In the last chapter, I have mentioned different types of ecig battery and in this chapter, I am going to talk about the reasons that will cause the battery explosion as well as the solutions to avoid them.
Lithium ion batteries are highly effective at producing power despite their small size. Unfortunately, the properties and chemicals used in a Lithium ion battery also mean that any lithium ion battery has the potential to explode. Contained within a lithium batteries are lithium, sodium, potassium and other highly flamable and voluble elements. If you tossed these into water on their own you would get an explosion. When a cell does heat, it can lead to a chain reaction which can cause either battery swelling or explosions.

Fortunately, modern design means that explosions are very rare (an estimated one in ten million according to Battery University). However, explosions can be caused when a battery overheats. This can be caused by a defect, such as a short circuit or improper insulation between the cells of the battery or by mishandling. Most standard lithium ion electronic cigarette batteries have been designed with overcharge protection. This senses when too much voltage is being pushed into the battery and then stops the battery from accepting any more charge. To test whether a battery has overcharge protection, we charge them using a voltage exceeding what the battery is designed to take. (For safety reasons, we do this in a fire-safe environment.) All HALO chargers come with overcharge protection.

As additional protection, there is a fusing system built into the battery which is designed to blow should a battery overdischarge, and a circuit behind buttons limiting the amount of time the battery can be activated at any one time. Even with testing, fuse protection and overcharge protection, there can always be a defect with an individual battery. To minimise the risk, take the following precautions:

i. Don’t mix and match

Only charge a battery with the charger that was provided with the battery, or which has been specifically supplied for that battery. While chargers may look similar, the voltage output can be different.

Charge a battery from one supplier with a charger from another supplier and you could cause problems. In fact, as the fire service has pointed out, this has caused most of the problems so far.

ii. Buy From A Reputable Source

One battery explosion occurred in the US when a vaper bought cheap batteries online to use with his ecigarette kit. Always buy your batteries from a reputable source. In the UK many companies are certified by ECITA, which require companies to test their products – while these are not the only reputable companies out there, the ECITA logo is a mark of quality.

iii. ROHS Certification (and where it has come from)

All batteries should come with ROHS certification, which proves that it has been tested.
Unfortunately, some certification from China can’t been trusted – we’ve seen examples of certificates which have been photoshopped. At ecigarettedirect, we have our batteries UK ROHS certified.

iv. Safe Charging

Don’t charge your battery over night or when you are out of house. For safety, charge your battery on a non-combustible surface. If you have a manual battery, switch it off before charging.

v. Overcharge Protection

Check with your supplier to make sure your battery has overcharge protection. Our batteries come with overcharge protection, and we also individually test batteries from each battery to ensure overcharge protection is working.

Battery Maintenance

Clean Battery Terminals – nothing complicated here, simply screw up some tissue paper and give the terminals a rub. A cotton bud can be used if harder cleaning is required. For the most effective cleaning, use cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol to clean the terminal. Allow the battery a few seconds to dry before using. Keep Batteries Charged – as explained above, keeping some charge in your battery can extend the life of your battery, especially if you go some time without using it.