CASAA Call to Action: I have witnessed the death of a close friend, caused by second and third degree burns sustained in a house fire. Wrapped in bandages from head to toe I was in the hospital room shortly before she died. Although this death had nothing to do with Vaping, it forever changed my outlook on safety. I think about her almost every day. Vaping is a diverse culture and unfortunately, some vapers either have no concern for safety using their vape gear or irrationally dismiss “vaping explosions” as user error. Some vapers have never taken the time to learn about proper safety procedures with batteries, builds, and Mods. For some, vaping has become a “sport” where builds are below 0.25 OHMS and vapers pump 200 watts through their mod and of course they bloviate and brag about these dangerous acts. I’m certainly not trying to generate “link bait” but I do feel a passionate desire to provide you with some resources to read and learn about proper vaping safety procedures.
Lets start with some numbers
162 e-cigarette explosions as of today:
• 43 e-cigarette explosions happened during use.
• 73 e-cigarette explosions happened during charging.
• 27 e-cigarette explosions happened during transport, storage or unknown circumstances.
• 19 e-cigarette explosions involved spare batteries for removable battery mods. This does mean that, although this type of explosion is reported as an “e-cigarette battery explosion,” e-cigarettes use commonly available batteries that work in a wide variety of other devices. If a person’s spare 18650 flashlight batteries explode in his pocket — which has happened — the media may not report the event so prominently.
In addition, of the e-cigarette explosions we found:
• 95 resulted in personal injury or death.
• 67 resulted in no reported injuries to people, although these incidents may have resulted in animal death and/or extensive property damage.
The above data is extracted from a great article titled E-cigarette explosions comprehensive list. It contains valuable tips and pictures to help you vape safe and avoid these tragedies. I strongly suggest that you take the time to read it.
Pictures tell the story
Maybe some pictures will help you understand the gravity of this issue. Warning: some of these pictures are gory and very disturbing. They may not be suitable for some of you. Having warned you, click here for the pictures.
Great resources to read
A Beginner’s Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod
Battery Basics for Mods: The Definative Battery Guide for Vaping
Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries Part 1
Explain it to the Dumb Noob: Ohm’s Law Calculations
The regulatory and media implications
Regardless of your views or mine on Vaping safety and specific procedures, these explosions are “read meat” for the media and continue to vilify vaping and help the anti vaping movement. The FDA is watching closely and in my opinion the “Final Rule” will contain specific requirements for batteries, regulated mods, and mechanicals will eventually vanish from Planet Earth. Please Vape safe and encourage your fellow vapers to educate themselves about proper vaping safety procedures.