My CR123A (GOLSTON) Exploded

SilverFox

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 19, 2003
Messages
12,449
Location
Bellingham WA
Hello Mach.84,

Welcome to CPF.

Golston cells have been found to be inconsistent from cell to cell. Sometimes they work very well. Other times they are crap. It looks like you ended up with an imbalance of good and crap cells.

Tom
 

yifu

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 15, 2011
Messages
713
Location
Australia
Thank God you are ok and didn't get hurt or anything, that's why i tend to avoid primaries, other than being freaking expensive (8 dollars per hour on high?) 4 difference cells allows slight variation in capacity to cause disaster. Don't believe the myth about industrial or even protected 18650s being unsafe. They are used by millions in laptop cells without danger (outside cpf) and inside cpf, IMR cells are 100% safe while good quality AW, Redilast 18650s have excellent protection circuits, vent holes and other safety features that basically eliminate the risk of an explosion. I have not seen a single thread where a AW cell has exploded and i have seen torture threads of lights containing AW cells dropped, frozen, beaten, toasted in an oven to the point that the protection circuit is destroyed, but no explosion.
 

Mach.84

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Singapore
Most important thing out of all this is that no one got hurt.

Scary... Many users have issues on CR123a. Be careful guys.

Thanks all.... I should hv use 18650 instead! Family are alright but the smell is really bad. :sick2:

Thank God you are ok and didn't get hurt or anything, that's why i tend to avoid primaries, other than being freaking expensive (8 dollars per hour on high?) 4 difference cells allows slight variation in capacity to cause disaster. Don't believe the myth about.....
.......seen torture threads of lights containing AW cells dropped, frozen, beaten, toasted in an oven to the point that the protection circuit is destroyed, but no explosion.
Thanks yifu, really thank God that there wasn't any fire at all! Now I know and probably should have used protected 18650 instead. Btw, IMR has lower capacity compare to Li... Am I right to say that?
Thanks in advance. Cheers!
 

Mach.84

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Singapore
Wow...that light looks like it got 2nd place in an arse kicking contest...sorry to hear. Yeah, buy quality cells. As far as pairing, I just keep mine together by writing "codes" on them. I'll move two cells to another 2-cell light, but never 4 cells to two two cells...they would be used in single cell lights. If you want to get the most out of your batteries, get a nice battery vampire. Hope Fenix or Amazon helps you out...and, yeah, glad no one got hurt.

:ohgeez: haha... I second that! Luckily there wasn't any fire. That is a good suggest! Writing codes and moving in pairs. Oh what's a battery vampire? I had contacted Fenix at this stage and hope they can help me getting the battery holder and rubber boot for the button. Will update here once they reply. Cheers!
 

hank

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 12, 2001
Messages
1,561
Location
Berkeley CA
> smell is really bad.

Toxic, don't keep the stuff indoors. search on
lithium primary battery fire

This is a good summary of safety procedures for lithium primaries:
http://www.whoi.edu/cms/files/LithiumBatterySafetyGuideSG10_26006.pdf

excerpts follow:

4.0 CELL HANDLING PROCEDURES
Inadvertent short circuits are the major cause of failures for both Lithium (Primary) and Lithium Ion (Secondary) cells. Problems associated with shorting as well as other hazardous conditions can be reduced by observing the following guidelines:

• Wear safety glasses whenever handling batteries.
• Remove jewelry items such as rings, wristwatches, pendants, etc., that could come in contact
with the battery terminals.
• All dented cells or batteries with dented cells should be disposed, regardless of electrolyte leakage. Denting of sides or ends increases the likelihood of developing an internal short circuit at a later time.
...

Cells should not be forced into battery holders or other types of housings. This could deform the bottom of the case causing an internal short circuit. Furthermore, the terminal cap could be crushed putting pressure on the glass-to-metal seal. This could result in a cell venting. Check for proper fit before inserting the cells into any type of housing.
• Excessive force should not be used to free a cell or battery lodged inside the housing.

Store the cells in an isolated area, away from combustible materials. Store depleted cells in an area separate from fresh cells. Allow space for complete encapsulation with Lith-X in the event of a fire.
• Any Primary Lithium battery storage area should have immediate access to both a class D and an ABC fire extinguisher.
• Never stack heavy objects on top of boxes containing lithium batteries to preclude crushing or puncturing the cell case. Severe damage can lead to internal short circuits resulting in a cell venting or explosion.
• Do not allow excessive quantities of cells to accumulate in any storage area.
...
8.0 EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
8.1 Releases from Cells (Vented, Leaked or Exploded)
The electrolyte contained within the lithium cells can cause severe irritation to the respiratory tract, eyes and skin. In addition, violent cell venting could result in a room full of hazardous air contaminants, including corrosive or flammable vapors. All precautions should be taken to limit exposure to the electrolyte vapor. Review the MSDS or product information sheet PRIOR to working with cells, so that you are familiar with the steps to take in the event of a release....
 

Mach.84

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Singapore
Hello Mach.84,

Welcome to CPF.

Golston cells have been found to be inconsistent from cell to cell. Sometimes they work very well. Other times they are crap. It looks like you ended up with an imbalance of good and crap cells.

Tom

Hi Tom, thanks! Really informative forum. Wish I had read the battery section before I purchase my TK35. And you are spot on! I did a quick check on my remaining crap batteries and most are half & some read '0' on the capacity. Really crap battery! :ohgeez:
Discarded them....
Once again, thank you all and in advance. Cheers!

Steven
 

Shadowww

Banned
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
879
Location
Northern Europe
Re: My TK35 Exploded!

I presume they all same voltage when new. Just wondering how then should I know when to replace the CR123A if it start to draw high current? Really confuse now... I thought CR123A is the safest but.... :confused:
CR123A's are just as safe as 18650 - crap brand ones (*Fire for 18650's, GOLSTON and similar for CR123A) are unsafe, especially in multi-cell usage, high-tier ones (Sanyo, Panasonic for 18650, Duracell, Surefire, Titanium for CR123A's) are safe (unless you do silly things such as mix empty and full batteries, or mix batteries from different brand)
 

901-Memphis

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Messages
289
Re: My TK35 Exploded!

You can get quality made in USA Panasonic 1550 mah cr123 cells off battery junction for $1.50 each.
 
Top