E-cig battery turned me into a human FIREBALL

Question: What kind of advice is that really, don't charge via USB. Or selling "Safty" battery bags.

- If charging the batteries via device's USB connection is unsafe, there should be suitable technology used to make it safe. Or there should be no USB charging connection.
- If Lithium batteries in vaping devices melt or blow, even if it is only one in thousands, there should be a protecion technology to make it not melt or blow, or such a bag material as the above should be a standard as a liner in the battery compartment. Or these batteries should not be used.
-If Chinese e-cigarette companies are unable producing technology that is not hurting people with always the same kind of accidents, they should get training and look into employing capable engineers (even if their salary is higher). It is not enough to copy one from the eachother, they are also copying the mistakes and bad designs. Or they should stay out of that business.


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Now to the Mirror. The article contains sentences like "devices randomly exploding across the country". Or: My son keeps saying "I’m worried about Daddy, when I can I see Daddy?”
Then within the article is a poll if vaping should be banned YES or NO, which makes it clear what this new incident is being used for.

 

To me the big question is what brand were the batteries? From the picture I can't tell which model we are talking about. It looks like an iStick 100. 2 mismatched batteries could be to blame. Yes, the charging circuit is important but the batteries are important as well. If the battery fails to relay the proper information to the charging circuit, it becomes an issue. Even though we like to think about modern chargers being "smart", and they are, but the charger is relying on proper information from the battery. The charger uses a lot of information it receives from the battery's state to determine the whats and whens during the cycle. With an external charger that has two or more independent bays the charger is able to adjust charging properties to the batteries individually. I'm not familiar with the charging circuit in the iStick so I can't comment on how it works. I don't want to speculate too much but mismatched or low quality batteries could be the issue. I don't know what the iStick charging circuit could or could not do in such a case. Many manufacturers are telling users not to charge their batteries in the device. The next logical step for the manufacturers is to just disable this feature. One quick change to the software and you have a USB interface with no charging capability. Takes the pressure and liability off them and puts it into the lap of the battery and charger companies. Batteries contain a lot of potential energy and definitely need to be respected more than they currently seem to be. This issue is not only with vaping products. There has been an extremely high number of these "hover boards" exploding and catching fire as well.

 

Here I am on a completely different train.

First launch a product that is not completely safe and then sell the safety device to make it safe. Where are we, in banana republic?

First mount a USB port on a device and then say don't use USB.




Let's agree to disagree on that one

 

How about not poviding the USB charging facility in the first place?

 

There is a risk with batteries,like most things in life. But with the amount of batteries sold, put into all kind of devices, by a lot of people pushing them to and beyond all reasonable limit. I would say the safety record is pretty good.
I try to get good batteries, I inspect them from damage. In use I keep an eye on the temperature of the battery.
For the rest, I charge in usb and in external chargers. Over night and when I'm out, I'm very relaxed with that.
I have put the charger in a room where there is about zero fire hazard, and good ventilation temp wise.

What I don't do is to use batteries that has some physical damage, batteries that suddenly start to give of more heat in normal use or show abnormalities under charging.

 

Would the above man not be hurt if the port would not be a charge port? Would the Mirror have the chance to come up with another sensationalist story?

And these companies know it, that's not funny anymore.

 

Timely advice from -V-. When I only had a Subox Mini, one battery and no charger, I regularly used the usb for overnight charging, but not in the bedroom. I sometimes still put a vv tube battery on charge overnight.
Order for a bag just gone in to FT. $5.26 with the coupon code, about the price of two coils!

Whether the fire was caused by mismatched, or bad batteries, we'll never know, because operator error does not fit in with the Mirror's agenda.

 

I don't think I misunderstood you, as well I know now I have lost it here with this postings.

And I still remain not blaming a user being in error, if this user is just using a regular facility a device offers and which these companies actually know to be unsafe, and you and me too. Does the average Joe know?
And I also hold up that I don't agree selling batteries that need safety bags, and then even from a company which batteries have not exactly a spotless record. Is that really all right in your books?

- So if there is a USB charging port on the device, people please ignore it, it is for decoration only.
- If there is a paragraph in your manual about pass-through charging facility (mine has) - even worse. This vacility is as well only decoration.
- If you have lithium batteries you need safety bags, bcs the batteries are done with the same professionalism as the name on that bag.


Excuse me, what are you going to say again to all this new laws and restrictions?

PS: I really like this forum, and the way how it's managed. It is almost indispensable for SEA I'd say, and the users (including me) most of the time really very friendly, which is it's strength. But this here, sorry, I have to say what I got to say even you feel attacked, hoping the dust can settle.