Solarforce Explosion

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subalpine

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I have a two month old Solarforce Lt2 purchased from SB flashlights. I run some rechargeable 123a in good condition (checked weekly). Well two night ago I was rooting around in the back of my 4 runner for some tools. It was snowing lightly, (.25 inch and hour) at approx. 32 degrees F. I had the light in my mouth.Light was in mouth for 30 secs or so.
And BOOM. loud noise. Bright flash. Feeling of broken glass in my mouth. Had to slow down to get myself to breathe.
Swept mouth for glass. Ran inside.
called 911 and called for my son, because I had no voice. Son called 911, he is 7. Took a minuet to get over the pool of blood on the floor. Fire Department arrived less than 3 minuets later.
The paramedics were amazed that I was conscious. They established an airway and rushed me to the local burn center.
So here I sit, day three with 3rd degree burns to the mouth ane throat, heavily sedated, intubated with a breathing tube and feeding tube in my throte. They are afraid if an emergency air way were needed, it would not be possible.

So far no one is sure what happened. An arc, a battery explosion, who knows.
My initial thought, al LED wit a snow flake seems unlikely due to the lack of glass found.
 

RI Chevy

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Re: solaforce catastrophe.

:ohgeez::eek:.... Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you get better soon. Can I ask what brand batteries you were using? And the drop in and the specification on the drop in that you were using? Sounds to me from your description that your batteries may have exploded. Lithium Ion batteries can sometimes be volatile. Were you able to take any photographs of the light after this all happened? Once again, hope you get better soon and have a full recovery.
 

LightWalker

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Re: solaforce catastrophe.

I am sorry to hear of this tragic occurrence and I pray you make a speedy recovery! What brand battery was in the light? Were they old?
 

more_vampires

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Re: solaforce catastrophe.

OMG, I'm so sorry. May you recover fast and fully.

Asking the same questions as the above posters, dropin and battery brand/type? RCR123?
 

Kestrel

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Hello subalpine,
I am very sorry to hear of this incident and I of course wish you a complete recovery.
I have moved your thread to the following subforum:

Smoke and Fire, Hot Cells and Close Calls - The dangerous side of batteries

I have renamed your thread title for clarification purposes.
I have also left a redirect link in the /General/ forum where you originally posted, as this is obviously an extraordinarily important topic for many here.

---------------------

Edit: Although our #1 concern is for your health and well-being, people here will also be very curious as to details of the RCR123's in question. One rule of thumb on CPF for lithium cells IMO is that catastrophic failure / explosions of CR123 primaries is most often associated with 'during use'; while that behavior of LiIon rechargeables / RCR123 cells seems to be associated more with charging and not so much during actual usage. To see an occurrence of such magnitude is very concerning for many.

---------------------

Back to the topic at hand, I'm most certainly concerned for your welfare; I will keep a close eye on your thread and am of course hoping for the best with regards to your condition. :sick:

You may or may not have already seen the following thread on a comparable topic (from 2012), but it is a 'Sticky' in this subforum and as news develops here I expect that this thread will be comparable.
Flashlight Explosion
When you have time I would recommend you read that thread as it may be of some assistance toward mitigating any potential health effects from possible chemical exposure.

Please also keep in mind that any chemical residue at the scene of the accident could be hazardous and specialized cleaning techniques may be needed to reduce the chance of an exposure by other individuals.

Wishing you the very best of luck,
 
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alpg88

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Re: solaforce catastrophe.

wow, holly s....t, glad you are ok (well somewhat), get well soon , and tell us what brand of batteries they were.
 

maro69camaro

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Re: solaforce catastrophe.

Wow wish you a speedy recovery. I would love to know more about the setup. Was it modded at all? Who's batteries? Get well soon
 

Kestrel

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For others, this is what we know for now:
Thanks for the grat input. I have setteled on a solarforce l2t with an LC XPG-R5, single mode. From SP flashlights, shipped $40. Good deal for the tight wallet right now. Seriously helpful forum. I am hooked. I will let you all know how it works out.
Got my Solarforce on Monday. I like SBflashlights CS. Fast and accurate. I like the light so far. Great beam, long throw and not too narrow. Only thing I do not like is the switch threading was trash. Took the light apart when it got here, because that's what I do. It came off with a lot of effort. When I went to put it back on, it took a wrench. So now the switch is stuck on the light body. Which is ok, unless the switch breaks. Still pleased, the light works, the switch is easy to use, and feels solid. Thanks so much for the advice on this topic. Will try out a higher end light body when I have some extra money.
 
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more_vampires

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photo.php
tennergy LiFePo4. They were in good condition. More pics to follow, one I am out of the hospitall

Great to hear. Mind if I ask what charger you used, sir?
 

alpg88

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tennergy LiFePo4 are not protected, and afaik that chemistry is not as much prone to go boom, as li ion cobalt chem. something went really wrong there, this is a first time i hear Lithium Iron Phosphate in such a small form blew up.
 

1DaveN

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Jan 5, 2015
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Upstate NY
Hello subalpine,
I am very sorry to hear of this incident and I of course wish you a complete recovery.
I have moved your thread to the following subforum:

Smoke and Fire, Hot Cells and Close Calls - The dangerous side of batteries

I have renamed your thread title for clarification purposes.
I have also left a redirect link in the /General/ forum where you originally posted, as this is obviously an extraordinarily important topic for many here.

---------------------

Edit: Although our #1 concern is for your health and well-being, people here will also be very curious as to details of the RCR123's in question. One rule of thumb on CPF for lithium cells IMO is that catastrophic failure / explosions of CR123 primaries is most often associated with 'during use'; while that behavior of LiIon rechargeables / RCR123 cells seems to be associated more with charging and not so much during actual usage. To see an occurrence of such magnitude is very concerning for many.

---------------------

Back to the topic at hand, I'm most certainly concerned for your welfare; I will keep a close eye on your thread and am of course hoping for the best with regards to your condition. :sick:

You may or may not have already seen the following thread on a comparable topic (from 2012), but it is a 'Sticky' in this subforum and as news develops here I expect that this thread will be comparable.
Flashlight Explosion
When you have time I would recommend you read that thread as it may be of some assistance toward mitigating any potential health effects from possible chemical exposure.

Please also keep in mind that any chemical residue at the scene of the accident could be hazardous and specialized cleaning techniques may be needed to reduce the chance of an exposure by other individuals.

Wishing you the very best of luck,

I wonder if there's more than coincidence to the fact that this thread and the one you linked both involve SolarForce lights. I'm new to this so I'm unfamiliar with that brand. Based on what I've read so far (mostly here), I'm surprised that the other poster had an explosion with lithium primaries, which I had not thought were less safe than everyday alkalines.

Subalpine - best wishes for a speedy recovery!
 

tandem

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Vancouver, BC
Tennergy LiFePo4. They were in good condition. More pics to follow

Only if you have energy for answering questions... there are so many questions that can be asked.

Where'd you purchase the cells from? What charger are you using? Where'd you purchase it from? It'd be great if you could arrange to post detailed photos of the damaged light, cells, and any undamaged spare cells bought from the same source, charger, etc.

Mike
 

cyclesport

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Feb 14, 2012
Messages
676
God bless you pal...sure sorry to hear about your accident and injury, and hope you have a full and speedy recovery! Will be awaiting to hear of your progress and further details of the equip. used, etc.
 

chillinn

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Mobjack Bay
subalpine, sincerely hope for your speedy full recovery, and that you get decent pain meds to occupy you until then.

tennergy LiFePo4 are not protected, and afaik that chemistry is not as much prone to go boom, as li ion cobalt chem. something went really wrong there, this is a first time i hear Lithium Iron Phosphate in such a small form blew up.

Does battery protection ever prevent explosions? I think "battery protection" needs a new name, because it is so easy to confuse the purpose of that protection with protecting the user, which its not. In my understanding, it only protects the battery.

By subalpine's description, I think thermal shock is just as likely a candidate for this unfortunate accident, if it has ever occured before to a flashlight. But I must defer to any physicists or engineers in the forum.
 
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