Concern about the safety of e-cigarettes has been on the rise in recent months.
With stories like this – it’s not surprising.
While stories like this are enough to make anyone think twice – most e-cigarette explosions are down to human error rather than design or manufacture faults.
What that really means is – most of these harmful explosions can be avoided.
We’ve got 11 tips to follow with explanations so you can carry on using e-cigarettes safely:
- Do not leave loose batteries in pockets or bags
- Use regulated vape devices
- Buy from reputable brands
- Do not overheat your atomizer
- Always use the correct charger
- Ensure batteries are wrapped correctly
- Don’t expose batteries to extreme conditions
- Avoid mechanical mods unless you know exactly what you’re doing
- Don’t build too low on unregulated devices
- Don’t Let Water Touch Your Battery
- Don’t use damaged batteries
1. DO NOT LEAVE LOOSE BATTERIES IN POCKETS OR BAGS
Carrying around loose e-cig batteries is a big no-no.
Most electronic cigarettes are designed to stay intact, with the battery remaining fixed. Altering this could make your e-cig unsafe.
Some are disposable and therefore designed to be thrown away when they’ve run out while others come with replaceable batteries that require recharging.
It’s important that you handle and store these lithium ion batteries in the safest way possible to avoid an e-cig explosion.
One of the safest ways to carry around spare batteries is in a silicon case that’s designed for the job.
You’ll find them pretty cheap on Amazon.
If your spare battery is carried in a pocket or bag with other metal items and without some kind of protection, the likelihood of an e-cig short and explosion will increase significantly.
You need to be careful with lithium ion batteries – whether they’re in your e-cig device or not.
That’s why the FAA have a specific page detailing lithium ion safety and carrying them on flights.
2. USE REGULATED VAPE DEVICES
Power-regulated mods have a chip between the battery and the coil that regulates power to your device automatically.
These allow direct control of temperature and can automatically limit power to safer levels.
Sticking to regulated mod is a good idea if safety is one of your main concerns, and more so if you’re not 100% sure what safety precautions you should use while using an unregulated or mechanical mod.
Power-regulated mods might be more expensive in some cases, but they’re also safer if they include the correct safety features such as short-circuit protection and reverse polarity protection.
3. BUY FROM REPUTABLE BRANDS
This is common sense, really.
You tend to get what you pay for in most walks of life – and e-cigarettes aren’t any different.
Many foreign imports fail to meet simple health and safety guidelines.
Be sure to buy from a reputable source as suppliers providing foreign imports could be selling unsafe devices.
In the UK, you can be more confident in a vape devices safety if it’s a member of ECITA, which runs a number of tests and provides regulation of safe e-cigarette manufacturers.
Make sure the e-cigarette you purchase has passed any relevant safety tests in your country or region.
In the US, the FDA has a website dedicated to e-cigarette safety.
4. DO NOT OVERHEAT YOUR ATOMIZER
Again, this should be common sense.
Overheating your atomizer is a huge mistake.
If you feel your e-cigarette getting unreasonably hot you should stop using it and allow it to cool down.
5. ALWAYS USE THE CORRECT CHARGER
You might think that any charger that fits and seems to work in your is good enough – but but could be a huge mistake.
You should avoid using chargers you have around the house that have been provided for different electronic devices.
A charger is designed to provide the correct voltage for the specific device it was built for – an oversupply of power could be extremely dangerous.
It’s not a “one size fits all” situation.
We strongly recommend that you only use the charger that came with your e-cigarette or one that has been specifically designed for it.
6. MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERIES ARE ALWAYS WRAPPED PROPERLY
Battery wrapping isn’t just a design feature – it’s there for safety.
Your batteries are made so that they only expose the ends.
If there’s any damage to this wrapping, it could leave parts of the battery exposed.
This could cause a short if the exposed areas come in contact with other metals, such as loose change, keys or any other metals.
If the battery is not wrapped correctly and safely you should avoid using it until it is correctly and safely wrapped in order to help avoid the likelihood of an e-cig explosion.
7. DON’T EXPOSE BATTERY TO EXTREME CONDITIONS
Extreme heat OR cold are harmful to your e-cigarette battery, removable or not.
The US Energy Department recommends you keep any lithium ion battery between the temperatures of 14 and 86 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Extreme heat can cause a battery to melt and stop working correctly while extreme cold can shorten the lifespan of the battery and make it so it can’t hold the charge it once could.
8. AVOID MECHANICAL (MECH) MODS UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING
As I previously mentioned, regulated MODs are the safer option due to their added safety features.
But you’ll probably notice that mech mods, also known as unregulated mods, are actually really popular and common to see.
While this may be true, it’s worth knowing that they pose a much higher safety risk as they usually do not have the battery protections you’d get in a regulated mod.
The only thing regulating the charge with an unregulated mod is you.
Unless you’ve done thorough research and know exactly what you’re doing, it is suggested that you choose the safer alternative and avoid using a mechanical or unregulated mod.
9. AVOID SUPER LOW BUILDS ON UNREGULATED DEVICES
With the growth in popularity of modding e-cigarettes and making your own builds, a number of safety concerns have arisen.
If you build at the wrong resistance and fire an unregulated mod it will likely cause a battery explosion.
Try not to build too low if you can help it.
10. DON’T LET WATER TOUCH YOUR BATTERY
As you’re probably aware – most electronic devices don’t like water.
There’s no reason why an e-cig battery should be any different.
Water that isn’t distilled conducts electricity, so keep it away from your batteries to avoid damaging them.
11. DON’T USE DAMAGED BATTERIES
Hopefully you’ve seen how important it is to have a good quality battery by now.
Using a damaged battery is another bad idea.
What kind of damage are should you look out for?
The obvious ones are splits in the wrapping around the battery. You should re-wrap or get the battery re-wrapped before you continue to use it.
Your battery can also be damaged from overcharging or from too many discharges as well as simply being dropped on the floor.
In any of these circumstances, you may want to consider disposing of the battery and getting yourself some replacements.
CONCLUSION
The media love to paint and exaggerate stories that mislead people into thinking that vaping devices simply just explode. But this just isn’t true.
Lithium Ion batteries are not new, they’ve been around for years and are used in millions of everyday electronic devices.
If you’ve been worried about the safety of e-cigarettes hopefully these simple safety tips have given you some peace of mind.
A little knowledge about battery safety and common sense while using your vape device could help you to prevent an e-cig explosion.
You can read more about battery safety here.
Which of these battery safety tips did you find most useful or interesting?