E-cigarettes do not explode, batteries do
First of all, and it is very important to notice that e-cigarettes do not explode. In contrast, batteries do, and particularly rechargeable batteries that are used in most electronic mods. And if an e-cigarette is damaged, it is because its battery or batteries have been damaged.
Secondly, it is more appropriate to talk about degassing rather than explosion because the latter is very rare. What happens, most of the time, is a gradual increase of pressure and temperature inside the body of the battery that may lead to a leakage, a blast of incandescent gases. The persons exposed to the jet may be injured and suffer from sever burns.
The last few issues involving e-cigarette batteries highlighted the fact that the batteries were not inserted into the device but carried out without protection in a pocket, where they entered in contact with loose coins or keys. The contact between the positive and the negative poles of a battery is, by itself, susceptible to generate a chemical reaction inside the battery and raise the pressure and temperature until a gaseous leakage happens.
An illustration of this phenomenon is shown in a video recorded by a security cam in Toulouse, France, on October 28, 2016. The poor guy confessed that he was carrying a spare battery, fully charged and unprotected, in his pocket.
The e-cigarette is not the only one concerned by battery explosion
It is important to point out that e-cigarette batteries are not the only ones to explode. Each year, many Lithium-ion batteries are exploding.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops… you probably also remember the cases of some Hoverboards, the electric skates consumed by flames. More spectacular even is the case of the famous electric vehicle Tesla that caught fire in Biarritz, during a promotional summer tour in France, last August 2016. The same story that happened a few months earlier in Norway.
The last in date is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, last September. Just after its release and just before its main concurrent, iPhone 7, reaches the market, the press reported cases of spontaneous combustion and even explosion with blast. Each time the accident leads to the complete destruction of the device and, unfortunately, to some parts of its environment, including injuries to its owner or to bystanders.
How to avoid battery fire?
The first rule, if you carry out batteries outside your electronic mod, is to never leave them in a bag or a pocket without protecting the poles. You MUST use a sleeve or a box dedicated to this use .Keep an eye on your devices to make sure they are working properly. In particular, check your resistance coil very often, visually and physically. A coil that loses resistive capacity is very dangerous and shouldn’t be submitted to electric power.
How to buy batteries?
First of all, do not trust the attractive packaging of unknown brands, pictures are not a guarantee of reliability.
Do prefer the most famous brands like LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic or Sanyo, whose reputation is robust in this domain. The three cited brands are the most common. Other brands often market the same batteries under another name. The potential issue is that the rebranded batteries may have been discarded by the manufacturer for safety reasons and re-appear on the market under another name and no traceability. All rebranded batteries may not be defective but whenever there is a doubt, it is preferable to abstain from purchasing it.
Where to buy batteries?
Before purchasing anything, check the seriousness of the service because it is extremely easy to re-wrap old batteries. Avoid sites like Ebay or purchasing secondhand models because you can never know the history of its use. Some brands have “scratch codes” to address authenticity issues.
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