My Aleph 1 Exploded and cought on fire.

[Barefootone]

This has not been a happy day for me :mecry:. I was using my Aleph 1 at my work bench in the basement and momentarily laid it down. Lucky for me I did, the next thing I heard was a crackling/ hissing sound and noticed the lens was clouding up and than the loud explosion (which my wife heard on the second floor) followed by a yellow flame coming out of the reflector . I'm a lucky man some how I turned away from the work bench and avoided the flying glass from the lens. You can see the destruction in the picture.
I was using Battery Station's CR123A's in the Aleph. I will not point fingers, but claims by others about exploding CR123A's has now made me a beliver. I will be using SureFire CR123A's from now on! This Aleph 1 was one of my all time favorite lights that I bought from Don. This Aleph 1 was a 2x123 5 w. with a BB700 and a 15 ohm tail switch. I'm hoping I can get the Light Engine replaced along with the refelector and lens, I haven't checked the tail switch yet to see if it fryed. I will have to get some $ together to either get someone to rebuild Aleph or maybe do it myself. This has been very upsetting to say the least.

 

[DaFABRICATA]

WOW!!! THAT SUCKS!!!
I'm glad your not hurt!
I wonder what happened?.....what betteries were you using?

 

[Illum]

NOT ANOTHER BATTERY EXPLOSION!:mecry:

first of all glad you weren't hurt:thumbsup:
second...is that a batterystation cell?oo:

 

[paulr]

Looks like two cells.

 

[Optic Nerve]

Were you using rechargeable or primary batteries?
That is scary!

 

[MarNav1]

Give us details when you can. Be careful handling that stuff! Hope you are okay!

 

[Barefootone]

Thanks all for your concerns, I'm OK.
These were primary battery's not rechargeable. Yes there are two cells in the picture, the very burned one was the front cell closest to the Light Engine and the other cell was the back one closest to the switch. I'm so lucky I had put the light on the work bench or I might have been badly burned, I can't tell you how freaking hot the battery tube was.

 

[Barefootone]

Here's another picture of the exploded lens and reflector.

 

[BSCOTT1504]

Glad you weren't hurt. Lucky you turned away when you did! That makes me think that maybe paying a little more for Surefire batteries would be a good idea. I use Titaniums now. Never tried battery station batteries.

 

[scottaw]

Wow, that's terrible, when you're cleaning this up and taking pictures, remember the guts of a 123 are very toxic. Glad to hear you're ok!

 

[yaesumofo]

The important think is to figure out WHY the it happened.

Were both batteries facing the same direction in the tube?

Was the light ON at the time?
Were these primaries?
I would be willing to bet that the manufacture would like to know that this happened and they would most likley replace the light if it were to turn out to be the fault of the battery vs operator error.
The rechargable cells are supposed to have a protection circuit.
I would definatly contact the seller and ask what the comapnies policy is regarding mal functioning cells.
put all of the parts into a ziploc bag and seal if in order to perserve the evidence as much as possible.

It is important to get to the bottom if this in order to prevent this from happening and possibly injuring sombody.
You were lucky.
Yaesumofo

 

[TranquillityBase]

Looks like the head survived...

Glad to hear you were not injured...

 

[Barefootone]

The important think is to figure out WHY the it happened.

Were both batteries facing the same direction in the tube?

Was the light ON at the time?
Were these primaries?
I would be willing to bet that the manufacture would like to know that this happened and they would most likely replace the light if it were to turn out to be the fault of the battery vs operator error.
The rechargeable cells are supposed to have a protection circuit.
I would defiantly contact the seller and ask what the companies policy is regarding Mal functioning cells.
put all of the parts into a ziploc bag and seal if in order to preserve the evidence as much as possible.

It is important to get to the bottom if this in order to prevent this from happening and possibly injuring somebody.
You were lucky.
Yaesumofo

Hello Yaesumofo,
Yes the Aleph was on when the explosion occurred.
For sure the cells were installed in the right direction and facing toward the head since the Aleph was illuminated.
These were battery station CR123 A's, primary cells.
I have all the parts in a good snap lid storage container
I plan on calling Battery Station tomorrow and seeing what they have to say. I have thrown away my remaining stock of 10 battery's, I don't want them in the house!
I feel incredibly lucky not to have been injured and I'd like nothing better than to get to the bottom of this for sure.
Thanks for your concern,
Jeff

 

[ltiu]

I was using Battery Station's CR123A's in the Aleph.

I have only been on this forum for 2 months. Reading through people's posts, I noticed:

How come CR123's get all the exploding battery news? Any exploding AA's? How about other battery sizes/types?

Are CR123's just bad?

 

[enLIGHTenment]

If you inhaled any fumes or handled debris with your bare hands, seek medical attention promptly for potential hydrofluoric acid exposure. Symptoms are not immediately apparent but do require treatment.

Battery Station ought to pay for a replacement Aleph. This is around the fourth BS cell explosion reported on CPF; by now the idea of legal liability should be rather central in their minds.

 

[mossyoak]

I have only been on this forum for 2 months. Reading through people's posts, I noticed:

How come CR123's get all the exploding battery news? Any exploding AA's? How about other battery sizes/types?

Are CR123's just bad?

no 123's arent bad jsut some are cheaper made than others those cause the issues. cheap lithium aa's could have the same results.

 

[Kiessling]

Did the rubber at the tailcap also explode?
And was the lens shattered or did the bezel give way?

Glad you're ok. Scary. Very Scary.

bernie

 

[LuxLuthor]

The most important thing is how great it is that you were not hurt. I'm glad you saved the parts and took the photos to preserve it for others to learn from.

Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Could the mods make a link about this event in the battery section? Many users rarely read the LED section, and this is important enough for people asking about Lithium Ion safety to learn from his experience...as in this current topic where this type of event has recently been downplayed, despite lightning having struck a number of CPF members already.

 

[enLIGHTenment]

Many users rarely read the LED section, and this is important enough for people asking about Lithium Ion safety to learn from his experience...

Safety issues for lithium ion are different from those for lithium primaries.

If anything, lithium ions look to be safer then lithium primaries. Primary cells have gone off pretty much at random while lithium ion cells must be abused first, and even then are only dangerous when charging.