Which iast longer?

[Robert T]

I believe those incidents were in tube mods without short circuit or over current protection. I also believe there was stupidity involved. Don't know that for sure but that's what I think.

The scary part about multiple battery mods is that from what I've heard, all meltdowns reported lately while vaping were stacked mods. It's a shame we can't just use an inline fuse instead of individual protection PWBs. That doesn't stop a battery that's decided to go thermal, though.

I expect to see more safety devices incorporated as ecig technology grows and develops. Just saying ...

 

[BJ43]

I believe those incidents were in tube mods without short circuit or over current protection. I also believe there was stupidity involved. Don't know that for sure but that's what I think.

Some may be stupidity, but many just have lack of knowledge. Most people have used batteries all their lives and just see them as round things that hold electricity. Newbees see the mods and want to do the same. The LR atty has added a very dangerous parameter to our ecigs, adding ss wicks that have to be oxidized adds more risk, and to this new batteries that can explode with over discharge or charge. Put all this in the hands of a person who has the concept that a battery is just a battery and the only danger was not to throw them in a fire, is a path to disaster.

 

[slimest]

I also believe there was stupidity involved.

Absolutely agree. Batteries in any stack (in parallel or in series) are not dangerous at all if you understand what you are doing. If a guy makes his own system without any real knoledge, just reading a common forum, he always has a risk to burn something.

 

[Robert T]

I'm aware of all that. If a "newbee" doesn't see all the info about battery safety here and other forums then they're just ignoring it. Thanks to the warnings and a link to Battery University that came with my Silver Bullet I knew the dangers of stacking batteries long before I came here. When I came here I saw the same info and links without looking for it. Sorry for not being more PC.

Some may be stupidity, but many just have lack of knowledge. Most people have used batteries all their lives and just see them as round things that hold electricity. Newbees see the mods and want to do the same. The LR atty has added a very dangerous parameter to our ecigs, adding ss wicks that have to be oxidized adds more risk, and to this new batteries that can explode with over discharge or charge. Put all this in the hands of a person who has the concept that a battery is just a battery and the only danger was not to throw them in a fire, is a path to disaster.

 

[DonG]

If target output voltage is say 5.0; why stack cells to get 11v only to regulate it back down to less than half of that? Would it not be more efficient and safer to run 3the 2200ma cells parallel for 6600ma @ 3.7 and boost to 5.0v? Each cell's built in protection circuit could then do its job and one cell shutting down would not hurt the function of the mod. Seems to make more sense. Someone please educate me if I am missing something here.

 

[Java_Az]

If target output voltage is say 5.0; why stack cells to get 11v only to regulate it back down to less than half of that? Would it not be more efficient and safer to run 3the 2200ma cells parallel for 6600ma @ 3.7 and boost to 5.0v? Each cell's built in protection circuit could then do its job and one cell shutting down would not hurt the function of the mod. Seems to make more sense. Someone please educate me if I am missing something here.

Top of the line switching buck regulators that are around 96% efficient. The best boosters are around 86%. It is actually more efficient to buck down, Plus it is less stress on the batteries. boosting to 5 volts 2.4 amps from 3.2 volts requires 3.75 amp on the input side of the booster. really it would be a bit more then that since i didn't factor in the efficiency. Now say you are bucking down to 5 volts 2.4 amps from 12 volts on the input side you only using 1 amp. So bucking is easier on the batteries and more efficient by usually 10%.

 

[CraigHB]

It's always better to buck than boost. With buck, it's like a motor going downhill, with boost it's like a motor going uphill. The big advantage with boost is it allows you to use a single cell which is highly convenient for built-in USB charging. Functionally, you get better performance with buck as Java_Az mentioned. So, if you don't mind pulling series cells to charge or using a specialized charger for series packs, buck is the way to go. Also, availability of boost modules is pretty limited. Buck modules are like a dime a dozen (they are much more in demand for general applications).

There's also buck-boost like the regulators used in the LavaTube and Pro-Vari, but they only buck for outputs under cell voltage which I don't think anyone actually uses (do they?). For all intents and purposes, they are boosters. That type of regulator is not available in a module capable of powering an atomizer. You'd have to build one yourself which is pretty involved. That's part of the reason those production mods fetch the prices they do.

 

[jimbalny]

Absolutely agree. Batteries in any stack (in parallel or in series) are not dangerous at all if you understand what you are doing. If a guy makes his own system without any real knoledge, just reading a common forum, he always has a risk to burn something.

Agreed also.

Being an electrician by trade, a lot of the stuff I fix is due to either shoddy work or (for the most part) work done by people who should never had been working on it in the first place (carpenter, plumber, homeowner). Electricity is a mysterious and powerful force that we take for granted. It's something that should be feared of by those who don't have a working knowledge of it, and to be respected by those that do. To think that you know everything is to know nothing. Use protection on all levels! Personal caution being first line of defense.