# Spontanteous combustion!



## Guunie (24/7/15)

Good evening all,

It has been a few weeks since I've been able to find time to read or let alone post anything here for my vaping family! Missed you guys tons btw...

So I have a freaky story to tell you,

About 3 weeks back I was heading to work with my mate, now I am very conscious about battery safety and have a separate compartment in my laptop bag that is only for batteries. No metal or liquid close by that may short the battery in anyway.

On this day, I climbed in the car and placed my laptop bag between my legs, closed the door and we moved up to the stop street. As we got there I heard this "Poof" in my bag, excuse the lack of a more descriptive word for the sound, followed by some very dark smoke coming out the front compartment of my laptop bag. Curious, I opened the compartment only to be met by flames...

I proceeded to open the car door and then flung my laptop bag onto the side of the road, I rushed to open the compartment fully and at this point saw that one of my new Efest 18650 2800mah 35A batteries glowing like the sun!

Behold the source of the flames, i then tipped my bag upside down and profusely shook it until the battery fell out. I then used an already scarred beanie to beat the inside of my bag to beat the last of the burning nylon.

Needless to say I stopped vaping for a while due to only having a mech mod at my current disposal (Girlfriend is using the Hana) 

The scary truth behind this story is that there was no possible way that the battery could have shorted in my bag. It sat next to my night stand the previous night, not in the charger, i count my luck stars it didn't decide to do this while I was sleeping or in my mech while vaping...

Here are the 2 pictures I managed to take. One of the battery and the other of my laptop bag.

Anyways...I'm at a point now where I am not sure which vw mod to get, so open to any suggestions from the vapefamily!


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## zadiac (24/7/15)

Wow! That is intense......and worrying

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DoubleD (24/7/15)

Third time I read something like this regarding the new Efest 2800mah batteries. Needless to say, I'm not amped to buy some anytime soon anymore.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DarkSide (24/7/15)

@Guunie Glad you are okay mate, as you said, could have been worse, damn, and I was looking at purchasing two of these purple batteries, will stick to my green ones until we know what is causing this.


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## BumbleBee (24/7/15)

Holy crap! Jeez @Guunie that must have been one heck of an experience! 

I have two of these efest batteries in my rotation, all these stories are really starting to make me concerned. 

Really glad that nobody was injured and that the laptop is ok


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## DarkSide (24/7/15)

BumbleBee said:


> Holy crap! Jeez @Guunie that must have been one heck of an experience!
> 
> I have two of these efest batteries in my rotation, all these stories are really starting to make me concerned.
> 
> Really glad that nobody was injured and that the laptop is ok



Never mind the laptop, Save The Juice!!!

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Paulie (24/7/15)

Guunie said:


> Good evening all,
> 
> It has been a few weeks since I've been able to find time to read or let alone post anything here for my vaping family! Missed you guys tons btw...
> 
> ...



Wow thats hectic! Glad to hear you are okay! I am using 4 of these new batteries and so far i have had no issues with mine. I will do some research now and see if there are more common issues out there now thanks.

Reactions: Like 1 | Useful 1


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## Marzuq (24/7/15)

That's not good news for anyone who is already overly conscious about battery safety. 

Thank you for sharing this is very useful to know


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## Alex (24/7/15)

Glad to hear you're okay, thanks for sharing your experience with us.


Sent from iPhone


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## huffnpuff (24/7/15)

Hectic! Were the batteries stored loose or in a battery case/sleeve?


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## Silver (24/7/15)

Wow, hectic experience @Guunie 
Sorry to hear this, but as the others said, thanks for sharing
It highlights the importance of battery knowledge and safety

But if a battery is going to spontaneously combust like that, then I assume there is not much one can do to prevent it. Perhaps I need to carry my fire extuingsher around with me...

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Guunie (24/7/15)

It was in a small pouch next to the pen sleeves that was separate with its own little Velcro flap. I didn't have it in a battery case or sleeve. But honestly even if I did I don't think it would have made a difference because there was nothing that could have shorted the battery in that compartment. 

What the cause of this was I am not sure...but I did cycle this battery in my mech and I have for a while been more and more concerned about using a mech and the 0 safety factor that accompanies them. 

Been battling to decide on what vw mod to go for and I feel that if you are only using them in a vw mod and cycling pairs together then there should be no cause for concern...

I am also doing some deep research on batteries and specifically the ones available to us to assist with my future battery purchase decisions.

Will share my findings in the hope that others may be safer for it.

Sent while wielding my vapesaber

Reactions: Like 2


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## Yoda (25/7/15)

Just read this and i have one of the in my subox, and just thought can static electricity maybe cause this?


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## DoubleD (25/7/15)

Yoda said:


> Just read this and i have one of the in my subox, and just thought can static electricity maybe cause this?



I was thinking the same thing but dont know if thats possible. I keep my spare daily battery in a microfiber bag (oakely sunglasses bag) which is keep in a leather pouch.


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## Average vapor Joe (25/7/15)

The battery may be creating its own internal circuit but that would happen as soon as its is used so there must have been a circuit created in your bag maybe?


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## stevie g (25/7/15)

imagine that was in your mech mod when it happened... Not good.


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## Guunie (25/7/15)

Found this on static and batteries, sounds plausible... 

Static electricity can affect a lithium ion battery.

"Now, this said, lithium ion batteries have what's called a PTC or Positive Temperature Coefficient circuit. This is built into the battery just above the positive terminal and is present regardless of any "protected" labels. The PTC is designed to raise the resistance of the battery as the temperature of the battery rises. 

The theory behind PTC is that as the resistance goes up, the current draw from the battery goes down - Ohm's Law. This helps prevent most accidents from becoming catastrophic, but it should not be relied on. The PTC is designed to be unobtrusive and you can still over-draw the battery if you aren't paying attention. The PTC circuits can also fail if exposed to static electricity or from a faulty charger. When a PTC fails, it often fails in a position which allows you to continue using the battery without fault." 
- quoted from Timothy Braun, a vapor enthusiast and battery expert. Batteries Explained and Safety - » The Original Electronic Cigarette Social Media Network

Sent while wielding my vapesaber


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## Jan (25/7/15)

What bothers me in general is that it could have, can happen when you are on a plane. Glad to hear you are ok.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Guunie (25/7/15)

Found a very good read on lithium ion battery safety which covers history and current challenges. Bit of a long article but definitely worth it.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/lithium_ion_safety_concerns

Sent while wielding my vapesaber


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## R8B84 (25/7/15)

I read on a couple of sites already that e-fest batteries are b-bin Samsung batteries, don't know if that is reason for concern but I always buy the Samsung batteries rather to reduce possible risk. There are a few nice videos on YouTube where they explain the process of batteries re-selling. Needless to say I always prefer to use a regulated mod(subox) as I am too noob to make a mech mod a safe option. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## stevie g (25/7/15)

go to the source with batteries either Samsung, lg or Sony


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## Gazzacpt (25/7/15)

R8B84 said:


> I read on a couple of sites already that e-fest batteries are b-bin Samsung batteries, don't know if that is reason for concern but I always buy the Samsung batteries rather to reduce possible risk. There are a few nice videos on YouTube where they explain the process of batteries re-selling. Needless to say I always prefer to use a regulated mod(subox) as I am too noob to make a mech mod a safe option.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Most batteries are rewrapped ones from the 4 or 5 manufactures who make the things. LG, Samsung, Sony and MNKE are the big boys that can afford to manufacture the rest buy from them.
I have yet to see a one of those 4 release specs on a 35A 2800mah cell. 
Which begs the question, where did Efest get this cell. Efest is known for overstating specs hence I haven't bought them. I'm sticking to Sony and Samsung for now.

Reactions: Like 1


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## DoubleD (25/7/15)

Although I havent had any issues with my efest batteries, 2x 2500 and 2x 2100, I'm considering getting replacements after reading this thread though.


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