Battery Questions ?

[Rafique]

Morning Guys,

I have read some threads about battery safety with regards to building low ohms.

The reason I prefer usb charging is simply because its so much easier. I have a few mods that don't support this function and always have to charge them in my Istick.

I know its easier and safer to just buy a nitecore charger and use that but Im worried about batteries exploding when they laying loose.

There has been a few thread with batteries suddenly exploding.

I have seen people saying they left the battery on the table or in their laptop bag and it exploded.

Any advise, the above is also the reason I never liked mechs

Question

Does buying a rubber sleeve or battery cover really prevent exploding ?

 

[Andre]

Yes, it is a great preventative measure. Batteries in you bag usually go wrong when it touches something metal, which things like silicone sleeves prevent. On the table in a charger not so much, but always good not to leave charging batteries unattended.

 

[SAVaper]

I need to also get me some.

 

[Silver]

Hi @Rafique

I am by no means a battery expert but have not had a battery that exploded in nearly 3 yrs of vaping.

In general its actually better to charge 18650 batteries in a dedicated high quality charger than leaving them in the mod and using the inbuilt usb charge port. Several members have noted that the performance of a dedicated charger is better than some of the inbuilt charging in some mods.

As for safety, just prevent the loose batteries from touching each other or anything metal. Those silicon sleeves work well. I also use the cardboard boxes that the batteries come in when you buy them. I have a battery tray made out of plastic with various compartments and put freshly charged ones at the back and take from the front so i know they are getting equally used.

I think the issue is when you go out and about with spare batteries. Use a silicon case for that and just make sure no metal things come into contact with the ends of the batteries. A no no would be just chucking loose batteries in your bag or pocket with your keys and other stuff. Even if you put each battery in a small ziplock plastic bag it should be fine. I seldom carry spare batteries (normally just take more mods) but when I do i put them in separate plastic ziplock bags or in separate zip up compartments in my camera bag with nothing else in that compartment.

Regarding venting and exploding, make sure your builds are always within the amp limit of the battery with a decent safety margin. And always buy new good quality batteries from a reputable vaping vendor. I suggest staying away from second hand batteries or cheap batteries offered on a great deal say at the fleamarket etc.

Just be careful and responsible and you should not have a problem.

 

[Rafique]

Yes, it is a great preventative measure. Batteries in you bag usually go wrong when it touches something metal, which things like silicone sleeves prevent. On the table in a charger not so much, but always good not to leave charging batteries unattended.

Hi @Rafique

I am by no means a battery expert but have not had a battery that exploded in nearly 3 yrs of vaping.

In general its actually better to charge 18650 batteries in a dedicated high quality charger than leaving them in the mod and using the inbuilt usb charge port. Several members have noted that the performance of a dedicated charger is better than some of the inbuilt charging in some mods.

As for safety, just prevent the loose batteries from touching each other or anything metal. Those silicon sleeves work well. I also use the cardboard boxes that the batteries come in when you buy them. I have a battery tray made out of plastic with various compartments and put freshly charged ones at the back and take from the front so i know they are getting equally used.

I think the issue is when you go out and about with spare batteries. Use a silicon case for that and just make sure no metal things come into contact with the ends of the batteries. A no no would be just chucking loose batteries in your bag or pocket with your keys and other stuff. Even if you put each battery in a small ziplock plastic bag it should be fine. I seldom carry spare batteries (normally just take more mods) but when I do i put them in separate plastic ziplock bags or in separate zip up compartments in my camera bag with nothing else in that compartment.

Regarding venting and exploding, make sure your builds are always within the amp limit of the battery with a decent safety margin. And always buy new good quality batteries from a reputable vaping vendor. I suggest staying away from second hand batteries or cheap batteries offered on a great deal say at the fleamarket etc.

Just be careful and responsible and you should not have a problem.

Thanks guys,

I think I am concerned mainly about when I go out. will get some rubber sleeves.

 

[Kuhlkatz]

In general you should be fine charging batteries in your mod, as they employ a simple common charge circuit used in many other devices. The recommendation is not to charge batteries in 2 or 3 battery mods, as they are not guaranteed to charge to the same level in every bay. Guys do get around this by rotating the batteries for every charge, which still keeps them 'kind of' balanced.
An external charger is basically there for convenience of charging spare batteries not in use, or for consistent balance charging of paired batteries. It's optional and not really a 'must' if you do not have multi-battery mods.
In general external chargers have some extra brains to ensure a consistent charge current and a consistent charge level every time. Mod chargers do not really have this.

Also, having said this, you can never be 100% sure that there are no juice spills or juice leaking into the mod, which could potentially cause issues during charging. At least with an external charger you can be 100% sure that no juice ever gets near it if you place it out of harms way.

Just ensure you inspect your batteries for torn sleeves, and rewrap them or remove them from service if they show any form of wear & tear.

As with any story about batteries exploding by themselves, there are two sides : The one that gets told to everybody and the media, and the story that never makes it to the outside world - i.e. what ACTUALLY happened to make the the battery explode. I don't really buy any story saying 'it just stood there and exploded by itself', as it requires some form of man-handling along the way to cause it to vent. This usually ties in with using/abusing batteries at levels that is beyond the limits they were designed for. Unfortunately many manufacturers 'overspec' the actual capabilities of their batteries, so ensure you know the limits you can push with them.
Have a look at the thread http://www.ecigssa.co.za/18650-battery-safety-grades-table.t14853/, which is basically a discussion around Mooch's Battery Safety grades table if you are unsure where your batteries fit in.

The silicon protective sleeves are a must, and one should be sold with every battery in my opinion. It fits snug and covers the battery terminals ensuring that no accidental shorts from keys, change etc. can occur. I use them and I started using them after accidentally venting a battery inside a tube mod with an open top.
An atomizer left on my car seat above the mod rolled down neatly into the top opening, and as Murphy and I are good friends, it shorted out the positive pin and vented on my car seat. No damage to the seat or mod fortunately, but the atomizer did not fare as well.

 

[Silver]

Excellently explained @Kuhlkatz , thanks!

 

[Lord Vetinari]

In general you should be fine charging batteries in your mod, as they employ a simple common charge circuit used in many other devices. The recommendation is not to charge batteries in 2 or 3 battery mods, as they are not guaranteed to charge to the same level in every bay. Guys do get around this by rotating the batteries for every charge, which still keeps them 'kind of' balanced.
An external charger is basically there for convenience of charging spare batteries not in use, or for consistent balance charging of paired batteries. It's optional and not really a 'must' if you do not have multi-battery mods.
In general external chargers have some extra brains to ensure a consistent charge current and a consistent charge level every time. Mod chargers do not really have this.

Also, having said this, you can never be 100% sure that there are no juice spills or juice leaking into the mod, which could potentially cause issues during charging. At least with an external charger you can be 100% sure that no juice ever gets near it if you place it out of harms way.

Just ensure you inspect your batteries for torn sleeves, and rewrap them or remove them from service if they show any form of wear & tear.

As with any story about batteries exploding by themselves, there are two sides : The one that gets told to everybody and the media, and the story that never makes it to the outside world - i.e. what ACTUALLY happened to make the the battery explode. I don't really buy any story saying 'it just stood there and exploded by itself', as it requires some form of man-handling along the way to cause it to vent. This usually ties in with using/abusing batteries at levels that is beyond the limits they were designed for. Unfortunately many manufacturers 'overspec' the actual capabilities of their batteries, so ensure you know the limits you can push with them.
Have a look at the thread http://www.ecigssa.co.za/18650-battery-safety-grades-table.t14853/, which is basically a discussion around Mooch's Battery Safety grades table if you are unsure where your batteries fit in.

The silicon protective sleeves are a must, and one should be sold with every battery in my opinion. It fits snug and covers the battery terminals ensuring that no accidental shorts from keys, change etc. can occur. I use them and I started using them after accidentally venting a battery inside a tube mod with an open top.
An atomizer left on my car seat above the mod rolled down neatly into the top opening, and as Murphy and I are good friends, it shorted out the positive pin and vented on my car seat. No damage to the seat or mod fortunately, but the atomizer did not fare as well.

I cant decide if you had excellent luck that your car was not damaged, or rotten luck because of the fact an atty actually dropped on your mod and vented it.

 

[Kuhlkatz]

I cant decide if you had excellent luck that your car was not damaged, or rotten luck because of the fact an atty actually dropped on your mod and vented it.

Despite the fact that Murphy usually has me covered for any accidents, I think I was lucky that I was standing outside the car and did not actually see or hear it happen. My interference would likely have caused burn damage to my hand and the car itself.
The mod was the Smok BEC Pro ( the Lightsaber as my kids called it ), and the top part was unscrewed and lying next to it. It was one of the smaller attys that rolled down from it's position and caused the short. I still used the mod for about a year after that, but it did open my eyes to exactly how easy it is to have an accidental vent.
Now I make a point not to leave any 18650 battery lying around anywhere uncovered.

 

[stevie g]

I've "exploded" about 3 batteries. That's if you take explode to mean it got very hot and doesn't work any more.

These were all done by putting the batteries in a mechanical box mod the wrong way around.

The batteries were all high quality. Stick to quality and you should be fine even if using a mechanical box mod and hard shorting them.

 

[stevie g]

This is my surplus battery box notice how horribly dangerous it looks .

Still... Been using it like this for years. I just tell the maid and wife not to go putting metal objects like scissors in there like has happened in the past cause that could lead to contacts being bridged.

And I use naked unwrapped cells in my torches just making sure the positive pole has the insulator in good condition.

It feels good to get that off my chest lol.

 

[stevie g]

Would I travel with loose batteries?. No
Would I put loose batteries in my pocket with change?. No

 

[RichJB]

If you're going to put loose change in your pocket with batteries, at least make sure that it's 10xR5 and 1x50c coins. That way, if your leg catches fire, you can at least calibrate your scale while you're waiting for the fire engine to arrive.