Flashlight Gassed me!

[gunlock]

Hey guys,

I have a fenix LOD Cree C5 and I was running it with just a basic Everready AAA battery when yesterday, the light wouldn't twist to turn on -- it was stuck. I started turning harder and harder, but it wouldn't budge when I put my face near the light and turned again then it finally opened. I heard a popping sound and a gust of "gas" shot out and hit me in my eye. My eye is still sore and I am thinking about going to the eye doctor as I'm not sure what exactly hit my eye (battery acid, gas, etc).

Has this gas release ever happened to any of you and do you know why? How can I prevent it from happening again. I checked the battery and it didn't appear to be leaking. As for medical advice, I'm not asking...I'll probably go get my eye checked anyhow.

Thanks guys.

 

[Ajay]

Holy crap! See a doctor immediately.
Was that an alkaline cell?
Do a quick google search and you will see lots of stories about alkaline cells venting, leaking and exploding. Maybe your fenix light was pulling too much current and the cell overheated??

I hope your eye is ok.

Ajay

 

[gunlock]

Yes, it was alkaline. What type of battery can I use instead? NIMH, lithion?

 

[get-lit]

I'd stop worrying about the battery and go get the eye checked ASAP.

 

[ltiu]

You are lucky it was just a flashlight. Imagine if it were a gun.

 

[matrixshaman]

NiMh would generally be safer IMO. Avoid opening lights or doing anything with them too close to your eyes. Batteries are chemical reaction chambers and sometimes the reaction can go wrong. Hope you are okay but best to get checked out.

 

[gunlock]

Thank you for the replies guys. I just came back from the doc. Luckily they were able to see me on short notice. Well, I have mild irritation but they see no damage to my eye thank goodness. Thanks for the advice on not opening the light near my face again. I had no idea things like that could happen.

As for the battery type, NIMH is generally safer in that regard? Btw, I threw the suspect alkaline away.

 

[Mr Happy]

This was nothing terribly unusual; the gas was hydrogen. Alkaline cells do vent hydrogen gas in use. Some lights which are designed to be completely air tight and water tight such as underwater lights have special catalytic pellets inside the light to remove the gas and prevent pressure build up.

NiMH cells can also vent gas in multi-cell lights if over discharged, but this should not be a problem with a single cell L0D.

In short: hermetically sealed lights should either have a vent, or a catalytic system, or a safety warning.