Flashlight Explosion

[JNieporte]

A hospital visit was needed yesterday evening, as I couldn't breathe, even with the inhaler. More blood drawn, more tests, more medications. We're looking into getting a nebulizer for the house. I'm dead tired. The skin irritations are starting to go away.

 

[firelord777]

I'm starting to get scared around my lights (just kidding)

Seriously though, my most deepest sympathy is by your side

 

[Monocrom]

Sorry to hear about what you're going through.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello JNieporte,

Its been about a week... How are you doing?

Tom

 

[Helmut.G]

Good thing this thread was made a sticky.

I had never imagined or expected somebody to be poisoned so severely in a battery incident.
Stupid when I think about it now. I knew HF gas is one of the most dangerous substances to breathe, and I knew it could be released in such an incident.


JNieporte, I really hope that you will eventually recover completely.

 

[JNieporte]

Hello JNieporte,

Its been about a week... How are you doing?

Tom

Tom;
Not so good. The burns on my skin are going away, slowly but surely. I've had to get a refill on my inhaler because I've needed to use it so much; it's really hard to get used to "needing this thing in order to breathe". I've gotten some test results back, waiting on others, and have more planned soon. The general idea is, my lungs are in crappy condition and will get better, but not where they were before the incident. My alveolar ducts aren't going to get fixed. There are a few anomalies that we need to discuss, but I'll post as they become clear to me.

 

[mikekoz]

This is the worst story I have ever read concerning CR123's. JNieporte, sorry to hear what you are going through and I hope things get better. I stopped using lights with CR123's a little while back, in part because of stories I read like this, but this is definitely a worse case scenario. After reading this, I went through my light collection and immediately removed the batteries from the few remaining lights like this I have. In the few good lights like this I own, I have been using a single 18650, and I think that is a much safer configuration. I realize this is not a real common occurence, but this story was a real eye opener! Once again, I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello JNieporte,

Well, some improvement is better than none... We are all pulling for you.

You have a couple of things going for you. The human body has a wonderful ability to regenerate. Many doctors don't understand this, and they are trying to present what they think is reality. Still, the body continues to confound them. The other thing going for you is that you have the ability to control your attitude. We generally move toward what we focus on. If you focus on returning to balanced health you will tend to move in that direction. On the other hand if you focus on everything that can go wrong, you will tend to move in that direction. Mental gymnastics don't do anything to repair the damage that has been done, but they do seem to set the stage for the repair to take place. Reality is what it is, but a good attitude toward it seems to be a benefit.

Tom

 

[tobrien]

I sorry to hear about what happened, bud. Im praying for you

 

[Monocrom]

This is the worst story I have ever read concerning CR123's. JNieporte, sorry to hear what you are going through and I hope things get better. I stopped using lights with CR123's a little while back, in part because of stories I read like this, but this is definitely a worse case scenario. After reading this, I went through my light collection and immediately removed the batteries from the few remaining lights like this I have. In the few good lights like this I own, I have been using a single 18650, and I think that is a much safer configuration.

Both can be dangerous. There's a reason why 18650 and similar types of rechargeables aren't sold to the general public. Yet, you can get CR123 primaries at any brick & mortar, large chain, pharmacy. The only way you're getting 18650s without buying them online is to carefully crack open old laptop computers. And the companies that put those cells into those computers make very sure not to tell their customers of the potential dangers involved.

 

[400THz]

I've gotten some test results back, waiting on others, and have more planned soon. The general idea is, my lungs are in crappy condition and will get better, but not where they were before the incident. My alveolar ducts aren't going to get fixed.

Hello, JNieporte. First of all, I want to wish you to get well soon.

This is quite a shocking story; in theory I knew about the hydrofluoric acid dangers but I had never read about such a serious battery incident. Still, things could have been even worse. As SilverFox said, you should have faith in the remarkable abilities of the human body and retain a positive attitude. You will get much better, it's just that the recovery process itself might bring temporary discomfort.

Thank you for sharing this story with us. I think it will increase awareness about the dangers of certain battery chemistries and about the proper reactions in case of an accident, although it's hard to imagine that anyone would react any better than you did in the heat of the moment.

Please, keep us updated in regards to your health. Again, many wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

 

[fiberguy]

Hey JNieporte,

Hope all is well, we haven't had an update from you in a while.

 

[JNieporte]

It's been a while since I've logged in. In short, my health is getting better, albeit very slowly. I get short of breath once or twice a day, requiring a rescue inhaler. I've been on a steady dose of prednisone (a steroid) since this happened. Since my last post (almost two months ago) I've been to the hospital too many times to count; either for breathing emergencies or for tests. My skin is fine now; there are tiny scars that will go away. The damage done to my lungs and nasal passages can't be reversed. More than likely, I'll need the inhaler for the rest of my life, with maintenance doses of inhaled steroids every few months. The VA is taking care of most of my medical bills, but some stuff isn't covered. As a result, I've been selling a lot of my lights, knives, multitools, and guns to pay the remainder. As the bills continue to come (they will, since this will be an ongoing thing) and my list of sell-able items gets shorter and shorter, I'm in the process of acquiring financial assistance for this matter.

I do appreciate the well-wishes and concern of forum members; you guys rock :thumbsup:
Updates will be posted when appropriate.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello JNieporte,

It is good to hear that you are making progress toward better health. I am still sending you my thoughts and prayers and hoping for substantial recovery.

Tom

 

[Vesper]

the thread op used the ones that comes preshrunk in sticks of 2-4, there is no way measure the cells individually on a meter. Thats where the problem was. At the factory the cells were probably 100%, but one or more had a higher rate of self discharge where coupled by storage conditions and loading went unbalanced. Its a big price to pay for convenience:shakehead

Question: Just to be clear on this story, the batteries are shipped pre-packed, positive to negative stacked as you would load them in a flashlight? If so, geeze!

 

[tatasal]

This is a very unfortunate thing to happen to anyone. I fondly hope for the best.

Can this thing happen to a cell all by itself? I have been keeping 2 brand-new CR123 Surefire cells in my tacklebox.

Was the light's mechanical/electrical condition a contributing factor?

What do you guys think are the reasons it happened? How do we prevent this?

 

[JNieporte]

Question: Just to be clear on this story, the batteries are shipped pre-packed, positive to negative stacked as you would load them in a flashlight? If so, geeze!

No, the batteries are shipped shrink-wrapped, side-to-side. The positive and negative ends aren't touching anything.

 

[Empire]

No, the batteries are shipped shrink-wrapped, side-to-side. The positive and negative ends aren't touching anything.

That is correct

 

[Vesper]

No, the batteries are shipped shrink-wrapped, side-to-side. The positive and negative ends aren't touching anything.

Ahh, that's good. All sounds really unfortunate. Hope you continue to recover. Your tale is definitely sticky-worth and should be required reading.

 

[Illum]

No, the batteries are shipped shrink-wrapped, side-to-side. The positive and negative ends aren't touching anything.

ahh, ... I was thinking of this:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/titanium-cr123a-double.html
:shakehead