7ohm load I was more than likely using, comes out to ~7.6Volts...that should still produce vapor.. When I first started out with mechanicals, and ended up doing that on those random occasions, I would get 0-function, like a short was occurring when I would over discharge the red efest 18350's. I haven't gotten any other batteries close to the point of no return/2.7volts..so I don't know..:/
 

truskme

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well.... did it again. thats two, count em TWO VTC5's dead due to a hard short in less then 2 weeks... in the 6 months ive been using mechs this has never happened to me once with my panasonics and now this. im up in arms about the situation, maybe i have bad luck with vtc5's because it only took two hits of the switch and it was done... there has to be something wrong with the battery because two hits shouldnt drain a fully charged vtc5 all the way dead like that, it wasn't like i was holding them down either... two 1 1/2 second pulses and the battery was way hot. maybe the batterys i got through ebay were fake and thats why it died so quickly... omg im just so mad right now. i honestly dont have money to be throwing away like this, both times it happened in a k100 so i thought tightening the telescopic tube to tight may have attributed to the death, i really dont know because it wasnt that tight. anybody have any ideas? and where do i get legit real vtc5's for sure?
 

Stosh

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