When a vape pen explodes, it’s usually because the battery within it has overheated due to various causes, including:
- Short circuits
- Improper insulation
- Mishandling the battery
- Placing the batteries in direct heat
- Charging for longer than necessary
- Modifying vape device batteries
- Removing safeguards
Can vape batteries explode?
From 2015-2017, e-cigarette burns and explosion-related injuries resulted in more than 2,000 U.S. emergency room visits. Vapes often explode near vulnerable areas like the face and hands, worsening injuries. Victims are already winning battery explosion lawsuits against irresponsible companies. Why Do Vape Products Use Batteries?
What are the most common causes of vaping battery accidents?
The most common causes of vaping battery accidents can be grouped together as user error. In fact, most “e-cigarette explosions” don’t even involve an e-cig. A large majority of “vaping explosions” are in reality caused by loose batteries carried in pants pockets, not by vaping devices at all.
What causes vape explosions and fires?
Most issues relating to vape explosions and fires, however, can be pinpointed to using an improper charger, charging a battery too much, or improper storage, according to most fire service reports.
Why did a man’s e-cigarette battery explode?
Details: A man’s e-cigarette battery exploded when he was carrying it in his pants pocket. The resulting injuries were so severe that the man required multiple surgeries and skin grafts. (News Source) Possible Cause: The explosion may have occurred because the battery shorted after touching a metal object.
How do I stop my vape from exploding?
Protect your vape from extreme temperatures by not leaving it in direct sunlight or in your car on a hot summer day or freezing cold night, and do not charge it in extreme temperatures. Don't vape around flammable gasses or liquids, such as oxygen, propane, or gasoline.
Is it common for Vapes to explode?
What Causes a Vape Pen to Explode? Exploding vape pens and e-cigarettes is a significant issue that has resulted in many severe injuries and even deaths. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, from 2009 to 2016, 195 incidents of exploding electronic cigarettes took place, resulting in 133 injuries.
What are the chances of a vape battery exploding?
However, one thing users never think about is the possibility of their vaporizer exploding. This is because explosions of this nature are extraordinarily rare. Battery University estimates that about 1 in 10 million lithium-ion batteries will explode.
Is it rare for a vape to explode?
To those whose vaping knowledge is based solely on alarming news stories, e-cigarette thermal events like fires and explosions may seem like common occurrences, but they are actually very rare. They happen when a battery overheats and the chemicals and gasses escape the battery rapidly.
How many vapes have exploded?
Between January 2009 and December 31, 2016, 195 separate incidents of explosion and fire involving an electronic cigarette were reported by the U.S. media. These incidents resulted in 133 acute injuries.
Are vape batteries safe?
Consumers should not buy or use individual, loose 18650 lithium-ion battery cells without protection circuits due to possible fire risk, according to a warning just issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Can a vape explode in your face?
THURSDAY, June 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- A vape pen exploded in the face of 17-year-old Nevada boy, breaking his jaw and requiring multiple surgeries to repair the damage, according to a case report in the latest New England Journal of Medicine.
Will my vape explode if I drop it in water?
Accidentally dropping your e cigarette or vape mod A rupture to the battery can occur as a result of this pressure. The battery, container, or both can then fail. This can cause overheating or an explosion.
Do vapes explode in heat?
Heat can affect a variety of the components inside the e-cigarette, including the plastic parts of the cartomizer. Melting, bulging and ceasing to work altogether can occur when extreme heat conditions are present. Although rare, heat could potential cause the device to catch fire or even explode.
How long does it take for your lungs to heal from vaping?
After one to nine months: clear and deeper breathing gradually returns; you have less coughing and shortness of breath; you regain the ability to cough productively instead of hacking, which cleans your lungs and reduce your risk of infection.
How do I know if my vape battery is bad?
Here's a list of symptoms that all point to a bad vape battery:Your vape depletes much faster than usual. ... You can feel the battery heating up as it's charging or discharging.You're using the same vape battery for more than a year.When you charge the batteries, they reach the maximum capacity faster than usual.More items...•
Is it OK to charge vape with USB?
Most USB outputs are fine to charge your vape, specifically USB outputs from computers, TVs, game consoles or car chargers. These sources are good at regulating the voltage supplied and limiting the current that can be drawn by the vape.
What Else Can I Do?
Until all vapes and vape batteries conform to strong and consistent safety standards, your best protection against vape battery fires or explosions may be knowing as much as possible about your device and how to properly handle and charge its batteries.
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How Do I Report a Vape Battery Fire or Explosion to FDA?
Information from consumers about vape fires or explosions can help FDA to address these problems. Anyone can report any undesired health or quality problems with a vape, including fires or explosions, to FDA through the Safety Reporting Portal. When you fill out the form, please be sure to include:
What are the effects of vape battery explosions?
Broken bones. Deep cuts and bleeding. Loss of teeth, eyes, and fingers. Scarring. Severe burns. Death. These injuries often cause lasting emotional and physical scars — however, more and more victims of vape battery explosions are successfully seeking justice and receiving the compensation they deserve.
What happened to the battery in a vape?
Several victims have sustained burns from vape battery explosions: In 2018, a woman from the San Francisco Bay Area suffered severe burns on her arm and side after her vape device’s spare batteries went up in flames in her purse.
What happens when a vape explodes?
Many physical injuries caused by vape battery explosions occur when debris from the shattered device is sent flying. Since vapes are often kept near sensitive areas like the groin, face, or hands, such explosions often have severe consequences.
How many emergency room visits were caused by vape burns?
According to a 2018 report published in the journal Tobacco Control, an estimated 2,035 emergency room visits were caused by vape burns and explosions from 2015-2017. Anyone who has been injured in a vape battery explosion should see a doctor as soon as possible. If injuries are severe, they should call 911.
How old was the vape explosion?
Reports of physical injuries from vape explosions include: A 17-year-old in Utah had his entire jaw cracked, several of his teeth blown out, and a chunk of jawbone completely shattered in June 2019 after his e-cigarette exploded in his mouth.
What kind of batteries do vape pens use?
This coil heats up e-liquid, which becomes the aerosol (vapor) that e-cigarette users inhale. Vape pens typically use lithium-ion batteries — the same types of batteries found in cell phones and laptops. They allow manufacturers to make slim, lightweight products that last a long time between charging.
Why are battery explosions so severe?
A 2017 report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated that the main reason battery explosion injuries are often severe is because the batteries are usually close to the user’s body, especially the face.
6. Using or charging a completely depleted battery
In your early days of vaping, you may have forgotten to charge your batteries a couple of times. Stuck without a functioning vape and jonesing for that nicotine, you might even have bought yourself a pack of smokes to satiate that craving. Never again, you promised yourself.
3. Using cheap rewraps or counterfeits
Most of the advice in this article assumes that you’re already using a high-quality lithium ion cell. But what happens if you’re using a cheap knockoff?
2. Putting batteries in your pocket or bag
Pockets are a great invention. They’re like tiny secret loot bags, forever hanging conveniently within arms reach. It’s no surprise then, that we’re always tempted to stuff them with small essentials; change, keys, subway tokens, lighters, paperclips, and nowadays, vaporizer batteries.
1. Using a Mechanical Mod
I once likened mechanical mods to improvised pipe bombs. I still stand by that comparison.
How many vape explosions have occurred in the last couple of years?
However, in the last couple of years, there were 250 vape-related explosions reported (not an exact number since most vapers don’t report these incidents, knowing that they are either fully responsible for the explosion or the explosion didn’t injure anyone). That’s 0.001% – hardly an overwhelming number!
Where was the e-cigarette found?
After dousing the flames, firefighters found the remains of an e-cigarette on the bed-side table.
Can vaping explode?
A vaping device is either a box with some circuitry or a metal tube with little else inside it. Saying that they, in and of themselves, can explode is pretty ridiculous. However, add a battery into the mix and you’re dealing with a completely different situation.
Why is my mod battery burning?
If the plastic coating of your battery has come off or is scratched, exposing the metal below, you need to STOP using it. The exposed metal inside the scratch can act as a positive connection and constantly fire the battery when it is inside your mod, and this can cause overheating, venting, and fires.
Why won't my vape mod fire?
This WILL NOT happen with a normal, regulated vape mod because they have chips inside them that regulate the current. If something’s wrong the mod simply will not fire.
How many fires are caused by lithium ion batteries?
And it’s not just phones that you need to worry about, either: “Home electrical fires account for an estimated 51,000 fires each year, nearly than 500 deaths, more than 1,400 injuries, and $1.3 billion in property damage,” notes ESFi.
Can a vape battery be negative?
As you will know, a battery has a positive and negative end; if something metal – say, a coin or your house key – comes into contact with the battery while it is in your pocket, it can/will power up which can lead to overheating and fires. Vape batteries should always be carried in containers.
Is it safe to use a vape battery?
All vape batteries run on lithium-ion (Li-ion) or lithium-polymer (LiPo) cells. Used correctly, these are very safe. However, misuse or faulty batteries from dodgy companies can lead to incidents. For this reason, it is of paramount importance that you use proper vape batteries that aren’t rewrapped.
Is vaping dangerous?
Not even close. Vaping devices are no more dangerous than your cell phone or other consumer electronics, so long as they’re used in the correct manner. Just look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, for instance. That phone was taken off the market because it was dangerous to human life.
Do vapes explode?
Bottomline: anything with a battery and/or mains-connected power needs to be treated with respect, including vape devices. Contrary to what the media would have you believe, vape devices DO NOT explode all the time. In fact, they’re no worse than cellphones in this context. Click To Tweet.
Loose batteries carried in pockets or purses
A large majority of “vaping explosions” are in reality caused by loose batteries carried in pants pockets, not by vaping devices at all. FDA Center for Tobacco Products researchers found that 77.3 percent of burns caused by vaping accidents were to the upper leg and lower trunk—the location of the hip pocket.
Mislabeled batteries and low-resistance coils
There is a limit to the amperage a device can draw from a battery, and those numbers may be exaggerated by battery manufacturers, wholesalers or distributors. Sometimes batteries are marked “30 amp,” for example, when the battery is only capable of handling 30 amps for a few seconds, rather than for continuous use.
Counterfeit, low-quality, and damaged batteries
Batteries are mass-produced and tested in the factory. Those that don’t meet the standards for direct sale to electronics manufacturers are sometimes sold to resellers, who rewrap them with different brand names and sell them for other uses. The best vaping batteries are the highest-quality ones from the major battery manufacturers.
Charging problems and best practices
It is possible to accidentally overcharge batteries, especially if you use a charger meant for a different kind of battery. If you use a charger intended for large, high-capacity batteries to charge a small vape pen, for example, it can create instability in the battery cell.
How long does it take for a battery to charge?
If the manufacturer says the device takes two hours to fully charge from a dead battery, that is the longest you should charge it for. Once again, excessive charging does nothing except damage the battery and increase the risk of a fire or explosion.
Can vapes explode when charging?
Data from FEMA suggests that up to 80% of vape explosions occur when the device is charging. If you charge your vape at night and fall asleep, you run the risk of allowing it to charge for several hours longer than necessary. This increases the chances of an overheated battery catching on fire.
Can a vaporizer be damaged by water?
When you expose your device to the sun, it also exposes the battery to excessive heat. As vaporizers are electronic devices, they are easily damaged by water. In fact, water damage can cause the sparks that lead to a fire. Make sure you store your device in a cool and dry place when not in use and clean it thoroughly between charging sessions.
