Battery Safety

You might have read about exploding e cig batteries in the news. Now we’re not telling you this to freak you out and turn you against e cigs (we think it’s pretty clear that we’re trying to do the exact opposite). Quite frankly, anything that uses batteries has the potential to literally blow up in your face (or your pocket). However, since this is an e cig blog, we’re focusing specifically on e cig batteries – makes sense, right? Most of these explosive battery incidents were because of user error – so if you follow these rules you can vape worry free (and keep your eyebrows).

1. Always Use the Charger Specifically Designed for Your Battery

(unless explicitly stated otherwise by the manufacturer). Most e cig battery explosions occur simply because the wrong charger was used – that’s it. While the “if it fits it sits” mentality is cute when animals do it – you should NEVER apply that philosophy to e cigs and chargers. Just because your cig a like has a charger that might screw onto an ego battery, it doesn’t mean it’ll work the way you want it to (i.e. charging instead of blowing up). If you have two chargers that look similar to each other but belong to two different types of e cigs, do yourself a favor and label them so you can tell them apart.

2. Never Leave a Charging Battery Unattended

This doesn’t only apply to e cigs. Any device that has a rechargeable battery should be monitored while charging. Now we aren’t saying that you need to stare at your battery for hours while drooling as it’s plugged into the wall, but we are saying that you shouldn’t just plug it in and then abandon it while you go to the grocery store or a rave (or whatever it is people do for fun these days). Just keep your e cig in the same room as you while it’s charging and look at it every once in a while. If the battery starts hissing, looks deformed/melty, or gets hot, then STOP charging immediately and dispose of your battery properly. By disposing of your battery properly I mean don’t throw it out the window, in a fire, or in the trash. Instead, be responsible and take it to a battery recycling center – it’s not that hard. It might suck to throw away a battery, but it’ll suck even worse if it explodes.

3. Immediately Remove Your Battery From the Charger Once It’s Fully Charged

You don’t want to risk your battery blowing up because it’s overflowing with electricity, or at the very least, risk reducing your battery’s ability to hold a charge. This is why it’s not a good idea to charge your battery in your room overnight while you’re sleeping (you’re technically charging it while you’re in the room – right?). While you’re technically in the same room as your battery, if you’re asleep you won’t be able to take your battery off the charger once it’s done charging.

4. Keep Separate Batteries Away From Each Other and Protected From Metal

This mostly applies to people who are using e cigs that use separate batteries that aren’t built into the device itself. Any battery (regardless if it’s an e cig battery or not), can arc and produce a surge of heat if the terminal touches a piece of metal, or even worse, the terminal of another battery. To avoid disaster – cap the ends of these batteries to keep the terminals protected. At the very least, keep the batteries separate and away from anything metal in a well insulated case.

5. Make Sure Your Batteries Are Rated for the Coil of Your Atomizer

Atomizers come in different resistances – so it’s important to use an atomizer that’s within the safe operating limits of your battery. If you’re new to e cigs, most of the pre built atomizers are safe to use with the majority of e cig batteries out there. However, as you get more advanced, you might want to experiment by building your own coils – this is great! Just make sure that the coils you’re building are within the safe ranges of your specific battery. It might seem complicated, but it’s not because we broke it down in an easy to understand format (just for you!). So do yourself a favor and learn about battery safety and Ohm’s Law.

6. Keep Your Batteries Out of the Extreme Heat

This means that you shouldn’t keep you battery in the glove box of your car on a warm day, on a window sill in direct sunlight, or anywhere else where it’ll be exposed to heat for a prolonged amount of time. It doesn’t matter if your battery is charged or discharged, keep it out of the heat if you don’t want it to revolt.