Ouch! Exploding vaporizer rips hole in man's tongue

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/health/exploding-vaporizer-rip-tongue-trnd/index.html

Kenneth Barbero of Albany, NY was enjoying a nice millennial vaping session when the hand-held device he was using blew up in his face; knocking out teeth, ripping a hole in his tongue and leaving his hands covered in burns.

Stuff like this is exactly why I didn't take getting into Li-Ion batteries lightly.

dhunley1 said:

Stuff like this is exactly why I didn't take getting into Li-Ion batteries lightly.

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Vaping is 10000.0831 times different than a good light with protection. But still involves risks like anything in life.

I think a lot of vapers REALLY get into customizing things, I don't know enough about it to talk intelligently, but I know they tweak stuff and really push the limit. You really have to know what you're doing.

There have been enough stories out there of faulty vapoorizers exploding or hot molten vape solution burning people mouths and throats that anyone who engages in this habit should know the risks from the vape unit itself, if not they aren't paying attention. There is still so much not known about the long term effects of vaping to the human body. It was originally intended to wean people off of real cigs wasn't it? Unfortunately people younger and younger are drawn to get into vaping and showing their friends how huge plumes of smoke/vapor can emanate from their months can make them feel like dragons.

Superheating a chemical in milliseconds to 200 Celcius and inhaling the effects, what can go wrong really? I don't get the appeal, but that's me.

https://youtu.be/haqi4xvjvKo

That pants on fire incident was discussed here 3 months ago, including some speculation on its likely cause (short via keys/coins due to damaged wrapper, and lack of knowledge that the entire can is the negative terminal - see the photo in the 2nd link).

Gauss163 said:

the entire can is the negative terminal

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That's an important point. I never realized that until it was mentioned in a recent thread. Not so hard to do once the wrapper cracks/tears + some coins or whatever else is in the pocket.

Looking at the mod this guy was using - it is a mech mod. Much more likely to have a failure. The box mods with electronics have a lot more protections in them including reverse cell, over heating, short circuit, etc.

It's a shame this guy got hurt, but like many of these incidents you see it was likely more his fault than the company making the products.

We had something similar in the news here a week or two ago (not that far from Albany). The article said that most vape problems occur during charging, but in this case, it "blew up" the first time he went to use it after charging. I don't really know anything about vaping - it's my understanding that they don't use protected cells, and I wonder if that would make a difference.

Incidents like this give the feds the vindication they need for regulating vaping and lithium batteries.

NoNotAgain said:

Incidents like this give the feds the vindication they need for regulating vaping and lithium batteries.

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That's one reason why I think it is essential that everyone do all that they can to spread basic information on safety. Not only is it morally the right thing to do to help our Li-peers stay safe, but it will help those of us who know what we are doing from having to suffer draconian regulations. A little bit of effort from everyone may go a long way towards improving matters, e.g. talk to the manager of your local vaping shop and help them prepare safety literature.

It seems that many users treat Li-ion cells almost the same as typical consumer-level cells, not realizing all of the ways that they differ, and the safety ramifications of such differences (e.g. the higher probability of shorts due to the entire can be negative which, strangely, seems to be little known). With the appropriate safety training, it should be possible to prevent almost all of the accidents discussed in this subforum.

Didn't the CIA try to assassinate Castro with one of these?

Random Dan said:

Didn't the CIA try to assassinate Castro with one of these?

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Probably with an Efest "35A" cell.

p.s. your sig "I liked neutral tints before they were cool." That's great!!!

One concern I have is that people doing their best to understand and only purchase high quality cells and chargers may still fall prey to inconsistent qc or downright counterfeit cells. In a recent review a very high quality trusted brand coming from a reputable dealer had specs that in no way resembled the product description. Since it is likely these were "real" it reveals that even the best re-wrap companies may have qc issues. If a modder is depending on a cell he has every reason to trust and it is not up to spec you have a serious accident waiting to happen.

If the government wanted to do ME a favor I would like all imported cells to be tested at random to see if they live up to advertised specs. We have HKJ who is terrific but one man can do only so much. How do we get Consumers Reports or UL to be interested in yearly tests/comparisons of dozens of each type of cell to be sure to get good sampling and controlled results?

Being able to buy directly from the manufacturer would solve the trust issue, but I'm sure they're not going to waste their time selling a few here and there when they're currently selling pallet loads of them at a time to re-sellers.

markr6 said:

Being able to buy directly from the manufacturer would solve the trust issue, but I'm sure they're not going to waste their time selling a few here and there when they're currently selling pallet loads of them at a time to re-sellers.

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Not if qc isn't up to spec. Most of us buy from re-wrappers like Efest, keeppower, olight, etc. We then purchase these frkm a dealer. The problem could arise anywhere in the chain but if you think you are buying a 4 amp cell and it is really a 1 amp cell that is probably qc at the source. With 18650 the source is usually Panasonic so we know who to blame but I have no idea who manufactures 16340 or 18350. Do you? The re-wrappers are at the mercy of their manufacturers' qc. Now if you buy the battery from someone other than an authorized dealer you introduce counterfeits into the equation. If the batteries are tested in NYC when they enter the country perhaps the least reliable could be eliminated or punished so that the big re-wrap companies begin their own testing or put pressure on their manufacturers to have better qc. The American auto industry absolutely refused to build safer, more efficient vehicles until they were tested and results were released to the public. To avoid politics I won't say WHO should do the testing. The bottom line is companies don't police themselves until it costs them money not to.

There simply should not be cells sold with claims of high amp draw that cannot possibly handle it safely.

But don't over-complicate my post. I couldn't care less about 16340 or other sizes I personally don't use. I was simply referring to someone like Panasonic selling and 18650 directly to me (will never happen). Sure QC problems can exist, but that could happen anywhere. You could blow up and die in a $60 million dollar Boeing, but that's not something I lose sleep over.

Simply put:

1. Buying an NCR18650GA directly from Panasonic = .0001% worry
2. Buying and NCR18650GA from a reputable dealer = .0002% worry
3. Buying and NCR18650GA from some random person on ebay, with a solid rating = .0003% worry

In my opinion, anyway. It's just not something I worry about, then again I'm not pushing the limit on a potential mini bomb 1/2" away from my mouth.

You're absolutely right about the claims. I always make fun of Efest for that. It's plain wrong and dangerous.

I was adding some of my own ideas that had nothing to do with your post. I do use smaller batteries more often than 18650 and I think qc is much worse in these batteries.

BTW, the Boeing gets inspected all the time. My complaint is these imported batteries never do.

I also think you are grossly underestimating the danger of buying high quality cells from random unknown character on Ebay.

recDNA said:

BTW, the Boeing gets inspected all the time. My complaint is these imported batteries never do.

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Not imported. The whole idea was about a hypothetical direct buy from the manufacturer.

markr6 said:

The whole idea was about a hypothetical direct buy from the manufacturer.

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Which will, of course, always remain hypothetical given the top-tier manufacturer's attitude toward consumer use of Li-ion cells, which is well-represented by Sony's recent cease and desist letter to a vaping store, reproduced below.

--------------------
Sony Electronics Inc.
16535 Via Esprillo, San Diego CA 92127
--------
2/4/2016

Origin Vape
4768 Broadway, Suite 116
New York, NY 10034
[email protected]

Dear Sir/Madam:

It has come to our attention that you are offering, or have in the past offered, lithium-ion
rechargeable battery cells, purportedly manufactured or supplied by Sony, for sale or
use with e-cigarettes, vaporizer pens or other such products. Bona fide battery cells
that are manufactured by Sony are at all times commonly designated or known as Sony
"VTC" battery cells. These battery cells were made only to be used in connection with
the assembly of battery packs of products such as power tools, which have the
necessary enclosure, protective devices and circuitry that enable safe usage of these
battery cells. Sony lithium-ion rechargeable battery cells (induding those with "VTC"
designation) are not intended for use without such packaging or circuitry, and should not
be used as a standalone product for instance with e-cigarettes, vaporizer pens or other
products of any type.

The use of any Sony lithium ion rechargeable battery cells as a stand-alone
product, including with e-cigarettes, vaporizer pens or other products,
constitutes a DANGEROUS misuse of the battery cells that poses a SERIOUS
RISK of personal injury or property damage. This matter is significant enough that
the U.S. Fire Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's
Federal Emergency Management Agency, released a report
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf in
October 2014 warning against the dangers involved with improper battery cell use,
storage and charging of battery cells in e-cigarettes. See also a recent statement from
the Consumer Technology Association on lithium ion battery safety available at
http://www.ce.org/Consumer-Info/Battery-Safety.aspx Accordingly, if you are currently
selling or distributing stand-alone Sony lithium-ion rechargeable battery cells, other than
in the condition and for the purpose originally intended by Sony, you must immediately
cease doing so. Sony believes that you should also immediately notify any person to
whom you have sold or supplied any stand-alone Sony titbium-ion rechargeable battery
cells of the danger associated with the misuse of such battery cells and instruct them to
immediately cease using and return the cells to you.

Please contact Sony's consumer product safety office at [email protected] should you
have any questions or concerns.

Very truly yours.


Julio Posse
Director of Product Safety

Wow, interesting letter! I've always been curious to visit a vape store locally to see what they have but I just never had the time.

It's crazy that e-cig's counterpart, real cigarettes, have been sold rather easily for over 100 years. But this new e-cig stuff may start to feel much more resistance in a fraction of that time due to a battery. Life, man. Life.