Lunarmodule
Enlightened
Re: ROAR of the Pelican (CR123 Explosion during use, underwear change required)
I still cant sleep, my foot feels like its on fire. The glass is all out, just a lot of surface cuts, but it hurts like the ****ens. I'm especially grateful for the well wishes from everyone. Lips said it very well. I have been known to fall asleep with a light on next to me from time to time. I cringe at what would have happened if I took this ill-fated light to bed with me. The 6V lamp is driven at 1250mA or thereabouts if I recall correctly, certainly not outside the envelope of what the batteries should safely deliver.
I've taxed rechargeables way past safe limits in some goofy mods / experiments, but I knew I was pushing limits and was prepared. Now I'm looking leery at my other Pelican M6 that I have modded with a P91 SF lamp assembly. That puppy I would have expected, it drives the batteries really hard. Why I added a 2 cell extension and use 2 protected 168 cells to run the P91 instead of 2 R123s, its a much safer load on the larger battery, as well as much better runtime. Thats almost triple the current of this incan setup, but dozens of battery cycles without a hitch. Bill Waites is right, the last incident was with SF cells. Actually I became leery of SF123 primaries after seeing so many reports of the strange accidents. All the accounts I have read have been of unattended lights that went kablooey.
I hate to be the exception. As much as it scared the bejeezus out of me, I will still use lithium ion cells. And referring to an earlier post, I wouldnt consider suing Pelican or BS for the accident, unless I was critically wounded, blinded, or paralyzed or something terrible. I done want to scare folks away from using their lights or fearing the batteries yet I felt an urgent need to post the experience. This is what I always feared, not how I thought it would come to pass.
The main point I want to get out to anyone who reads this is to know the warning signs: very, very, very short notice. The pressure release was extremely sudden and violent. I did have ten seconds or so that I could have used to throw the light away, behind a piece of furniture or into a box to contain the damage / shield myself. What I can recommend is if anyone feels their light vibrate, smells a pungent chemical odor, and/or sees or hears a rushing sound of gas like steam from a tea kettle come from the light, THROW IT AWAY FROM YOU AND ANYONE ELSE NEARBY. Treat it exactly like a firework (like a big bottle rocket) with the wick lit. Dont try to switch it off, although it may help, it may not. In my case I doubt it would have made any difference. I tried to reach for the twisty tail but I froze in place seeing the smoke jet out of the tailcap button. I reacted like a deer in headlights. I froze, just looked at the thing IN MY HAND, a part of my mind knew exactly what was happening but I couldnt think of how to stop it. Scariest part was 30 seconds later, from the time the venting started to the end of the second explosion, nothing else happened but I was so shaken I felt like the light was now an unexploded bomb. I was terrified that it could explode yet again. No experience to draw on. It took about 20 mins to even hobble back over to where it happened. I started writing this meantime because there was a browser window open. If this happens to anyone else, I can report that once the POP explosion happens, no more smoke visible, the show is over. Perhaps the safety mechanisms did work after all, in the sense that the venting stopped a much more violent explosion and the reaction died very quickly, instead of allowing a perpetual burn or worse.
There was that joke in a previous post about glad it wasnt a headlight. Im just glad it didnt blast apart into metal shrapnel in my hand. Thats another key experience to report: although quite violent and scary, there was insufficient force to shred the metal. It blew out the button/seal of the tailcap, and the flame jet looked like a toy cap gun (brief instant of about a six inch flame jet/flash) it did NOT burn me or have enough punch to even blow the tailcap off. So it is very disconcerting, all kinds of bark, relatively little bite. My injuries were sustained when the light fell to the ground after the first explosion. It hissed like a really mean snake, spewed a noxious jet of smoke out the tailcap, and went *BANG* a second time about 15 seconds after the first bang which caused me to instinctively drop the light. The second explosion on the ground shattered the front window, and instantly I felt my foot on fire. I looked down and my foot which was about half a meter from where the light landed was bleeding really bad, the splinters of glass from the lens had made about a dozen cuts in the side of my foot. It still hurts like the ****ens but no real damage done, just numerous superficial lacerations.
I never got a chance to see those videos where they induced the vent with flame phenomenon with deliberate radical overcharging, but I hope Silverfox can provide a link. I dont want everyone afraid to use their lights, as Lips said he just confidently loaded six 17500 cells into a light. I myself have been using unprotected D cell LiIons for months now and I am super cautious and a tad afraid of their unprotected nature. I have used DOZENS of Battery Station batteries without ever having any kind of problem, except one "batch" that seemed to discharge too rapidly. I.e. not long enough runtime life. I want to stress that what happened to me is the exception, but the fact that it happened at all needs to be shouted from the rooftops, hence posting here. Think of this thread as a tornado warning drill. Odds are you may never have to worry about an impending disaster spelled out by that rushing train sound and rush to the basement. But if you experience the warning signs as I have described at least you know what to expect. Again, my thanks to all that have expressed their concern for me. I'm very happy to be relatively unscathed and really appreciate the kind words.
I still cant sleep, my foot feels like its on fire. The glass is all out, just a lot of surface cuts, but it hurts like the ****ens. I'm especially grateful for the well wishes from everyone. Lips said it very well. I have been known to fall asleep with a light on next to me from time to time. I cringe at what would have happened if I took this ill-fated light to bed with me. The 6V lamp is driven at 1250mA or thereabouts if I recall correctly, certainly not outside the envelope of what the batteries should safely deliver.
I've taxed rechargeables way past safe limits in some goofy mods / experiments, but I knew I was pushing limits and was prepared. Now I'm looking leery at my other Pelican M6 that I have modded with a P91 SF lamp assembly. That puppy I would have expected, it drives the batteries really hard. Why I added a 2 cell extension and use 2 protected 168 cells to run the P91 instead of 2 R123s, its a much safer load on the larger battery, as well as much better runtime. Thats almost triple the current of this incan setup, but dozens of battery cycles without a hitch. Bill Waites is right, the last incident was with SF cells. Actually I became leery of SF123 primaries after seeing so many reports of the strange accidents. All the accounts I have read have been of unattended lights that went kablooey.
I hate to be the exception. As much as it scared the bejeezus out of me, I will still use lithium ion cells. And referring to an earlier post, I wouldnt consider suing Pelican or BS for the accident, unless I was critically wounded, blinded, or paralyzed or something terrible. I done want to scare folks away from using their lights or fearing the batteries yet I felt an urgent need to post the experience. This is what I always feared, not how I thought it would come to pass.
The main point I want to get out to anyone who reads this is to know the warning signs: very, very, very short notice. The pressure release was extremely sudden and violent. I did have ten seconds or so that I could have used to throw the light away, behind a piece of furniture or into a box to contain the damage / shield myself. What I can recommend is if anyone feels their light vibrate, smells a pungent chemical odor, and/or sees or hears a rushing sound of gas like steam from a tea kettle come from the light, THROW IT AWAY FROM YOU AND ANYONE ELSE NEARBY. Treat it exactly like a firework (like a big bottle rocket) with the wick lit. Dont try to switch it off, although it may help, it may not. In my case I doubt it would have made any difference. I tried to reach for the twisty tail but I froze in place seeing the smoke jet out of the tailcap button. I reacted like a deer in headlights. I froze, just looked at the thing IN MY HAND, a part of my mind knew exactly what was happening but I couldnt think of how to stop it. Scariest part was 30 seconds later, from the time the venting started to the end of the second explosion, nothing else happened but I was so shaken I felt like the light was now an unexploded bomb. I was terrified that it could explode yet again. No experience to draw on. It took about 20 mins to even hobble back over to where it happened. I started writing this meantime because there was a browser window open. If this happens to anyone else, I can report that once the POP explosion happens, no more smoke visible, the show is over. Perhaps the safety mechanisms did work after all, in the sense that the venting stopped a much more violent explosion and the reaction died very quickly, instead of allowing a perpetual burn or worse.
There was that joke in a previous post about glad it wasnt a headlight. Im just glad it didnt blast apart into metal shrapnel in my hand. Thats another key experience to report: although quite violent and scary, there was insufficient force to shred the metal. It blew out the button/seal of the tailcap, and the flame jet looked like a toy cap gun (brief instant of about a six inch flame jet/flash) it did NOT burn me or have enough punch to even blow the tailcap off. So it is very disconcerting, all kinds of bark, relatively little bite. My injuries were sustained when the light fell to the ground after the first explosion. It hissed like a really mean snake, spewed a noxious jet of smoke out the tailcap, and went *BANG* a second time about 15 seconds after the first bang which caused me to instinctively drop the light. The second explosion on the ground shattered the front window, and instantly I felt my foot on fire. I looked down and my foot which was about half a meter from where the light landed was bleeding really bad, the splinters of glass from the lens had made about a dozen cuts in the side of my foot. It still hurts like the ****ens but no real damage done, just numerous superficial lacerations.
I never got a chance to see those videos where they induced the vent with flame phenomenon with deliberate radical overcharging, but I hope Silverfox can provide a link. I dont want everyone afraid to use their lights, as Lips said he just confidently loaded six 17500 cells into a light. I myself have been using unprotected D cell LiIons for months now and I am super cautious and a tad afraid of their unprotected nature. I have used DOZENS of Battery Station batteries without ever having any kind of problem, except one "batch" that seemed to discharge too rapidly. I.e. not long enough runtime life. I want to stress that what happened to me is the exception, but the fact that it happened at all needs to be shouted from the rooftops, hence posting here. Think of this thread as a tornado warning drill. Odds are you may never have to worry about an impending disaster spelled out by that rushing train sound and rush to the basement. But if you experience the warning signs as I have described at least you know what to expect. Again, my thanks to all that have expressed their concern for me. I'm very happy to be relatively unscathed and really appreciate the kind words.
